Overview
Banking that gets out of your way.
Lumen came to me with a fast-growing user base but stagnating engagement. The app worked, but it felt heavy and anxious — too many numbers, no hierarchy, no warmth. The brief was simple to say and hard to do: make people feel in control of their money in under five seconds.
I owned the end-to-end redesign — from research and information architecture through to a shipped, documented design system that the in-house team now extends on their own.
The Challenge
A trusted product that felt untrustworthy.
Usability sessions surfaced a clear pattern: people couldn't answer the one question that mattered — "Am I okay?" Balances competed with promotions, transactions blurred together, and key actions were buried two taps deep. Trust was leaking at exactly the moments it mattered most.
- 01
No visual hierarchy — every number shouted at the same volume.
- 02
Core actions (transfer, pay, freeze card) were hard to find under nested menus.
- 03
Inconsistent components slowed the team and confused users.
- 04
Onboarding dropped 38% of new users before their first transaction.
The Solution
Calm hierarchy, confident actions.
We rebuilt the home screen around a single, glanceable "safe-to-spend" number, demoted noise, and surfaced the three actions people use most. A new component library brought consistency, and a softer, warmer visual language replaced the cold corporate blues.
- Glanceable home screen anchored on a single key number.
- Action bar with the three most-used tasks, always one tap away.
- A 60-component design system with tokens and documentation.
- Re-sequenced onboarding with progressive disclosure.
Results
The numbers after launch
"Alex translated a vague idea into a product our users genuinely love. The clearest, calmest designer we've worked with." — Sara Monteiro, CEO of Lumen
Want results like these?
Tell me about your product and what's getting in the way. Let's make it feel effortless.