📊 FinLearn: Financial Literacy for the Next Generation

🏆 2nd Place Winner at the She Innovates Hackathon (Sponsored by PNC Bank)

Product Lead | UI Lead

FinLearn is a scalable financial literacy platform designed to bridge the education gap for teenagers and young adults. Developed in a high-pressure 30-hour sprint, the platform transforms complex financial jargon into a gamified, digestible experience to help users navigate savings, budgeting, and debt management.

🔗 Project Link

Live Prototype: FinLearn (or https://shrutijmali08.wixstudio.com/my-site-1)

🚀 The Challenge

Financial instability often stems from a lack of foundational knowledge during formative years. Our team was challenged to build a solution that reduces the barrier of entry for "financial beginners" while maintaining high engagement under a strict 30-hour deadline.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Platform: Wix Studio (Rapid Prototyping & Deployment)
• Styling: Custom CSS (For high-fidelity UI/UX and brand consistency)
• Data: Content Management System (Wix Studio built-in)
• Integrations: RSS Financial News Feed

📸 Interface Gallery

(Click on images to enlarge)

✨ Key Features

• Real-Time Expense Tracker: A simplified ledger for users to log income (allowances, part-time jobs) and visualize spending habits.

• Personalized Wishlist Tool: An interactive UX feature that connects daily budgeting to long-term goals, showing users exactly how their spending impacts their big purchase dreams.

• Modular Learning Framework: Lessons on debt management and market trends broken down into bite-sized modules to prevent cognitive overload.

• Accessible UI: High-contrast design and intuitive navigation specifically tailored for a teen demographic.

🚧 Project Status: Hackathon Proof-of-Concept

As this platform was developed within a 30-hour competitive sprint, it serves as a functional UI/UX prototype rather than a fully deployed production application.

• State Management: Core features like the Wishlist and Expense Tracker are implemented as front-end simulations. While the UI logic is present, persistent data storage (Database) was out of scope for the initial sprint.

• Database Architecture: The project includes a lightweight Content Management System (CMS), the build-in databases collections, schema design intended for future integration with a live backend.

• Purpose: The primary goal was to demonstrate Information Architecture, User Flow, and Visual Fidelity to stakeholders within the time limit.

🧠 Technical & Design Insights

⚡ Rapid Feature Prioritization

As the Product & UI Lead, I managed the development cycle by utilizing a MoSCoW (Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, Won't-have) framework. This allowed us to pivot from a broad concept to a functional MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that focused on the most "painful" user problems first.

🎨 Design-to-Dev Efficiency

To meet the 30-hour deadline without sacrificing visual quality, I implemented a modular design system in Wix Studio including Custom CSS.

📈 HCI-Driven IA

The information architecture was designed using User-Centered Design (UCD) principles. We simplified "bank-speak" into actionable steps, ensuring that users with zero financial background could navigate the platform without feeling intimidated.

🏆 Recognition

• 2nd Place Overall: Awarded by a panel of judges from PNC Bank.

• Criteria: Recognized for excellence in usability, solution quality, and technical execution within the competition timeframe.

📔Contact Me

I’m a UI/UX Engineer & HCI Researcher passionate about bridging the gap between robust engineering and intentional design.

• View My Full Portfolio: https://github.com/shruti-mali08/shruti-portfolio 🚀

• LinkedIn: Shruti Mali 💼

• Email: shrutijmali08@gmail.com 📧