OVERVIEW
Froogle was developed during a one day hackathon in response to the prompt, "How might we design a personal finance app that helps neurodiverse individuals reach their financial goals?"
Instead of focusing on complex budgeting, we designed an earlier entry point: helping users pause and reflect on purchases in real time to encourage mindful spending.
PROBLEM / PAIN POINTS
Many young adults, especially those with ADHD, autism, or executive function challenges, struggle with impulse and emotionally driven purchases. Conventional budgeting apps that ask for organization and planning can be overwhelming. The result:
Debt and overspending
Difficulty building consistent money habits
Avoidance and shame loops
WITH THAT IN MIND, I WONDERED…
How might we support individuals in building healthier relationships with their spending?
THE SOLUTION
A reflective money app that encourages pause, with two flexible use loops:
Users answer category-based reflection questions to evaluate a purchase, ending with a suggestion while keeping the final decision theirs.
Having a method of control by opting in or out of data collection.
RESEARCH
During our research stage, we found key statistics that informed the direction of our work:
40% of all money spent on e-commerce is from impulse buying.
When a strict budget is followed impulse buying frequency decreases by 40%
Impulse buying is directly affected by external factors such as societal norms, motives, and marketing stimuli, and internal traits like one’s self-control
People diagnosed with ADHD are less likely to think about purchases and have a greater tendency to get immediate gratification for less valuable rewards rather than getting a reward later
LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPING
There's way too much information.
This means that no one's going to bother reading anything, removing users from important information that may benefit them.
DEVELOPMENT
Establishing our visual brand early helped define the app’s tone and target audience. It made prototyping and design decisions more consistent later.
We chose dark green to represent money and financial growth, which inspired the frog motif and the name “Froogle.” The app icon resembles a pause symbol, reflecting the moment users stop to consider a purchase, while the outstretched frog hand symbolizes reaching toward a financial goal.
ITERATION
Our initial user flow supported both budgeting and reflective purchasing, which made the experience overly complex. The result was a cluttered flow that created cognitive overload, and our research showed that large financial numbers could increase user anxiety.
We learned the importance of defining a clear MVP, especially under time constraints, and focusing on one core user need. To address this, we pivoted to reflective purchasing as our main feature.
The flow included budgeting, spending trends, and reflective purchasing, which made the interface feel crowded, and the user flow was jumbled. We confused ourselves with the hierarchy of our features on the home screen.
Narrowing our scope simplified the user flow and allowed us to design with more clarity and deliberation. This resulted in a cleaner interface and a more intuitive process.
LEARNING OUTCOME
The simpler the flow, the better
A simple user flow enhances the experience by keeping the app easy to understand, approachable, and not overwhelming.
Identifying a niche = focus and clarity
Defining a niche allows for more intentional design, deeper research, and a stronger connection to a specific audience rather than trying to serve everyone.
Communicate, communicate, communicate!
Frequent check-ins ensure everyone stays aligned, making collaboration smoother and task delegation more efficient.
NEXT STEPS
User testing with more neurodivergent individuals
Neurodivergence is a vast spectrum. User testing will identify additional pain points and ensure that the app is usable for the most amount of people, giving insight on possible features to add.
Implementing accessibility features
Ensure that the app is usable, and that all accessibility needs are met through well-deliberated upon settings.
Further research on the competitive landscape
Analyzing how other apps approach reflective purchasing, mood tracking, and budgeting in relation to impulse buying helps identify opportunities and strengthen our MVP.