BILLY & BUDDY
Role
UX/UI Designer
Category
Service Design
Date
Aug '24 - Dec '24
Tools Used
Figma, FigJam
This service is designed to educate 5- to 9-year-old American children about financial literacy through a series of books sold online. Each book presents age-appropriate concepts in a fun and engaging, interactive story format.
The concepts are further reinforced through engagement on a digital platform with online mini-games. The subscription model delivers a book quarterly to ensure ongoing learning about key financial topics such as saving, spending, budgeting, and the importance of money.
Credits: Sharanya Sateesh, Kaitlyn (Kc) Carney, Sam Collins
Research
Research
Insights
Incorporating real-life scenarios into learning helps bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Interactive and gamified learning with incentives is most effective for keeping the attention of children.
Structuring learning in chunks of information is most accessible and effective for retention.
No current standard of a child's financial literacy knowledge upon entering teenage/adulthood
Financially illiterate children grow into financially illiterate adults who cannot make smart and informed financial decisions
Problem
Statement
In the scope of American primary and secondary education, only about half of schools require classes on financial literacy. This leaves many children at a disadvantage, lacking basic knowledge of concepts like saving, spending, budgeting, and the importance of money.
While there are services that provide students with basic information, there are few comprehensive resources that gradually teach children about finances in a fun and interactive way.
Design
Our brand aims to be fun, colorful, and relatable to kids. We focus on accessibility to kids by using type sizes suitable for children, a comic strip approach to our layouts and typography, and a modernist, geometric, sans-serif typeface across all of our platforms and associated touchpoints.
Touchpoint
Physical
Touchpoint
This is a children's book series that follows characters as they tackle real world financial problems. Each book fosters financial literacy comprehension through text, comic-strip style illustration, and on-page physical interactions.
A 16-book financial literacy series designed to build a comprehensive knowledge base through engaging narratives.
The first volume introduces fundamental concepts—saving, earning, spending, and budgeting—while subsequent books expand on these principles. Through the journey of relatable characters, readers face financial challenges and decisions that promote active learning. Interactive ensure engagement.
Digital
Touchpoint
This online space allows for parents to subscribe to the series and for children to revisit content learned in their books via mini games that reinforce those lessons learned.
The website serves as a dual-purpose platform for both parents and kids. Parents can easily purchase the 16-book financial literacy series, while kids can deepen their understanding of financial concepts through interactive resources. These include engaging games, educational videos, and vlogs designed to reinforce lessons from the books in a fun and dynamic way.
The Game -
Basket of Choices
The game, Basket of Choices, serves as a fun and interactive tool to help kids revise concepts from Volume 1 of the series. Focused on sorting needs and wants, the game reinforces financial literacy through gamified learning. Players make decisions, practice saving, and stay within a budget, promoting critical thinking and teaching the importance of responsible financial choices in an engaging way.