The Challenge

Despite its valuable mission, Aura struggled with an unclear brand identity, fragmented user experience, and limited market traction. The platform lacked a cohesive design system, making it difficult to communicate its value proposition effectively. Additionally, financial stress is deeply psychological, requiring a UX approach rooted in behavioral science to build trust and engagement.

Aura needed a strategic overhaul to strengthen its market presence, attract investors, and optimize user engagement while ensuring its offerings resonated with employees seeking financial wellness.

The Solution

Strategic Product Development

To evolve Aura into a polished, user-centered platform, we carefully crafted a structured product roadmap divided into v0, v1, and v2 phases. This allowed for an iterative approach—delivering a functional MVP quickly, gathering user feedback, and progressively refining the experience based on behavioral insights. Each phase focused on improving usability, engagement, and trust, ensuring the platform was both effective and scalable.

Designing for Financial Well-Being

Understanding that financial stress is emotional as much as it is logistical, I collaborated with behavioral psychologists and conducted extensive user testing to refine the experience through iteration. This included guided coaching flows, interactive financial planning tools, and a more intuitive dashboard. Through trial and error, we continuously improved the user journey, simplifying complex financial concepts and delivering personalized insights. This iterative approach ensured users felt confident in making informed financial decisions without feeling overwhelmed.

Implementing a Scalable Design System

To support Aura’s growth and maintain consistency across platforms, I developed a scalable design system that standardized UI components, interaction patterns, and accessibility guidelines. This improved cross-functional collaboration, reduced design inconsistencies by 50%, and accelerated design-to-development workflows, ensuring that every iteration remained cohesive across Aura’s iOS app, web app, and website.