Overview 💫

Timeline: September 2023 - December 2023

Industry: Fintech

Key deliverable: Design and development of an intuitive mobile application, from the initial concept to the final implementation.

Client: Atlantic Financial Group

Introduction 👋🏼

About Platon

Platon, created by Atlantic Financial Group, is a Swiss web app offering wealth managers valuable services. It allows for the monitoring of portfolios, assessment and finding of investment ideas through a marketplace, and the pricing assessment of investment ideas. Given the success of the web app, Atlantic Financial Group has decided to launch a mobile version of Platon, aiming to increase flexibility and accessibility for their clients.

Problem 🚧

Constant Mobility

In the fast-paced world of finance, wealth managers are constantly on the move, frequently meeting clients in diverse locations. The necessity to access comprehensive portfolio information instantly and remotely is of great importance for maintaining flexibility and responsiveness to client needs.

Capturing Fleeting Inspiration

Innovative ideas can emerge at any moment, and for wealth managers, the ability to quickly record and evaluate these insights is crucial. The agility to appraise a product idea on the fly ensures that valuable opportunities are captured and not lost in the shuffle of a busy schedule.

Staying Ahead in a Tech-Driven Market

With the competitive landscape of the finance sector evolving, rivals of Atlantic Finance are increasingly embracing mobile technology to enhance their services. In response, Atlantic Finance is committed to leading the charge in adopting cutting-edge solutions, ensuring they not only match but exceed industry standards and client expectations by offering an advanced mobile application.

Goal 🎯

Taking on the Platon project, we aimed to blend sophisticated functionality with an effortless user experience, creating a tool that perfectly aligns with both our users' needs and Platon's strategic objectives.

User-Centric Design Philosophy

To develop a design that deeply connects with our users, we embarked on a dedicated research phase, utilizing user interviews, usability tests, and weekly demos for feedback. This allowed us to thoroughly understand users' workflows and expectations, forming a solid basis for our design decisions. We also created a user flow diagram to streamline the app's navigation and improve user experience.

Furthermore, we delved into financial terminologies, ensuring our ability to communicate effectively with our financially savvy users.

Seamless Experience Across Devices

A critical priority for our client was ensuring a fluid transition between the web version and the mobile application while introducing a fresh design. The Atlantic team was adamant about maintaining the platform's sophisticated and professional ambiance. This required meticulous attention to detail in design and functionality, guaranteeing that users would enjoy a consistent and intuitive experience, regardless of the device. Our focus was on preserving the essence of Atlantic's brand identity, ensuring that the seamless integration did not compromise the distinguished and refined feel of its platform.

Ensuring Collaboration and High-Quality Execution

Our journey to bring Platon to life was marked by close collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, from financial experts to software developers. Regular meetings and iterative feedback loops helped us stay aligned with Platon's vision and adapt to user feedback in real time. This collaborative spirit was crucial in achieving a high-quality execution that meets our rigorous standards and exceeds our users' expectations.

In sum, our goal with Platon was to create an indispensable tool for wealth managers, one that stands out for its efficiency, cross-platform consistency, user-focused design, and collaborative development process.

Key Research Insights 🔎

User Proficiency

Our research highlighted that while our target users excel in their financial expertise, their proficiency with technology varies. They needed a platform that was straightforward to navigate, minimising the learning curve and enabling efficient use from the outset.

Geographic Market Nuances

We discovered significant differences in the financial landscape between France and Switzerland. Not only do financial products and their structuring differ, but wealth managers in these countries prioritize information differently due to the unique products they handle. This insight informed our approach to tailor content presentation and functionality to meet the varied needs of wealth managers across these markets.

Dynamic Information Needs

A key insight was the wealth managers' need for real-time, dynamic information to guide their investment decisions. Specifically, they valued "observations"—scheduled evaluations of structured products that indicate potential income or loss. This feature was essential for wealth managers requiring timely information to advise their clients confidently.

In addition to that, the ability to set customized alerts emerged as a critical feature. Wealth managers stressed the importance of immediate notifications for market movements affecting their portfolios, such as a stock falling below a specific price threshold. This functionality enables them to take swift action, underscoring the need for a responsive and proactive tool in their financial management toolkit.

Marketplace Trust and Engagement

Our client aspired to launch a dynamic marketplace feature where users explore investment ideas. Given these ideas were conceptual and not yet transformed into live products, they naturally lacked the depth of data typically associated with established investments. This scenario introduced a complex challenge: we needed to devise strategies that not only reassured potential buyers about the reliability and potential of these ideas but also actively attracted them to participate in this marketplace. Achieving this balance was crucial in fostering a vibrant community of investors eager to explore and contribute to the platform.

Spotlight on dynamic Information Needs 🔦

The development of the "Events" feature emerged as a pivotal solution to meet the dynamic information needs identified through our discussions with both the client and prospective users.

"Events" are information cards meticulously crafted to inform users about forthcoming observations and provide an analysis of these observations based on the latest market trends. This feature has been strategically positioned at the heart of the homepage, enabling users to swiftly assess potential outcomes and strategize accordingly. To enhance rapid comprehension, a color-coding system was implemented: a green outline indicates a favorable outcome where the user is likely to profit, while a red outline signals a potential shortfall at the upcoming observation date.

Additionally, we introduced a dedicated "Events" tab, offering users a comprehensive overview of their portfolio's health and performance at a glance.

Addressing wealth managers' needs for efficiency, we integrated a filter feature to streamline the search process for upcoming client meetings. This allows for a focused view of events related to a specific client's portfolio, facilitating quick and informed decision-making. This innovation underscores our commitment to providing a tool that not only enhances financial management but also optimizes user experience by prioritizing speed and accessibility in information retrieval.

Once clicked each event takes the user directly to the product it is related to.

We conducted iterative testing with multiple design prototypes to evaluate the effectiveness of the feature among users. This process enabled us to gather valuable feedback and make continuous improvements, refining the feature until we achieved user satisfaction.

Final design ✨

Some of the final design screens

Design system & UI kit

Design continuation and documentation are crucial aspects of our work, serving as the foundation for sustained growth and evolution of the projects I undertake. Recognizing this, we always provide a UI kit and a design system along with the designs.

The design system serves as the atomic structure of the design, encompassing foundational elements like typography, colors, and more, ensuring visual coherence throughout the project. Meanwhile, the UI kit acts as the molecular structure, comprising compound components like buttons, form elements, and others, maintaining functional consistency. This approach fosters smooth transitions and paves the way for design continuity.

Development 👨🏽‍💻

Once the design and UI kit were completed, our team of developers was able to start building the UI kit and assembling the different pieces to form the final rendering: the Platon application, available on iOS and Android. This work was carried out in parallel with the design and research work to allow for non-blocking development. In this way, we were able to deliver the mobile application in record time.