Crust Personal
Consumer Fintech Mobile App
Taking over a live fintech product mid-flight and designing the savings system that helped it grow from 2,000 to 10,000+ downloads.
Consumer Fintech
Industry
iOS, Android
Platform
Project Overview
Crust Personal is a consumer fintech app built to help everyday users manage their money, save toward goals, and grow their finances with clarity. When I joined the project, the foundation was already in place, but the core savings experience was incomplete, the goal-setting flow lacked structure, and users weren't following through on the financial commitments they started. I came in as the primary designer and took the product the majority of the way, owning the goal-based savings system, the account setup experience, and several key dashboard flows.
The Challenge
Users weren't failing to save because they lacked the intention. They were failing because the product didn't make the path clear enough. How much do I save each week? What happens if I miss a contribution? What do I actually earn at the end? These weren't edge case questions, they were the first things users needed to know, and the experience wasn't answering them. On the business side, low goal completion rates meant low retention. Users who started goals but didn't finish them had little reason to come back. The product needed to become something people felt accountable to, not just something they downloaded and forgot.
"Saving is a behavioral system, not just a financial action. Clarity, structure, and feedback are what keep people in the game."
My Role & Approach
What I owned
I inherited this product from designers who had laid the early groundwork, which meant I had to understand what existed, what was missing, and what needed to be rebuilt before I could move forward. That context-gathering phase shaped every decision I made after it. I owned the goal-based savings system, account setup, and key dashboard flows end-to-end.
How I approached it
I treated the savings experience as a system first and a set of screens second. That meant mapping contribution logic, defining goal states, and thinking through edge cases, partial funding, early exits, missed timelines, before touching a single component. The visual design came after the structure was sound.
The goal saving progress view — where users track how far they've come, what they've earned, and what completing the goal looks like from here.
Strict goal completion logic
A goal on Crust Personal is only considered complete when the full target amount is reached within the set timeline. No partial credit. Partial success creates ambiguity, users aren't sure whether they succeeded or failed, and that ambiguity weakens the behavioural loop. Strict completion logic is less forgiving, but it reinforces the commitment that makes savings actually work.
Transparent returns, conditions, and penalties
Instead of hiding the details until they matter, I surfaced them upfront, expected returns, interest breakdown, and what happens if a goal falls short. In fintech, the moment users feel surprised by a penalty or confused about an outcome is the moment they stop trusting the product. Transparency here wasn't just ethical, it was a retention decision.
Realistic projections over optimistic estimates
It would have been easy to show users the best-case scenario and let them feel good about starting a goal. I pushed against that. Crust Personal shows realistic projections, what you'll actually earn based on your contributions and timeline, not an inflated number designed to drive sign-ups. The trade-off is a less emotionally exciting setup screen. The gain is a product users can trust when the numbers land.
Post-maturity flexibility
Once a goal matures, users can choose automatic withdrawal or take manual action. Some users want the money moved for them, others want to feel in control of the moment. Giving both options respects different financial personalities without adding meaningful complexity to the system.
Outcomes & Reflection
A landing page was designed for decision-makers to position Gearset as a transformative Salesforce DevOps tool, highlighting growth, credibility, and ROI.
My process included research, user-centered design, and visual storytelling, incorporating Gearset’s branding and feedback for iterative refinement. Key features include a bold hero graphic, growth milestones, client logos, DevOps benefits, and ROI testimonials.
The design ensures efficient navigation, clear messaging, and engagement, with scalable assets for web and social media. The outcome is a compelling, clean page that builds confidence in Gearset’s adoption while addressing decision-makers’ key concerns.
