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        UX / UI DESIGN
        ·
        MOBILE APP
        ·
        CONCEPT
      

Zentra

Save with clarity. Spend with purpose.

Mobile product · UX/UI · Sole designer, end to end

01 / why this exists

Saving money is easy to measure and surprisingly hard to feel.

Financial tools can tell you what you spent or what's left. Zentra explored a more motivating approach: connecting those numbers to the things someone is actually saving for, then making progress visible enough to keep moving.

          research patterns→
          2 personas→
          1 shared need
        

02 / the signal

Two people, two very different relationships with money, same underlying need.

Persona boards for Samantha Rios, a freelance designer in Denver, and Jason Patel, a grad student in Austin: each with goals, user stories, frustrations, device habits, and tech comfort and financial confidence levels — two personas, built from researchBoth personas were built from interview and survey patterns, then used to prioritize the product around flexibility, clarity, and motivation.

flexibilitySamantha · the freelancer

The freelancer needs a system that bends.

Irregular income makes rigid financial planning difficult to maintain.

“I want saving to feel rewarding, not like punishment.”

clarity, without judgmentJason · the grad student

The grad student needs an honest, simple overview.

Limited money makes every decision matter, without needing an interface that adds more financial stress.

“I want to stay on track, not get lectured about my spending.”

the insight

Different financial situations, same underlying need: make progress visible without making money feel punitive.

03 / key decisions

Progress as the product

Zentra organizes saving around goals instead of one abstract balance. A vacation, emergency fund, wedding, or car becomes something visible and measurable rather than disappearing into a total.

Progress rings, percentages, and dollar amounts turn "I should save more" into something concrete: where I am now and how far I have left.

Zentra goals screen: an overall progress ring at 30 percent above five individual goal cards, each with its own progress bar and dollar total — five goals, one system

Identity built around momentum

Zentra needed to feel like progress, not paperwork.

The cheetah mark gives the identity a sense of motion, while deep green and gold carry through the interface as the core visual system. The mark also becomes part of active states, including the loading experience.

Nunito Sans and Open Sans keep the product approachable and readable without making a financial tool feel overly clinical.

the mark, in motionThe loading state animates this mark rather than showing a spinner.

the system, documentedTypography, color, iconography, and imagery documented as one reusable product system.

Testing changed the interface

Three usability sessions surfaced real friction. Each one led to a specific change.

        observationdesign response
      

Users wanted more context for how savings figures were calculated: added tooltips that explain the calculation where the number appears
The "Building Plan" state did not clearly communicate that work was happening: added a visual loading indicator and clearer status messaging
The "+" icon was easy to miss as the entry point for creating a goal: added supporting iconography and a text label

Zentra goals screen with a tooltip explaining how combined savings across active goals is calculated — tooltipExplains the calculation at the point someone needs it.

Zentra Building your plan screen with the cheetah mark as a loading indicator — loading stateMakes progress visible while the plan is being created.

Zentra create new goal screen: six labelled category tiles, a name field and an amount field — goal creationLabels the entry point instead of relying on an icon alone.

Contrast, readability, and tap targets were reviewed alongside the interface rather than treated as a final accessibility pass.

production note · select imagery created with generative AI

04 / the work

Eight screens from the final concept, following the experience from account setup and goal creation through everyday tracking.

Zentra create new goal screen with the car category selected, a goal name and an amount field — new goalCategory, name, and target amount turn a broad intention into a specific goal.

Zentra set a reminder screen with time, frequency and delivery options, plus a skip button — remindersOpt in, choose the cadence, or skip it entirely.

Zentra plan locked screen for a Hawaii trip: fifty dollars per week, goal total, deadline and quick tips — plan lockedLeads with the weekly savings target, then supports it with goal details and quick tips.

Zentra home screen: monthly savings at 80 percent, active goal cards and a budget snapshot — homeMonthly progress, active goals, and budget in one view.

Zentra transactions screen with a category donut chart, spend total and week over week change — transactionsSpending grouped by category and compared week to week.

Zentra recent transactions screen filtered by income and expense with merchant logos and dates — historyFilterable transaction history with recognizable merchant information.

Zentra settings screen with account fields, notification toggles and extras — settingsAccount, notification, and product preferences organized in one place.

Zentra goals view on a laptop: the overall progress ring beside a grid of goal cards and an insights row — larger screenThe same goal-based system reflows for a larger screen while preserving the progress-first hierarchy.

explore the prototype

05 / where it stands

Concept work, not shipped.

Zentra changed how I think about financial information. Progress can be more than a number on a dashboard. When hierarchy, feedback, and goals work together, the interface can make that progress easier to understand without making money feel punitive.

If I continued the project, I'd spend more time validating the financial model behind the experience. The concept explored how progress could feel motivating, but a real financial product would need deeper testing around trust, calculation transparency, irregular income, and how different saving behaviors affect the system.

I'd also simplify parts of the interface earlier. The project taught me that making financial information approachable isn't about adding more explanation. It's about deciding what someone needs to understand now, what can wait, and how the interface communicates the difference.

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