Designing Real Vision’s net-new platform experience

The Real Vision platform is a significant evolution designed to unify and engage diverse financial communities while enhancing user collaboration and learning experiences. It involved collaboration with key stakeholders and redefined Real Vision's brand identity and platform concept, progressing from wireframes to the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and beyond.




Role

Senior Experience Designer on a team of 15+.
Tools

Figma, Dovetail, Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Azure

Contribution

User Experience, User Interface, Graphic Design, Research, Prototyping, Design System, Documentation

Project Scope

Kickoff – Q4 2022

Brand & Interface Discovery – Q1 2023

Minimum Viable Product – Q2 2023

Version 1 – Q3 2023








The Challenge


How might we transform Real Vision from a siloed media consumption model to a platform that integrates diverse financial communities, encourages discovery, improves engagement, and enhances the learning experience?





Our Members


  • Leveraged RV members' database to gain insight into their issues and demands

  • Engaged in discussions with current members to understand how Real Vision aligns with their lifestyles 

  • Identified driving forces, hopes, and objectives of the members 

  • Adjusted focus to enhance existing offerings and develop new functionalities for the upcoming platform




The Problem

  • Stagnant growth at Real Vision due to low new sign-ups and renewal rates 

  • Users struggled to navigate the platform and find relevant content, leading to frustration and decreased engagement 

  • The community exchange platform was ineffective, hindered interaction, and community building

  • Addressing these challenges is necessary to achieve the envisioned transformative impact for Real Vision 2.0



Our Goals

When looking at the benefit ladder outlined by the CXO we identified that the emotional impact of  RV 2.0 would create the most transfromative value. 

Real Vision 2.0 needed to gives users confidence,  a sense of safety and control,  and belonging & connection.








My Role

The RV 2.0 platform was the most significant project our small but mighty design team had ever undertaken. We divided into squads with members from design, engineering, and product management to tackle the core areas of the platform: Learn, Connect, Analyze, and the Second Brain [AI].

As a senior designer, I played a pivotal role in the experience design team, contributing to the entire project lifecycle from initial wireframes to the launch of Version 1. Initially tasked with the Second Brain system, my role expanded to encompass the analyze and connect dashboards, control center, and creative direction across other critical areas during biweekly collaboration sessions.






Wireframing

  • During the initial discovery phase, detailed wireframes were developed based on the block frames provided by our CXO for platform information architecture and interaction patterns.

  • The focus was on designing the Second Brain ecosystem with an emphasis on note-making for the MVP.

  • Low-fidelity exploration involved referencing Tiago Forte's system and envisioning the ideal note-making feature for the platform.

  • After iterations and collaboration with the team, the quick note feature and a library for notes and bookmarks were finalized.

  • Meanwhile, the internal design and engineering teams worked on delivering a POC while high-fidelity designs and brand re-design were completed.







Brand Discovery

Parallel to platform design Real Vision was also under a major rebrand. Starting off internally our team developed style scapes and researched comparable brands to redefine Real Vision's brand, iterating based on feedback from stakeholders before presenting to our CEO and external branding agency, MetaLab for final explorations.





Individual boards brought to team jam session




Combined team board - presented to CEO, Raoul Pal & branding agency, MetaLab


MetaLab Handoff


Following 8 weeks of design sprints conducted in collaboration with our internal design team led by Director of Product Design, Marco, and with feedback provided by Christine and myself, the ML team produced two key deliverables:
 front-end development.




UI Kit with Principles and Guidelines

A comprehensive set of principles and guidelines were established to ensure consistency and coherence in design across the platform. This kit served as a foundational reference for all design work moving forward.
Screens for Platform Parts: 

The team developed and finalized a file containing screens for various sections of the platform. These screens were iterated upon internally to align with a fixed screen height pattern, optimizing them for front-end development.




Conclusion


Real Vision 2.0 represents a holistic redesign effort aimed at elevating user experience, integrating advanced features, and fostering community engagement within the financial sector. By leveraging collaborative efforts and iterative design principles, the platform aims to serve as a cornerstone for financial education and exploration.




Desktop: Home/Control Center
Mobile: Home/Control Center
Search Filters
Search Screen
Library Dashboard with note panel open
Open note on a mobile device
Desktop: Network dashbaord
Mobile: Network dashboard