Pixel and Persona
DREAMS
About
Dreams makes saving, investing, and debt repayment simple by using behavioral science to build better financial habits.
Tools
Figma
Miro
Challenge
How can Dreams understand customer needs and tailor the upsell and cross-sell experiences in the app?
Timeline
3 weeks
2021
My role
Research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and broader design decisions.
Team
Fellow students
Introduction
Founded in Sweden 2013, Dreams is a consumer fintech platform that applies behavioral science to simplify saving, investing, and debt management.
The brief
The challenge was to solve the following question and present a prototype to illustrate the solution:
How can Dreams understand our customers’ needs and tailor the upsell and cross-sell experiences based on this in our app?
In addition to the prototype, we also delivered a written report and a pitch presentation for the stakeholders.
Understanding the challenge
We began by interviewing Dreams' stakeholders to gain insights into the challenge from their perspective.
To fully understand the problem, we explored both the needs of existing customers and potential users.
Identifying these needs would enable us to tailor product offerings and anticipate future demands.
Cracking the code: user insights
After aligning with Dreams' stakeholders and understanding their perspectives on the challenge, we shifted our focus to the customer experience.
To gather user insights, we designed two Google Forms surveys—one targeting current app users and another for non-users of the app. These were distributed via social media, personal networks, and student communities, resulting in 120 responses that provided both quantitative data and qualitative insights.
To further explore user motivations and perceptions of savings apps, we conducted five in-depth interviews with non-users. While we aimed also to interview existing and former users, we were unable to reach them directly. However, their perspectives were represented within the survey findings.
The interviews were conducted both in person and over the phone, following a structured question guide with the flexibility to pursue follow-up questions in a semi-structured format, allowing for a deeper exploration of user behavior and attitudes.
Key take aways from surveys and interviews
Motivation is key for starting to save or pay off debts.
Saving or paying off debts together with someone else keeps you motivated
A combination of encouragement and engagement keeps users loyal
How Might We
In this project, we successfully gathered a substantial amount of data, which we distilled into eight key areas of interest, as shown below.
Rather than defining them as "problem areas," we reframed our insights into how-might-we questions to identify opportunities for design improvement.
While many areas sparked interest, we needed to focus. After a team vote, we selected three key statements to prioritize.
How Might We motivate users to keep using Dreams long-term?
How Might We activate the non-active users?
How Might We create an excellent customer experience where users feel engaged and safe with sharing information?
Our three hypothesis
Group saving or paying off debts together with someone else keeps you motivated.
A mascot can be a powerful business tool, enhancing user engagement and brand connection.
A budget tracker can help people understanding their finacial behaviours.
Group saving
Our research showed that group saving is a powerful motivator! People are more likely to start and stick with saving when there’s a sense of accountability to others.
Since Dreams wanted to improve how they upsell and cross-sell within the app, we asked ourselves: What if we could tap into the power of group saving while guiding users toward fund saving for their bigger, long-term dreams? Could we make it easier—and more appealing—for users to shift from short-term saving to investing? We thought so.
We believed that introducing a friendly, well-timed feature—like a pop-up that explains fund saving and offers encouragement—could inspire more users to get started.
Of course, this approach could be just as valuable for other types of saving too.
A Mascot
We aimed to create a more personalized and welcoming experience for Dreams users, helping them feel comfortable in a space that many find intimidating; the world of finance!
Our goal was to make saving in funds, and debt repayment feel less daunting and more approachable. To do this, we explored the idea of introducing a friendly mascot to guide users through financial decisions and challenges. We believed that a mascot could not only humanize the app but also encourage users to explore more features and stay motivated.
Through extensive research, we discovered that mascots are more than just a playful addition. They can be a powerful business tool, enhancing user engagement and brand connection.
Budget Tracker
Several people we interviewed wanted a clearer picture of their financial situation—they were looking for an easy way to track income and expenses to help them save more effectively through Dreams.
Even though we liked this concept as a team, we had limited time and felt it wasn’t the strongest of our three hypotheses. The stakeholders agreed during one of our meetings, so we decided to set this idea aside and focus on the other two.
That said, the idea of helping users better understand their finances stuck with us, and we included a simplified version of this feature in our final prototype.
We ran two rounds of user testing on separate Figma prototypes, gathering insights to refine the experience at each stage.
Here’s a breakdown of the key steps we took that led to the high-fidelity prototype we presented to Dreams’ stakeholders.
To help Dreams connect more deeply with users, we proposed a mascot to ease onboarding and guide users throughout the customer journey.
We also focused on re-engaging inactive users through personalization. By asking a few key questions upfront, the app could tailor content, recommend relevant services, and unlock hidden product opportunities for users.
Meet the Money Fairy
Our survey showed that users feel most at ease talking about finances with someone they trust; a friend or someone who is knowledgeable about money.
So, we asked ourselves: Why not give them both?
Enter the money fairy: a friendly mascot designed to offer financial tips with a personal touch. The fairy addresses users by name and adapts the level of guidance based on how much support the user wants.
By answering a few quick questions during onboarding, users can decide how chatty or hands-off the fairy will be.
A familiar face and tailored advice = a more comfortable, motivating journey through the app.
Group Saving (with a little nudge)
Users are more motivated to save when they do it together.
To tap into this, we combined group saving with a bit of personalized encouragement from our mascot.
Throughout the customer journey, the mascot helps users discover additional features, like fund saving, while offering motivation, cheers, and well-timed nudges.
The goal: make saving feel social, supportive, and a little more fun.
Debt management (stronger together!)
Our research showed that both existing and potential Dreams users were highly interested in tools for managing debt.
Knowing that people are more motivated when working together, we introduced the option to create shared debt plans with other users right from the start.
To keep momentum high, we also designed an optional step-by-step plan, helping users stay on track toward becoming debt-free—together.
Success stories
From our interviews, we learned that recommendations are one of the biggest reasons people download apps
Motivation is crucial when it comes to saving money or tackling debt.
Debt can feel isolating, so we introduced a feature that allows users to share their success stories, with a little encouragement from our mascot.
The goal is to inspire users to celebrate their progress while motivating others to take that next step.
Our final suggestions
Your friendly guide (and a nudge)
Results and stakeholder feedback
After three intense weeks of research, design, and testing, we presented our high-fidelity prototype and a detailed report to Dreams' stakeholders.
“A really, really good presentation and awesome work!"
Samare Jarf / Dreams / Senior product manager
“I really think you have found a lot of really good parts. I feel as a client that you have found things we should be doing.
Samare Jarf / Dreams / Senior product manager
“I like your success stories and everything about the mascot.”
Samare Jarf / Dreams / Senior product manager
Final thoughts
Dreams responded positively to our work. Their main feedback? They wished we had focused more deeply on one hypothesis. We understood their point, but chose to show how everything connected. This is because for us, the system only made sense as a whole.
With more time, we would have tested the fairy mascot further. No users reacted negatively, but we’re curious if that would change with more exposure. Is a fairy the best fit for Dreams, or could we do even better?
We also encouraged Dreams to personalize their notifications, not just for users who struggle, but to celebrate those who succeed. We strongly pushed for success stories, and it’s exciting to see they’ve already started incorporating them.
I’m proud of what our group achieved in just three weeks. It was intense but worth it! Especially when seeing real changes in the app today. I hope Dreams keeps building on this, maybe even giving that fairy a future!