Seald app.

Overview

Trying to grasp basic financial concepts when financial literacy isn’t taught in school can be overwhelming, complicated, and embarrassing. When students first move out, the busyness of school and life can take over, and spending can easily get out of control. 

 

Seald is a preemptive envelope budgeting system app to prevent overspending, modeled after Apple’s Wallet app. People already make frequent use of the wallet app; it is digital card storage with a simple and intuitive design. With Seald, users connect a bank account or credit card to the app, and decide how much money they want to allocate to each envelope. Envelopes are customizable; users decide on the category (such as groceries, gas, and dining out), and how much goes in each envelope. Users pay through the app, just like the wallet app, but instead of tapping on a card to pay, users tap on the appropriate envelope and the transaction amount is deducted from that envelope. Users can refill the envelopes at their discretion with money from their linked accounts.

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Target Audience

• Newly independent young adults who have just moved out, probably have part time and/or summer jobs, and are likely attending post-secondary. They are too busy to remember to track their spending, even though they really should be. 

• Age: 18-25

• Income: varied, mostly hold part-time jobs and have student loans.  

• Limited financial literacy. 

• Tech-savvy 

• Lead busy lives and seek financial independence 

• They value simplicity, customization, empowerment, education, and convenience. 

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Objective

To develop a user-friendly app that enables young adults to manage their money by preventing overspending and automatically tracking transactions. 

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Minimal Viable Product 

Paying for transactions directly from users’ bank accounts through a digital envelope budgeting system. 

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Value proposition 

Apps that really solve problems should save users time, and not create more of a headache. Seald effectively:

• Removes tedious logging

• Links to bank accounts 

• Has no unnecessary features 

• Focuses on simplicity 

• Has no learning curve 

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Tools and Software

• Figma

• Adobe Illustrator

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Deliverables

• Brand identity 

  • Logo

  • Colour palette

  • Typefaces

  • Illustration

• App prototype

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Competitors 

The research process began by downloading existing financial apps and finding caveats that Seald could address. Main competitor apps are “You Need A Budget” and “Goodbudget”. Both require manual entry of each transaction in order to track spending, which is tedious and discourages long-term use. An app shouldn’t feel like a chore. YNAB was rated as the top budgeting app, but it is overly complex and has a steep learning curve. Goodbudget is more similar to Seald because it also uses a digital envelope budgeting system, but with Goodbudget, you can’t link your actual cards. Goodbudget’s UVP centers around being able to track budgets for entire households. It is an app geared toward families, whereas Seald targets young adults. 

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Visual identity 

The logo combines a lock and envelope. Envelope imagery is carried throughout the brand, referencing the budget system that the app is based on. The lock alludes to restraining your purchases and having control over your finances. It also evokes privacy and security sentiments, which works to assure users that their financial data is safe. 

 

Consistent strokes outline 2D illustrations and drop shadows are used to give the shapes dimension. The app screens follow a three-column grid system to maintain consistency and rhythm. Hierarchy is created through type size and weight. Proxima Nova is the chosen sans serif typeface, as its highly legible letterforms are well-suited to user-friendly digital design. 

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Conclusion

Our attention is finite and much of it is stolen by counter-productive distractions. Through the identification of caveats in existing finance apps, the development of a cohesive visual identity, and a focus on creating a prototype around the minimal viable product, Seald is a way in which technology can instead be used with purpose to solve real problems.