LENDA

Project Type: Mobile Design / Responsive Web Design
Role: UI/UX Designer

Industry: Finance Services

How might we design sustainable credit and financial tools for businesses?

Overview

Arkounting is a technology-based professional services firm that provides technology solutions, outsourced financial management, management consulting and training services to start-ups, micro, small and medium scale enterprises. In my capacity as the main UI/UX designer at Arkounting, I worked on designing features for the investment and loan product Lenda, which currently caters for over 52,000 customers.

By working closely with developers and utilizing my expertise in UI/UX design, I was able to enhance the overall usability, functionality, and visual appeal of Lendastack. The result was a powerful financial management tool that seamlessly integrated into businesses and users' lives, empowering them to take control of their financial well-being.

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The Challenge

As a UI/UX Designer at Arkounting, I played a crucial role in transforming Lenda, now known as Lendastack, into a cutting-edge financial management solution. Lenda emerged as a flagship product, offering users a comprehensive platform to manage their lending activities and existing investments seamlessly.

My journey at Arkounting began with a pivotal task of redesigning the mobile application for Lenda. This involved collaborating closely with both mobile and web engineers to bring about substantial improvements and introduce new features to enhance the user experience. Recognizing the significance of user-centric design in financial applications, my primary focus was to ensure that the information within Lendastack was presented in a clear and intuitive manner, enabling users to easily understand and track their finances.

Designing for Mobile Product Experience

In the design process of the Lenda mobile app, the focus was on creating a seamless onboarding experience for new users while maintaining the integrity of existing finance management products. A thorough analysis of the previous onboarding process was conducted to identify pain points and areas for improvement. The goal was to streamline the signup and login processes, reducing the time and effort required for users to access their accounts and use the app.

Previously, logging in to the app was time-consuming, taking around three minutes for the average user. To address this issue, changes were implemented to simplify and expedite the login experience. The redesigned user flow resulted in more efficient sign-up and login processes, reducing the average time required to approximately 45 seconds for users.

The proposed solution for the Lenda mobile app focused on retrieving existing accounts associated with the user's provided email address. By automatically pulling up relevant accounts or lenders linked to the email, users were spared the trouble of remembering multiple usernames or searching for their specific account. The implementation involved collaborating with the development team to integrate the necessary logic and database queries. A clean and intuitive user interface was designed on the frontend, allowing users to enter their email address and initiate the account retrieval process.

These improvements transformed the onboarding process into a smoother and more time-efficient experience, increasing user engagement, satisfaction, and retention. The streamlined login process and comprehensive dashboard design made Lenda a trusted and user-friendly platform for managing loans and investments.

New Features for Web Application

Following insights from user research, additional features were proposed to enhance the user experience for the Lenda web application. These new features allows administrators and users to have a better control and access to information within accounts. The features included payment integrations, blacklist management, bank verification number (BVN) validation, assets management and deposit accounts.

The user flows created for these new features considers the actions and processes required by users to access them. The process factors in a flow from start to end.

Homepage Design

The task at hand was to redesign a new landing page for Lenda while retaining existing information and giving the site a fresh look. The approach taken was a minimalistic design that emphasized key content and provided an appealing user experience. To maintain brand consistency, Lenda's signature orange and purple colors were incorporated throughout the redesign, adding vibrancy and energy to the overall design.

Starting with the homepage, the layout was reimagined to prioritize essential information and establish a clear visual hierarchy. The minimalistic design allowed for more white space, making key elements and messaging stand out and capture user attention effectively. Through captivating imagery, concise headlines, and strategic use of orange and purple accents, the goal was to create a visually compelling experience that would entice users to explore further. The redesigned landing pages were user-centric, visually appealing, easy to navigate, and aligned with Lenda's brand identity. This approach resulted in engaging and intuitive user experiences, driving conversions and strengthening Lenda's online presence.

Designing for Web Application

The web application section for the Lenda product is home to the services provided by the product. This web application allows both the users and administrators to review the state of financial services. Such that users can apply for loans and loans can be reviewed by administrators. Based on the information provided by the users, loans can either be approved or declined.

The web dashboard provides information regarding the state of every user’s financial activities. They simply have to login using their credentials and can begin transacting without hassles.

For administrators, they can create workflows for loan approvals, accepting payments, initiating savings/investments, generating statements, reporting management and collecting default loans.

Some of the actions the users are able to carry out in the web dashboard include:

Loan application: Users can provide information regarding a new loan application within the mobile app, or manage their application in the web dashboard.
Loan repayment: Information about existing loans, their tenure and payment history can be accessed in the web dashboard. Users can make a loan repayment or request for loan top-up if eligible.
Assets management: Tangible and intangible assets can be created under the assets section, which allows users to classify their assets type and know depreciation information.
See push notifications: New information about product updates are shared through push notifications so that users are up-to-date with all product changes.

General web features I designed include:

Payment integrations: Integration keys allows other companies to utilize Lenda as a service. The integration I designed allows for activation of keys from Paystack, Okra, Remita, First Central and Credit Registry.
BVN validation: For every user account existing in Lenda database, a BVN validation can be carried out to check if their records are accurate.
Deposit accounts: Users can create deposit accounts for their finances on the web dashboard. They can select the product type and duration of the deposit plan.

Let There Be a Design System!

When I started designs for Lenda, there was no established design system, so I took the initiative to begin implementing one. Although time constraints limited its development, I laid the foundation by incorporating consistent elements into my designs, such as color palettes, typography guidelines, icon sets, and UI components. Despite its limited scope, the design system improved efficiency and collaboration by establishing a shared understanding of design principles and facilitating smoother communication in the product development process.

As the organization grows and resources become available, there is an opportunity to expand and refine the design system further. This would involve user research, feedback analysis, and the incorporation of additional design components and guidelines based on industry standards and evolving user needs. The ultimate goal is to create a comprehensive and scalable design system that enhances the overall user experience and reinforces the brand's identity across all touchpoints.

The Outcome

During my design tenure at Arkounting, as the main designer, I aligned design initiatives with the company's business goals focused on revenue growth and top-notch financial services. I collaborated with various sub-teams within the tech division, fostering problem-solving and collaboration on a large scale. This experience provided me with a broader perspective on the design process and allowed for the integration of diverse viewpoints into effective design solutions.

As the main designer at Arkounting, I aligned design initiatives with company's mission of providing financial services.
Collaborated with product managers, engineers, and developers within the tech division.
Impactful design solutions positively impacted revenue growth and customer satisfaction.
Fostered a culture of problem-solving and collaboration on a large scale.
Multifaceted collaboration enhanced my understanding of cross-functional teamwork.
Integration of diverse viewpoints into design solutions.
Developed a deep understanding of problem-solving and collaboration at scale.