Portfolio

Created for GrC 429: Mobile User Experience

For my mobile experience design class here at Cal Poly, I decided to make a budgeting app. I wanted to design an app that made budgeting simple for young adults and college students. Lots of budgeting apps on the apple store have a lot of features that are kind of overwhelming to try and understand, so I made my app simpler than most on the app store, as it is meant for beginners.

Abstract

Budget.ly provides users a way to monitor their spending. With Budget.ly, the user can set a monthly spending limit at the beginning of each month. The app will track your purchases and alert you when you are close to hitting your spending limit. The app also allows the user to set a budget for different categories (gas, food, entertainment, etc.)

Audience

Budget.ly is designed for young adults who are just learning how to budget with adult salaries. It is also aimed towards the lower and middle class. The app targets both male and females, from ages 18-30. The app can be used for people older and younger than that age range, but it's designs and branding will be targeted towards the young adult crowd. The physical attributes of our users do not matter to the app. The target user would be a younger person who is in college and/or just graduated college, and is trying to learn how to manage their money for the first time. The app will teach the user about budgeting - so older people are going to be less likely to use it, as it will be too simple for them. Our target user will also be used to technology and will learn how to use the features fairly quickly, as they are most likely a part of Gen-Z or a millennial, and those age groups grew up using technology.

User Persona

Summer is a 23 year old graphic designer who recently graduated from Cal Poly last spring. She is very excited to start her new job at Facebook, but does not know how to manage her new income. She is spending too much money on takeout and not saving enough for bills. She is looking for a better way to manage her new income, and to learn how to budget her money like an adult.

Goals:

Divide monthly income into categories that she can budget for

Set a monthly spending cap

Start putting a certain amount of money into savings every month

Learn more tips about how much money she should budget for each category

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