Interracial Friendship
Financial Life Coach dashboard
Willow Inc.
ux/ui | REdesign | web app | internal product

Overview

A platform that combines client management, content creation, and SaaS capabilities. It enables coaches to effectively communicate and guide their clients, both through Willow's platform and with their personal clients. The dashboard allows coaches to showcase their dedication, experience, and the products they offer on Willow's website.

About Willow

Willow is redefining financial advice for women, NextGen, and underrepresented investors, by matching them with trusted, CE-certified advisors who truly connect with them. Willow’s matching system ensures investors are paired with advisors who resonate on a personal level and meet the unique needs of today’s diverse clientele.

My Contributions

As Willow's sole UX/UI Designer, Krista played a vital role in their brand and developing a design system across the board. A key accomplishment was leading the redesign and enhancement of the Financial Life Coach Dashboard.

We gathered valuable user feedback from Willow's coaches, incorporating it into the design. Leveraging their insights, we were able to provide intuitive solutions to improve the user experience design. Our iterative design improvements resulted in a more impactful dashboard, empowering coaches to better serve their clients and achieve theirs and Willow's goals.

01
the problem

Frustrated woman at work
As Willow's mission, product, and exposure rapidly expand, they are welcoming new financial life coaches to the team, who will educate and guide women throughout their life journeys.

However, the previous design experienced a noticeable decline in user interaction and platform engagement, resulting in lower levels of engagement over time.

Recognizing the need for a refreshed interface design, it was also crucial to gather user feedback from the coaches on the UX aspects as well.

02
‍User Interviews

We asked coaches questions regarding the previous design. Some key topics were:
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Preferred communication features for clients and partners
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Progress and goal tracking
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Painpoints or challenges with the existing design
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Any particular customization options or personalization feature requests
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What worked well with the existing design
Interviews
Key takeaways:
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The interface was not aesthetically pleasing
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Overwhelming and lacked intuitiveness
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Tracking client journeys was challenging
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Lack of community or connection
03
Design Solutions

Create

Meaningful content, curriculum, and products for clients through a content builder and SaaS features

Connect

Build connections and foster a sense of community through useful communication functionalities, forums, and a comprehensive learning center

Inform

Ensure coaches stay informed with timely announcements and client notifications.

Resource

Offer coaches a variety of training sessions and comprehensive guides to better serve their clients
Financial Life Coach Dashboard

04
Information Architecture

Through several sketches, we updated the site map, and dove deeper to create the information architecture.
Information Architecture

05
Wireframes

Below are few main screens that needed feedback.
Client Dashboard Wireframe
Client Curriculum Dashboard Wireframe
Community Dashboard Wireframe
Practice Profile Wireframe
Settings page wireframe
Work Availability Dashboard Wireframe

06
UI Style Guide

Color

Primary
#394950
#d6b88b
Secondary
#8d9f97
#748386
Tertiary
#eaddd9
#3f5873
#777a69
Neutral
#FFFFFF
#e9e9e9
#ece5da
#c1baaf
Success
#9fb483
#9fb483
error
#c24936
#c24936

Typography

Lora
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
R E G U L A R
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Regular, Bold
Montserrat
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Regular, Bold

Grid System

Grid

07
Hi-fidelity design

Dashboard Homepage Hi-Fidelity Design
Clients page hi-fidelity design
Client Appointments hi-fidelity design
Client Curriculum hi-fidelity design
Edit profile page
My Practice hi-fidelity design

08
Interaction Design

We redesigned the availability tool to address its lack of intuitiveness, as coaches were not updating their availability or syncing calendars, impacting client bookings. We introduced an interactive strategy with sliders and tooltips, simplifying the process of setting recurring availability and syncing external calendars.

09
Iterative solutions

Iterative processes gave coaches flexibility and efficiency, useful tools, increasing engagement with the platform, clients, advisors, as well as other coaches in the community

The Homepage

Before design

The Problem

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Underwhelming homepage UI and doesn't encourage coach's to interact with any helpful tools
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No way to track or utilize an appointments system
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Daily quotes can be motivational, but aren't necessarily helpful to their workflow
Product Solution

The Solution

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Coach's have immediate attention to upcoming appointments with the ability to message client or reschedule
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Able to switch between calendar and list views, allowing them to track and manage appointments
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Created notification center to inform coach's when they are contacted, if anyone has created new curriculum, or if there is recommended content they should assign to clients based on their particular life journeys

Client MGMT

Before Design

The Problem

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UX: Overwhelming navigation system of multiple sections and tabs
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UI: Over-cluttered, confusing, bleak design/styling discouraging user interaction
Client page solution

The Solution

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Simplified the user flow and navigation system by styling the primary and secondary navigation headers into clear, separated hierarchies
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Designed a 'life journey' component, ensuring coaches are immediately reminded of client details and life experiences.
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Combined multiple CTA buttons into a single 'Create' hamburger button

Messaging System

Before design

The Problem

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More navigation tabs
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Email layout is in card format creating bulky UI and too long of a scroll
Client messages solution

The Solution

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Combined email & SMS with a drop down when user hovers over "Messages" tab
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Designed side-by-side preview as user receives new mail and added a filter and search bar
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SMS pop up side bar when clicked on

Coach's Practice

Before design

The Problem

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UX: Same confusing and overwhelming layout
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"My Shop" is unclear
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UI: Difficult to tell what the current page is as every section has same layout and basic color system

The Solution

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For clarity, I changed "My Shop" to "My Practice"
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Designed Coach Practice Profile in preview mode instead of an input system - improving interaction, creativity, and time saved
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Created necessary buttons and call to actions to help guide the coach through the process

10
Reflection

Stay curious
We kept finding ourselves wanting to seek out more. We were reminded how vital it is to ask users questions and gather feedback. It's easy to get caught up in our own perspectives, but engaging with users serves as a constant reminder that we're not designing this platform for ourselves.
Dig deeper
If we had simply refreshed the UI without evaluating the UX, we wouldn't have addressed any of the users' problems. We're glad we delved into the root of the problem. Listening to users has been a game-changer, shaping out approach as a UX designer and motivating us to create designs that truly resonate with and delight the platform's actual users.
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