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Case study

Finly: an iOS app for personal finance

Finly is an iOS personal finance app designed to make everyday money management simpler and more personal. It brings expense tracking, budgets, savings goals and financial insights into one flexible experience.

  • Product design
  • iOS app

My role

Product Designer responsible for UX flows, wireframes, UI design, interactive prototypes and the design system.

Methods

Competitive analysis / PRD / User flow and CJM / Wireframes / Prototyping

Main goals

  • A clear picture of balance and spending
  • Personal control over wallets and categories
  • Budgets and goals users can follow
Finly main page in five wallet colour schemes

Stage 1 · Design challenges

Defining the key design challenges

The main challenge was to make financial management flexible without making the experience complicated. I explored existing finance apps, identified opportunities to simplify common interactions, and translated these insights into product requirements and user flows.

These six challenges shaped the key design decisions throughout the project.

Design challenges and solutions

  • Challenge

    01

    Making the app flexible enough to support different financial habits and preferences.

    Solution

    Interface customisation for the functions each person uses, so the app fits their needs. For example, a different colour scheme for every wallet.

  • Challenge

    02

    Making frequently used actions easy to find and access.

    Solution

    Simpler navigation and a cleaner main screen. The quick access panel in the navbar takes users straight to the functions they use most.

  • Challenge

    03

    Allowing users to save useful context alongside individual transactions.

    Solution

    Each transaction is its own record where users keep what matters to them: a note, an idea, a warning or even a voice message.

  • Challenge

    04

    Keeping the main screen focused without overwhelming users with data.

    Solution

    The dashboard became a secondary screen. The main page puts key information first: wallet balance, transactions and quick access to important features.

  • Challenge

    05

    Making financial analytics relevant and customisable.

    Solution

    People choose which analytics to show and hide the rest, so everyone sees what they want.

  • Challenge

    06

    Helping users maintain accurate expense records over time.

    Solution

    Reminders to log expenses, set up for each wallet separately or for the whole app.

Stage 2 · User flow

Making complex features easy to navigate

Finly combines multiple financial tools, so keeping navigation simple was a priority. I structured the app around a central home screen, with quick access to transactions, wallets, budgets, goals and analytics.

The flow was designed to make everyday actions easy to reach while keeping more advanced features organised in dedicated sections.

Finly app structureFrom the app you log in, or sign up and complete a first setup, and land on the main page. From the main page: analytics, wallets with new wallet, the transaction list with a transaction, and the menu. The menu leads to new transaction with templates, categories with new category, budgets with budget page and new budget, and goals with goal page and new goal.Log inSign upFirst setupMain pageAnalyticsMenuWalletsNew walletTransaction listTransactionNew transactionTemplatesCategoriesNew categoryBudget pageBudgetsNew budgetGoal pageGoalsNew goal

Key screens as low-fidelity wireframes

Sign up
Main page
Dashboard
Transaction
Analytics

Stage 3 · Design development

Designing the core experience

I focused on five key areas of the experience, from personalised onboarding to everyday transactions, budgets and analytics. Each feature was designed to make financial management simpler, clearer and more flexible.

Feature 1

A personalised start without the complexity

Challenge 01

The onboarding experience needed to introduce Finly’s key features while helping users personalise the app from the start.

Instead of a long walkthrough, I designed a card-based flow with optional setup steps for wallets, categories and goals. Users could skip any step and start with default settings, making it easier to explore the app without committing to a full setup.

Sign-up in four states: choosing a method, the empty form, filled in, and an error

Sign-up before the first run: a choice of Apple, Google or email, then a form that shows the password rules up front and explains errors where they happen.

Category picker on the income tab and on the outgoing tab
Figma board with the sign-in, sign-up and onboarding screens and their states

The same flow in Figma: sign-in and sign-up with every state, then the onboarding cards and the category picker.

Feature 2

Main page: balance first, dashboard second

Challenges 02 and 04

The main screen needed to give users a clear overview of their finances without overwhelming them with information.

I prioritised the current wallet, available balance and recent transactions, keeping frequently used actions within easy reach. More detailed information, including analytics, budgets and recurring payments, was moved to a separate, customisable dashboard.

This approach keeps everyday money management simple while giving users access to deeper insights when they need them.

Main page and the all menu, with callouts: wallets, wallet balance, quick panel, transactions, main menu, special dashboard and all menu
User dashboard and widget settings, with callouts: user dashboard, regular payments, basic analytics, budgets and goals, widget settings and available widgets
The dashboard with nothing added yet, next to the same screen filled with regular payments, analytics and budgets
Feature 3

Transactions that keep their context

Challenges 03 and 06

Transactions are more useful when they capture more than just an amount and category.

I designed a flexible transaction system that supports notes, ideas, warnings and voice recordings. Users can also search transactions, reuse templates and set reminders to keep their records up to date.

The goal was to make expense tracking more useful without adding complexity to everyday actions.

Transaction with a note, an idea and a voice message
Notes, ideas and voiceLists, reminders and recordings stay with the payment.
Transaction list with search
Search and groupingFind by name, category or tags; transactions are grouped by day.
Transaction list with swipe actions
Swipe to editEdit or delete a transaction without opening it.
Feature 4

Making financial progress easy to follow

Main goal 03

Budgets and savings goals should be easy to create, understand and track.

I designed dedicated pages that bring progress, remaining amounts and related transactions together. To simplify goal creation, I prioritised essential inputs such as the name and target amount, while keeping additional settings optional.

Budget page with remaining and spent amounts, and the new goal screen

Budgets & goals

A page for every budget and goal

Each budget or goal has its own page, so users see progress, totals and every related transaction in one place.

  • Budget page. Remaining and spent amounts with the share of the limit, the period and a Repeat budget switch.
  • Linked transactions. Everything counted towards this budget, grouped by day.
  • New goal. Name and target amount first, then icon, colour and extra settings, saved with Add Goal.
PIN code screen and Face ID screen

Privacy & security

Lock your wallet

A separate task from budgets: giving users more control over who can see their financial information. Finly can be locked with a PIN code, with Face ID as an option.

  • PIN code. Four digits with progress dots; the Face ID key and Forgot password? are right on the keypad.
  • Face ID. Opens the app with one look, no code needed.
Feature 5

Financial insights that adapt to each user

Challenge 05

Financial analytics should help users understand their spending patterns without overwhelming them with unnecessary data.

The dashboard keeps only a short analytics widget, and users choose whether to show it. The arrow on that widget opens a detailed page for the wallet, with breakdowns of income and expenses by day of the week and a weekday and weekend comparison.

Wallet analytics with weekday and weekend comparison

Stage 4 · Design system

A flexible design system for every wallet

I created a consistent visual system that supports multiple wallet colour schemes and works across light and dark themes.

Reusable components, typography and shared interaction patterns helped keep the interface cohesive while allowing users to personalise their experience.

Wallet colour schemes

Every wallet gets its own gradient. The balance screen, quick panel and main button take on that colour, so users know which wallet they are in at a glance.

  • Lilac
  • Mist
  • Sky
  • Aqua
  • Mint
  • Coral
  • Rose
  • Graphite

Main colours

  • WhiteScreens and cards
  • VioletAccent and icons
  • BlackText
  • BlueActions and links

Typography

Aa
SF Pro Text

Native iOS type: familiar, legible at any size

  • HeadingHeading · Bold
  • TitleTitle · Medium
  • Body textBody · Regular
  • LABELLabel · Caps

Outcome

Design outcome

The project brought together multiple personal finance features into a cohesive iOS app experience, from onboarding and expense tracking to budgets, goals and analytics.

I designed the core user flows, high-fidelity interfaces, interactive prototypes and a reusable design system supporting multiple colour schemes and light and dark themes.

One of the key design challenges was balancing personalisation with simplicity, making advanced features available without overloading everyday interactions.

  • 172+

    screens in the final design

  • 2

    themes, light and dark

  • 8

    wallet colour schemes

Finly on a station billboard: the brand panel, the app on a phone and a call to action

Summary

Expense tracking, transaction classification and spending analysis became simpler through a clear interface.

  • A clear picture of finances
  • Personal control over wallets and categories
  • Budgets and goals users can follow