UX/UI Design · Mobile App Design · Usability Testing
Due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), I’m unable to share visual assets or specific interface screens from this project. This case study focuses on my process, thinking, and the impact of the work.
Banking apps are part of people’s daily routines—but they’re rarely designed that way.
In this project, I worked on a full usability assessment and redesign of the Universo banking app, with the goal of making everyday financial actions faster, clearer, and less frustrating.
Using a design thinking approach, we iterated across four waves of research, design, and validation—continuously aligning the product with real user expectations.
At first glance, the app was functional.
But when we looked closer, the experience told a different story.
Through research, a pattern emerged: users weren’t struggling because features were missing—they were struggling because everything felt harder than it should be.
Key friction points included:
A cluttered homepage that overwhelmed users instead of guiding them
A fragmented menu structure that increased navigation time
Payment and transfer flows that felt unintuitive
Login processes that didn’t meet modern expectations (e.g. biometrics)
The real issue wasn’t usability in isolation.
It was cognitive load across the entire experience.
So the challenge became:
How do we make everyday banking feel effortless, not operational?
Starting from people, not screens
We began with a deep dive into user behavior.
I contributed to research involving 86 users—both existing clients and potential customers—through:
Surveys
Focus groups
Netnography (observing real user conversations and behaviors online)
This wasn’t just about identifying problems, but understanding context:
→ When do users open a banking app?
→ What are they trying to accomplish quickly?
→ Where does frustration actually happen?
Reframing the experience
One key insight shaped the entire direction:
Users don’t explore banking apps—they execute tasks.
This shifted our design priorities:
From feature visibility → to task completion
From information density → to clarity and hierarchy
From static structure → to flexible, user-centered flows
Simplifying without losing control
During ideation, I worked across different user groups (clients, prospects, mixed) to co-create solutions.
Instead of adding more features, we focused on removing friction:
Reorganizing the homepage to highlight only what matters
Grouping key actions (like transfers and payments) to reduce navigation
Introducing customization for frequently used elements
Making critical actions immediately visible and accessible
Every decision was driven by one principle:
reduce the number of steps between intention and action.
Designing and testing iteration
We didn’t aim for a “perfect solution” upfront.
Instead, I worked on multiple prototype variations, each exploring different ways to:
Structure information
Prioritize features
Guide user flows
Through A/B testing and continuous feedback loops, we validated what actually worked—not what we assumed would work.
This iterative approach allowed us to progressively refine the experience, grounding every design decision in real user behavior.
Making complexity feel simple (payments & security)
Two areas required particular attention: payments and login.
For payments:
We simplified data input flows
Introduced saved recipients
Improved visibility of payment methods
For login:
We aligned the experience with modern standards
Integrated biometric authentication (Face ID, fingerprint)
Reduced friction in password management
In both cases, the goal wasn’t just usability—it was trust and confidence.
The redesign led to measurable improvements across usability and perception:
SUS Score: 72 → indicating a solid level of usability
70% of users preferred the new menu structure
52% of users favored the redesigned homepage for clarity and visual hierarchy
NPS increased, showing higher user satisfaction and willingness to recommend
Beyond metrics, the experience became:
Faster to navigate
Easier to understand
More aligned with real user behavior
This project reinforced a fundamental principle in my work:
Usability is not about simplifying the interface—it’s about simplifying decisions.
I learned how to:
Identify cognitive overload across complex systems
Design for task-based experiences rather than feature-based ones
Use iteration and validation as core design tools, not just checkpoints
Most importantly, it showed me that even in highly structured domains like banking,
small improvements in clarity can create a significant impact on user trust and satisfaction.
Note: Visual designs and detailed UI screens are not included due to NDA constraints. I’d be happy to walk through the project and design decisions in more detail during a conversation.