OVERVIEW
My Role:
Goal:
I completed this project autonomously, taking on the role of UX Researcher, UX Designer, and Digital Designer.
I aimed to discover how a new technology – smart contact lenses – can help users achieve their goals in online banking. I wanted to create a feature that addresses users’ pain points and allows users to access their banking information faster.
INITIAL RESEARCH
I sent out a survey that focused on how users access their bank information. I utilized mainly open-ended questions that made the user focus on what they did “before,” “during,” and “after” accessing their bank information.
Before – Many users shared common triggers that prompted them to access their banking information, or more specifically their balance. They are as follows:
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Making a purchase
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Getting paid
During – The most common tasks that people performed on the banking app were:
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Checking their balance
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Looking at their transaction history
After – While there were not many complaints, the most common pain points that users experienced on the app were:
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Difficulty logging in
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Not having enough details about transactions
*You can view the survey questions here.
*Before diving into the protoype, let me first address:
Smart Contact Lenses - What Are They?
Before diving into the prototype, let me first address:
“Smart contact lenses” not only improve vision like regular contacts, but they also give hope to the possibility of providing users with an augmented reality without the use of bulky frames or headsets. Companies like Sony, Samsung, Columbia Medical Center, Mojo Vision, and InWith are in a race to develop their own version of smart contact lenses. Some features include:
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Projecting images in front of you
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Taking photographs just by blinking
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Converting eye blinks into electrical power
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Connecting with apps in mobile devices
While the idea of smart lenses has been around for a while in movies and tv shows, like Black Mirror, these companies are hoping to make the breakthrough soon. In fact, InWith Corporation is hoping to get FDA approval sometime this year.
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HOW CAN SMART LENSES BE USED FOR BANKING?
Taking into consideration the limitations of smart contact lenses, I brainstormed ideas on how smart contact lenses can be used for online banking. The goals that I kept in mind for this prototype were to:
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Seamlessly introduce this new feature into any existing banking app.
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Focus mainly on the findings from my research: (1) the common triggers, (2) the common tasks, and (3) the common pain points.
*Note: Since there is not just one company making smart contact lenses, I arbitrarily used the name “LENZ” for this feature.
Building Foundations
To dive deeper into the functions and organization of LENZ, I created task flows, lo-fi wireframes, and lo-fi user flows.
Design Principles
Interface:
Color:
Icon:
I pulled inspiration for the interface based on “futuristic” designs. I wanted to keep it clean and minimal. To enhance the “clean” look, I used a simple sans serif font, crisp lines, and translucent elements.
In my research, many augmented reality graphics were green, so I wanted to keep this association of AR to green in my design. I went with one main color to allude to a “clean” feeling, and I used a dark background to make the color appear to be slightly neon.
The little icon that I designed is meant to represent a contact lens. I wanted a simple design that was recognizable but would not stand out too boldly in another application.
*Images from Mojo Vision.
How It Works
LENZ is designed to be an add-on feature for banks. The user will still be able to perform the same functions that they were able to do on their banking app. However, with the LENZ feature, users won't even need to use the app at all for certain tasks. Users will be notified of their balance, receive notifications of their pay checks, and read summaries of their transactions all within their field of vision.
To incorporate LENZ seamlessly into existing banking apps, a simple LENZ icon will be present on the top right corner of the home page (seen to the right). This will allow for a seamless introduction of LENZ since the bank will not need to alter their interface.
By pressing on this icon, users will be brought to the LENZ interface, where they can customize their AR display and their notifications.
LENZ also addresses some of the common pain points that I discovered in my research survey. The most common pain point was difficulty logging in because of face recognition. LENZ will enable users to sign into their bank apps through eye recognition, or iris ID.
Another pain point was not having enough information in the transaction details. While checking transaction history is crucial to identifying fraudulent activity early on, the user may not be able to remember a charge correctly without enough information.
To fix this issue, the smart contact lenses will automatically take a live photo of the user's field of view when a transaction occurs and record it in the bank's transaction details. This will provide users with additional information about each charge.
Final Product
You can view my entire project, including my design library and prototype on Figma.
Reflection
I wanted to push my limits as a designer and create something that was new and innovative. When I found out about the advances in smart contact lens technology, I immediately wanted to utilize it for this banking project. While smart contact lenses are not on the market yet, many companies show promise. Once they become available to users, I believe that banks can utilize the smart contact lens features to improve their customers’ banking experiences.
Foot Notes
1 See “Smart Contact Lenses Of The Future” (Aug 2019) on Feel Good Contacts
2 See “Smart contacts coming with AR, health monitoring and more” (Jan 2022) by Jay
MacDonald on All About Vision
3 See “See What Others Cannot with These Smart Contacts” (Jan 2021) by Bruce
Brown on Health Tech Insider