Fidelity Investment
- Fidelity Center for Applied Technology
Location: Boston
Timeline: July 2022-April 2024
Design Team:
Yihao Kong - Design Lead
Josephine Holmboe - Design VP
Tess Wilde - Project Manager
Akanksa Upadhyay - Research Manager
Although I am unable to disclose full project details due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA),
I am excited to showcase selected design sprint outcomes that informed the final product derived from Fidelity Youth.
Project Overview
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As part of the design team at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technologies, I led human-centered design methods to a derivative product based on Fidelity Youth.
My work focused on a learning feature that uses scenario-based simulations to help young users understand complex financial habits, where each decision results in observable consequences. Insights from user research directly informed the design direction and user engagement strategy.​​
Original Fidelity Youth UI
Problem Scope
Low-income children are not learning about money. This is a growing problem in the United States, and it’s only becoming more polarized as higher economic classes make more and lower economic classes make less.
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This dynamic increases the likelihood that children from low-income families will grow into poor adults, perpetuating intergenerational poverty. A lack of financial knowledge makes it exceedingly difficult to break free from this cycle.
Research - Key Statistics​
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- 18% of U.S. adolescents
live below the federal poverty line
- Almost half of Americans (49%)
say their emotions have caused them to spend more than they can afford
- Low-income children are 6x more likely to live in poverty in adulthood
- Predatory loans often target low-income communities with interest rates reaching an average APR of up to 400%
Research - Key Insights​​​
- Value Of A Dollar
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Understanding how far a dollar can go and the effort required to earn that dollar is extremely important for children because it instills the understanding of trading time for money, determination, and financial management skills.​
- Low-Risk Failure
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Allowing a child to fail in a low-risk environment has tremendous upside potential. Research has shown us that when children can make mistakes and find their own solutions, their self-confidence and problem-solving skills will dramatically increase.
- Feedback Loops
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Parents want to know how their kids are progressing and where they need help. A feedback loop between the child and a parent could be helpful for parents to understand the child’s progress, which can help them identify areas of growth before it's too late.
- Long-Term Thinking
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Teaching long-term thinking to children is essential for helping them develop a sense of responsibility.
This can include preparing them for the consequences of their choices and decisions to assisting them in maximizing one of the best advantages they have: time.
- Wants Vs. Needs
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Children need to understand the difference between their wants and needs so they can make informed decisions about spending money.
With so little additional discretionary income, they need to know how to budget and prioritize their purchases without using real money.
Problem Scope
Low-income children are not learning about money. This is a growing problem in the United States, and it’s only becoming more polarized as higher economic classes make more and lower economic classes make less.
​
This dynamic increases the likelihood that children from low-income families will grow into poor adults, perpetuating intergenerational poverty. A lack of financial knowledge makes it exceedingly difficult to break free from this cycle.
Design Direction - Validated by the Qualitative Interviews
Conducted 20+ moderated user tests on usertesting.com using a carefully designed screener and a structured interview script, capturing rich qualitative feedback on how users understood, navigated, and made choices within Money Quest’s complex, decision-based scenario learning experience.
Synthesized findings into clear themes and opportunity areas, then translated those insights into concrete design interventions—adjusting interaction logic, clarifying consequences and system feedback, and refining key flows—ultimately shaping core product functionality and improving learnability and engagement.
Interaction Flow Specification
High Fidelity Development
Impact - Global Communication
Presented product strategy to global teams across the U.S., Ireland, India, and China, aligning stakeholders on shared product goals and a clear design vision.
Designed an interactive financial literacy app to help bridge the financial education gap through gamified decision-making and scenario-based learning.
In addition, more than 500,000 students have benefited from Fidelity’s financial literacy outreach initiative, which is dedicated to narrowing the financial education gap.
Futhermore
Explore the problem space: Deepen discovery to better understand user needs, barriers, and what drives real financial learning outcomes in an underserved market.
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Expand the solution space: Iterate on gameplay to test multiple skills at once (e.g., long-term planning, inflation, investing) through more realistic decision chains.
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Capture the market early: Engage low-income children earlier with approachable financial content to build confidence and help break intergenerational financial gaps—while creating an on-ramp into a broader ecosystem of learning tools and products.