Mobile • 3 months • Q4 2024

From banking app to business partner

Project details

My role

Lead Product Designer responsible for end-to-end delivery. From framing the problem, planning and executing research, leading workshops and ideation, to prototyping, validation, and shipping. I also updated and extended the design system to support the new UI components.

The team

I worked as part of a product trio (myself, Product Manager, Lead Developer) within a cross-functional team of five, including two developers. We collaborated daily to shape and test solutions, involving both developers and key stakeholders throughout discovery and design to gather input and perspective.

Overview

Most users saw Countingup as just a business bank account, unaware it also offered powerful built-in accounting tools. This project set out to change that. By redesigning the home screen, we aimed to shift user perception, surface key business insights like tax estimates and upcoming deadlines, and drive engagement with features proven to boost retention. The result was a home experience that helped users see Countingup not just as a bank, but as a powerful accounting assistant, and a clear uplift in key behaviours followed.

Key outcomes

2.7×

more users performed a key accounting action, like updating a category

1.3×

more users completed account setup actions

2.5×

more users viewed tax tools like Tax Estimate, Tax Pot and Tax Timeline.

1.6×

more users activated their card within 30days of receipt

What I led

Research & insight

Mapped the gap between user behaviour, needs and market trends

  • Co-developed and executed a discovery plan with Product and Engineering

  • Launched a user survey and conducted 10 in-depth user interviews

  • Analysed product analytics to surface key behavioural drop-offs

  • Ran a card sorting exercise to prioritise what users most wanted surfaced

  • Benchmarked competitor apps to uncover emerging design patterns and user expectations

Strategy & alignment

Brought the wider business onboard to de-risk change

  • Designed and facilitated workshops with C-suite and key stakeholders.

  • Ran an assumptions mapping exercise to align and prioritise risk

  • Co-created success metrics with cross functional team

Design, validation & delivery

Owned the end-to-end design process, from first sketch to dev-ready

  • Led ideation sessions and created multiple home screen concepts

  • A/B tested design routes through unmoderated testing with target users

  • Synthesised feedback to refine UI and inform prioritisation

  • Integrated final components into the design system and collaborated with devs on implementation