Robinhood is an American financial services company, on a mission to democratize finance for all. They partnered with BrainStation in November 2021 to challenge students to a hackathon. Working on a multi-disciplinary team, we tackled the challenge and produced a solution in 24 hours.
Project Type: Hackathon
Timeline: 24 Hours
Role: UX Designer
Tools: Figma
Robinhood is looking to engage new and existing users by sparking their curiosity around cryptocurrency and online trading.
We are looking to...
Lack of knowledge, security concerns and difficulties knowing where to buy are the top cited barriers to investing in cryptocurrency according to a report by The Economist.
Given the time constraints, we were unable to conduct primary research. We generated assumptions based on our secondary research and create a proto-persona to inform our design decisions. Given more time, primary research would have been integral to validating our assumptions.
Through collaboration and brainstorming with all members of the team, we imagined various ways to provide cryptocurrency education to potential investors. Our goal was to establish Robinhood as a cryptocurrency authority and empower potential investors with the information required to give them confidence in their investments.
Using Robinhood’s existing resource library as a style guide, we designed a page specific to cryptocurrency. When potential investors have questions about cryptocurrency, they can turn to Robinhood as a trusted source of knowledge. We focused on education around volatility, as this was a major concern for potential investors.
After designing the educational resources, we decided it wasn't enough.
We returned to our proto-persona and the design challenge. Potential investors reported feeling overwhelmed by cryptocurrency and weren’t sure where to start. To alleviate this pain-point, we designed a cryptocurrency trading simulator that allows potential investors to practice trading cryptocurrency in a risk-free environment.
Intended for hands-on learners, this trading simulator provides helpful tips so traders can learn as they go. Once they feel confident in their understanding, they can seamlessly transition to trading with Robinhood.
Social media plays a key role in spreading the word and increasing engagement. With this in mind, we would like to consider additional features that incorporate social media and competition into our trading simulator to make it more fun, and less intimidating for potential investors.
Primary research conducted with new and existing Robinhood customers would be crucial for validating our assumptions. From there, persona development and customer experience mapping would help us understand if our solution is really addressing user needs.
At the beginning of our project, we talked to the web developers on our team and established clear expectations of what they could accomplish given the time constraints. We took the time to understand their limitations and what information they needed from the UX team and our designs, and made sure to communicate this effectively.
Our initial designs focused on expanding existing resources, and it wasn't until later in the process that we started asking if we were doing enough. Had we pushed ourselves earlier, we would have had more time to explore the potential functionality of our trading simulator. This project was a good reminder that our first idea is rarely our best, and even in a time crunch it's worth spending time brainstorming.
