ARK7, a San Francisco-based FinTech startup, faced user retention challenges due to trust issues. As the product designer, I addressed these with solutions that enhanced user experience and significantly boosted trust. The results showed increased user satisfaction and trust, highlighting the effectiveness of these improvements.
Product designer
2023.10 - 2024.01
1 Lead designer, 2 Product designers,
Product manager, Engineers, Marketing team
.png)
ARK7 is a platform that simplifies real estate investment by offering fractional shares for as little as $20 per share in premium residential properties across the United States.
ARK7 faces challenge to retain existing investors and to convert new users into regular investors. Despite attracting new users with its referral rewards system, these users often fail to continue investing.
Additionally, many existing investors withdraw their funds post-freeze period and cease further investment.
Let's quickly glimpse the solution first.
Place where you can dive into a diverse range of content covering market trends, investment tips, and key insights that enhance your understanding of real estate investing.
.png)
Here, seasoned investors can decide operational details, enhancing their control and engagement. New investors, while not able to vote, can view these decisions, providing them insight on property management.
This is a time-limited, pop-up forum for property owners. Owners can actively share insights and strategies, while new users observe and learn from experienced investors.
Join webinars to learn from real estate experts and revisit sessions anytime with recordings. Get valuable insights and guidance on fractional share investment, tailored for both new and experienced investors.
TrustPilot
App store
Youtube
Because the client preferred to manage direct interactions with users to maintain consistency in communication and confidentiality.
I explored alternative avenues for user insights. I interviewed our customer service team, analyzed ARK7’s marketing channels, YouTube reviews, App Store comments, and Reddit interactions, as well as competitor strategies. This approach revealed that a lack of trust was the core issue.
Don’t know how the property is managed and how ark7 performs.
No idea about who the shared owners are and cannot talk to them.
Not having enough control over the invested properties.
Be kept informed of the latest news on the purchase of investment properties.
Opportunities to connect and share experiences/insights with other investors.
Mechanisms to provide feedback or input on property management to feel more involved.
I’m really cautious about who to trust and rely on now. Information is so limited.
I want to know who is also investing here.
I don’t want to invest alone. It makes me feel unsafe and I hope to learn while investing.
Investing in a transparent and trustworthy platform.
A supportive platform that offers guidance and builds confidence when investing and interacting with fellow investors.
An investment process offers a sense of engagement and community.
.png)
.png)
More influence on decision making and have sense of belonging/trust @ ARK7
To have clear understanding and confidence with the investment they make
Know operation condition of the property they have invested
users know little about ARK7’s product
Update → Inform → Engage → Invest
Attract → Learn → Invest
Existing user investment retention
Attract and convert new user to invest
I conducted a thorough competitive audit of similar apps to understand their product and design strategies for building trust and engaging users.
Given that there are only two direct competitors, we also examined companies in the broader financial sector.
.png)
Interactive content boosts sales by encouraging longer visits, deeper exploration, and more frequent returns to the platform.
User connection helps them feel safer and more informed, facilitating investment decisions through shared knowledge and support.
Webinars offer real-time, interactive learning and networking, resonating with users eager for direct engagement with experts and peers.
Therefore, we refined our problem statement into
From previous competitor analysis, we identified 12+ features potentially beneficial for our community. After researching different community structures and considering our specific business constraints, such as frozen periods and resource shortages, we evaluated the effectiveness of each feature.
This thorough assessment allowed us to refine our selection from twelve down to four key features.
Users can quickly identify the purpose of each feature and decide which one they want to explore.
Optimize page load times so it is easier to develop.
Users' attention may be diverted by features they find uninteresting and not willing to explore further.
An abundance of options and entrances could overwhelm users.
Feed provide a mores cohesive approach in interaction.
A mixed feed increases content discovery and engagement by exposing users to diverse content.
Home and feed have two different types of interaction, and serves two different types of functions.
Feed provide a mores cohesive approach in interaction.
A mixed feed increases content discovery and engagement by exposing users to diverse content.
All four features serve the same intention of providing user with community experience.
We developed user flows to systematically map out each step a user takes within our application, from initial entry to final interaction. This approach not only helps in understanding and predicting user behavior but also ensures a seamless navigation experience.
Why Revamp?
Adhering to the existing design guidelines has detrimentally impacted the feed experience, disrupting user interaction and diminishing overall satisfaction.
Moreover, we have received considerable criticism from users.
“Poor GUI. Basically its a green hog that makes navigation to the rest of the phone annoying. Stop hiring teenagers to design” -Jamie
“Seriously, what's with all the green in this app? It's like walking into a room painted top to bottom in neon lime 🤢.” -Tian
In our design audit, we discovered that 12 different shades of green are used throughout our platform, adding unnecessary cognitive load for users.
Despite the style guide specifying 14 fonts, it lacks clear guidance on their appropriate scenarios, resulting in poor visual hierarchy. For instance, up to 5 different fonts are found on a single card. Additionally, some fonts are so small that they fail to meet WCAG standards.
The platform lacks clear design guidelines for card usage, resulting in varied CTA placements—some on the left, some on the right—and mixed placement of images and text. This slows down users' interactions and reduces overall task efficiency.
Inconsistent spacing between fonts of the same hierarchy within the same card can lead to visual clutter and confusion, making it difficult for users to quickly process and understand the information presented.
Due to time limit, we chose to focus our remaining project time on developing design guidelines for the card component, which is heavily used across the platform and in our community features, to maximize efficiency.
Ian discovered ARK7 via a YouTube ad and received a $50 bonus to try it out.
However, as a novice investor, he hesitated to invest since he knew little about ARK7 and its investment offerings.
Lisa has been an investor with ARK7 for a year.
But after frozen period, she is considering withdrawing her investment due to feeling isolated and lacking control over her properties.
News
"As I browse the feed, I become familiar with the investment offerings that ARK7 provides and ARK7 itself." - Ian
"I'm eager to see detailed management of my properties. Now, with daily updates and monthly summary, I feel more secure." -Lisa
Voting
"As a new user, I can't participate, but viewing the results and comments gives me a valuable peek into the community's decisions and perspectives." -Ian
"I value having a say in the decisions process. Voting empowers me to directly influence key aspects and stay actively involved in our investment community." -Lisa
Webinar
"The webinars on ARK7 have been invaluable. They offer clear, beginner-friendly insights that simplify real estate investing basics and boost my confidence to invest." -Ian
"I rely on the webinar for deep market insights and quarterly reviews, perfect for refining strategies and learning from industry leaders. It aids in decision-making and market timing." -Lisa
Discussion
"It is incredibly helpful for a newcomer like me. It allows me to observe and learn from investment guru and enhances my understanding of the market quickly." -Ian
"This pop-up format offers a platform where I can actively engage and share strategies with fellow owners, enhancing our returns through collective knowledge." - Lisa
New users' spending 100% more time on the platform during the first log-in
When designing the community structure, the client had concerns about its openness. As a designer, I advocate for the user while ensuring that solutions align with the company's best interests. Navigating between different options requires careful negotiation and some compromise. However, through thorough research, we successfully achieved a balanced approach.
As a junior designer, I led the revamp of the card component, drawing inspiration from established frameworks like Carbon Design Systems, Material Design Systems, and DELL Design System. By exploring their practical examples and employing atomic design principles, I was able to enhance the quality and functionality of the designs I delivered.
Apple Live activities, Navigation