Projects
Project Overview
This project focused on analysing competitor digital banking features and understanding customer behaviour to identify opportunities for improving Lloyds’ digital banking experience.
The goal was to research how users track spending, manage budgets, and share expenses while identifying ways to create a more user-friendly and personalised banking experience.
My Role
UX Researcher & Junior UX Designer
Timeline
2 Weeks
Tools Used
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Figma
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Research Analysis
The Problem
Customers increasingly expect digital banking apps to provide more than just transactions. Users now want budgeting tools, spending insights, personalised recommendations, and easy ways to manage shared expenses.
Research showed that many users struggled with:
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Limited spending breakdowns
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Lack of personalised budgeting support
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Difficulty tracking spending habits
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Limited financial visualisation tools
The challenge was to identify how Lloyds could improve its digital banking experience while maintaining a simple and intuitive interface.
Competitor Research
Competitor 1 – NovaBank
Feature:
SpendTrack
SpendTrack is a spending management feature that automatically categorises expenses and creates monthly spending reports.
Key Features
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Real-time spending alerts
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Custom spending categories
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External account integration
UX Findings
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Clean and simple interface
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Strong visual hierarchy
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Easy navigation and readability
Key Insight
Users value real-time financial visibility and personalised spending insights.
Competitor 2 – FinEdge
Feature:
ShareEasy
ShareEasy is a bill-sharing feature that allows users to split expenses with friends and family.
Key Features
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Automated reminders
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Flexible payment splitting
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Secure transactions
UX Findings
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Very fast and intuitive user flow
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Minimal steps required to complete actions
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User-friendly transaction process
Key Insight
Users prioritise convenience and simplicity when managing shared finances.
Competitor 3 – SecureFunds
Feature: MoneyMate
MoneyMate is an all-in-one money management tool with budgeting, spending analysis, and financial insights.
Key Features
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Budgeting advice
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Overspending alerts
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Data visualisation tools
UX Findings
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Comprehensive dashboard
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Strong financial analytics
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Slightly more complex navigation
Key Insight
Users appreciate detailed financial insights but can feel overwhelmed by excessive information.
Research Findings
Average Monthly Transactions:
150 transactions per user
Most Common Spending Categories:
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Groceries
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Entertainment
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Utilities
Peak Usage Times:
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Evenings
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Weekends
Customer Feedback
Positive Feedback:
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Users liked the clean interface
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Customers found the app easy to navigate
Areas for Improvement:
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More detailed spending breakdowns
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Better budgeting support
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Improved financial tracking features
User
Sarah
Busy Young Professional
Age
27
Goals
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Track monthly spending more effectively
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Improve budgeting habits
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Easily split bills with friends
Frustrations
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Difficult to see where money is being spent
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Lack of personalised insights
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Spending categories are too broad
Behaviour
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Uses mobile banking daily
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Frequently shops online
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Wants quick and simple financial tools
Design Solution
Based on the research, I proposed a redesigned digital banking experience focused on:
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Smart spending tracking
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Personalised budgeting insights
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Real-time alerts
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Simplified bill sharing
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Clear financial dashboards
Proposed Features
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Spending categorisation
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Monthly financial summaries
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Visual spending charts
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Budget goal tracking
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Shared payment requests
Reflection
This project helped me strengthen my UX research and analytical thinking skills. I learned how competitor research and customer insights can directly influence product decisions and improve user experiences.
One of the biggest lessons from this project was understanding the importance of balancing functionality with simplicity. While users want advanced financial tools, they also expect experiences to remain intuitive and easy to use.
If I continued this project, I would conduct usability testing and create interactive prototypes to further improve the experience.
Project 2
Project Overview
Project Type
Self-Initiated UX Design Case
Study
Role
UX Researcher and UX Designer
Duration
2 weeks
Tools
Figma
Canva
Problem Statement
Many Sephora customers prefer purchasing beauty products in-store, particularly when testing shades, fragrances, or skincare items before buying. However, the current app experience does not allow users to quickly determine whether a product is available in their nearest store. Customers may spend time travelling only to discover the item is out of stock.This creates frustration, wasted journeys, and accessibility barriers for customers who have limited mobility, busy schedules, or rely on public transport.The objective of this project was to design an in-app feature that enables customers to check product availability at nearby stores before visiting.
Research
From experience
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Users want reassurance that products are available before travelling.
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Customers value convenience and efficiency.
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Accessibility should be considered for people who cannot easily visit multiple stores.
Competitor Analysis
I reviewed retailers that offer local stock visibility including:
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• Boots
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• Zara
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• Apple
Findings
Customers appreciate being able to:
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Check local stock levels
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Reserve products
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See estimated restock dates
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Filter stores by distance
User
Emily Carter
Age:
25
Occupation:
Marketing Assistant
Goals:
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Purchase beauty products quickly
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Avoid unnecessary trips
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Reserve items in advance
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Frustrations
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Travelling to stores without finding products
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No visibility of nearby stock
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Difficulty shopping around work commitments
User Journey Current Experience
Search product
↓
Visit Sephora store
↓
Item unavailable
↓
Leave disappointed
Improved Experience
Search product
↓
View nearby stock
↓
Reserve item
↓
Visit store
↓
Collect purchase
Design Solution
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Feature Name
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StoreStock
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The proposed feature allows customers to check stock availability in nearby Sephora stores directly from a product page.
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Features
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Live inventory updates
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Store distance information
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Low stock warnings
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Reserve for collection option
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Restock notifications
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Accessible colour indicators
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GreenIn stock
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YellowLimited availability
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RedOut of stock
Benefits
Reduces unnecessary travel
Improves accessibility for customers with disabilities or limited mobility
Creates a smoother shopping experience
Encourages more in-store purchases
Builds customer trust and satisfaction
Reflection
This project strengthened my understanding of accessibility, customer pain points, and user-centred design.
I learned that small features can significantly improve convenience and customer satisfaction.
If I continued this project, I would conduct usability testing with Sephora customers and create an interactive prototype to validate the design decisions.
Lloyds Bank - Improving Digital Banking UX for Better Financial Management
Sketch 1 — Improved Lloyds Home/Dashboard
The idea is that customers can understand their finances without having to search through transactions.
Sketch 2 — Spending Tracker
This directly responds to your research finding: Customers wanted more detailed spending breakdowns.
Sketch 3 — Budget
Sketch 4 - Bill Sharing
This is the users competitor-inspired feature.
Sketch 5 — Financial Insights
Decision 1 — Detailed spending breakdownsCustomer research showed that users wanted more detailed information about their spending. I therefore introduced clearer spending categories and visual summaries to make financial information easier to understand at a glance.
Decision 2 — Simple dashboardCompetitor research showed that detailed financial information can become overwhelming. I therefore prioritised the most important information on the dashboard while allowing users to explore more detailed insights when needed.
Decision 3 — Bill splittingCompetitor analysis identified bill sharing as an increasingly useful digital banking feature. I designed a simple flow that allows users to select people, split an amount and send a payment request with minimal steps.
Decision 4 — Personalised insightsCustomer usage data showed high levels of everyday spending across groceries, entertainment and utilities. I used these patterns to introduce personalised insights that could help customers understand and manage their spending.
Sephora - Website and App UX Case Study
This shows the Sehora website if a user was to search for a product in this instance we have chosen the Rhode Glazing Milk which is one of Sephoras best sellers. It currently shows that the glazing milk is instock and highlighted green to show to the user that it is available to purchase.
The diagram below shows that the 50ml is in stock however the 124ml is out of stock and is highlighted in red to show to the user that it is currently unavavailbe to order online.
However to make this even more efficient if the user would like this particular product urgently as they made it for a particular occasion to save time adding a option to see the nearest stores stock would be beneficial. Below is. sketch of how this can be shown.
This will help time being consumed as well as disappointment for the user making it easily efficient and accessible for all users.