Role
Product Designer
Duration
2 Months
Deliverables
Responsive Web App
Brand Identity
Pitch Deck
Website
Tools
Figma, FigJam,
Adobe CC
Bizpoke is a web-based financial platform designed specifically for businesses in Africa. It provides seamless cross-border banking solutions and multi-currency corporate accounts, enabling businesses to effortlessly manage, send, and receive payments in various foreign currencies. With Bizpoke, businesses can overcome the challenges of traditional domiciliary accounts, ensuring faster transactions, competitive exchange rates, and easier access to global markets.
African businesses face significant challenges with traditional banking solutions for cross-border transactions, such as slow settlement times (2-7 days), high costs (0.5% fees plus $70-$95 per transaction), and cumbersome compliance requirements. The volatility of local currencies, like the 123% devaluation of the naira in four months, further complicates financial stability and access to foreign markets. Many global fintech platforms do not support transfers to local domiciliary accounts, limiting international trade opportunities. Bizpoke was created to address these issues by offering multi-currency accounts, faster transaction settlements, seamless currency conversions, and virtual cards, empowering African businesses to operate efficiently on a global scale.
Due to the sensitivity of the project, this case study is heavily redacted to protect the client.
At the start of every project, there are fundamental questions I ask myself and other stakeholders to gain proper insight into the problem and our proposed solutions.
After consultations with the stakeholders and the product owner, we rapidly implemented the iterative design thinking process. This allowed us to quickly map out and understand the problems and ideate around the solutions while focusing on core essential functionalities in this build. We were able to also stash “nice-to-haves” as future features for later builds.
Working closely with the team, we had a couple of discussions on how best to execute this project. After listening to the business owners, understanding the scope and objectives for the beta build as well as the business objective, we outlined some initial hypothesis and assumptions. These assumptions are important to the overall design process as it helps us define and understand what is accurate and what is not.
Speaking to the CEO and Product Owner online and in person was super insightful in testing my initial assumptions and understanding their pain points that shaped how we made key decisions for the user experiences.
Interestingly, our interviews gave much more insight into more issues that exist in the cross-border banking space and also led us to understand more and refine who our users are. We also discovered that different users had unique needs which represent key segments of our customer base.
By focusing on these we can tailor Bizpoke to provide effective and efficient solutions for businesses in Africa dealing with cross-border transactions and multi-currency management.
It is always import to ensure that were solving the right problem, by taking a look at the results from the initial discovery and research enabled us generate solutions and come up with implementable ideas.
At the center of this effort to generate solutions we were able to come up with the following “HMW” question
I started with some ideas for the user flow capturing and sharing them with stakeholders who provided input as we iteratively kept improving.
Based on the research done, I developed a user journey flow and constructed the information architecture of the platform not to only identify the user journey of Bizpoke but also to inform the direction we wanted to take the beta build.
I mapped out user flows to streamline the process of sending and receiving money, and designed a clear and concise navigation menu to access different modules easily. Information was logically categorized to improve discoverability and user experience, ensuring that users could find what they needed without hassle.
This also allowed us to identify and agree on the core features we wanted for the build.
My design solutions focused on creating a user-centric, simple, and visually appealing product. I started by designing a streamlined user interface with clear, intuitive navigation to simplify transactions. Incorporating feedback from usability testing, I refined the design to enhance the overall user experience, ensuring that every element of the app was intuitive and accessible, making international money transfers straightforward and hassle-free.
The design process for Bizpoke’s MVP was intense and fast-paced, with a timeline of less than a month to deliver. I began with rapid research and analysis, swiftly conducting market research and competitor analysis to identify opportunities and user pain points. This was followed by quick iterations of wireframing and prototyping, creating wireframes and interactive prototypes to visualize the app’s structure and flow. User testing was conducted in parallel to gather immediate feedback from real users, allowing me to make real-time refinements.
In crafting Bizpoke’s brand identity, I designed a logo that embodies the essence of our multi-currency B2B product. The logo features four circles arranged in pairs, with two circles positioned upward and two downward, symbolizing the diverse range of currencies supported by Bizpoke. The primary color of the logo is vibrant orange, chosen to evoke energy, creativity, and confidence. This color choice reflects Bizpoke’s dynamic and innovative approach to international money transfers. By creating a visually striking logo that encapsulates the core attributes of our product, we aim to establish a strong and memorable brand identity that resonates with our target audience.
For this MVP build, access to Bizpoke is restricted and users can only gain access to the platform by joining the waitlist. Hence it was important to ensure the landing page delivered this simple message in one simple page.
Users who wanted to test out the Bizpoke MVP could join the waitlist for access to the landing page
The Bizpoke design system was made up of key components that were vital to the platform as well as a key reference during developer handoff as developers were able to use them as individual components during development.
The dashboard module was designed to provide users with a comprehensive overview of their transactions and account activities. It included detailed transaction history, giving users access to past transaction records, and an account summary, providing a snapshot of their account balance and recent activities. Alerts and notifications were integrated to keep users informed about important updates and required actions, enhancing their overall experience.
I designed a streamlined onboarding process to guide users through setting up their Bizpoke accounts efficiently. The onboarding screens prompt users to enter the required information for sign-up, including personal data and any additional company data mandated by regulators. This ensures that users complete the necessary steps to comply with regulatory requirements while signing up for their Bizpoke accounts. Additionally, users are guided through the process of setting up their account preferences and security settings to tailor their Bizpoke experience to their needs.
Designed to cater to user’s multiple currencies. Each user can have different accounts for various currencies, allowing them to easily view and manage their finances in one place. Users can view balances, account statements, and track their transaction histories for each currency. This design ensures that managing multiple currencies is seamless and intuitive, providing users with full control over their international finances.
The payment module was central to the app’s functionality, facilitating easy and secure transactions. Users could transfer funds seamlessly, with support for various payment options, including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and digital wallets. A clear and concise transaction confirmation process was implemented to ensure that users were always aware of their transaction status.
The recipient module was designed to manage and interact with recipients effectively. Users could easily add new recipients, manage existing recipient information, and view recipient history to reference past interactions. This module ensured that users could keep track of their recipients and manage their contacts efficiently.
Ensuring that the product was fully responsive for mobile devices was a priority. I optimized the design for different screen sizes and devices, ensuring that the product was touch-friendly and easy to navigate on mobile. Performance optimization was also a key focus, enhancing load times and overall performance for mobile users to provide a smooth experience.
This iteration of Bizpoke was to set strong foundations and build the brand, design language and a main first version of the product which the team could build further upon.
From Individuals, Businesses and Organizations especially Startups, Bizpoke has already gained quite a lot of interests with different user groups who have joined to be part of the MVP and early beta users.
