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Brookwell
Helping everyday users earn more on their money by blending trusted banking with crypto-native yield
Brookwell is a fintech app that combines a FDIC-insured checking account with a high-yield stablecoin-powered savings account, offering users a seamless way to spend, save, and earn in one place. As Project Manager and Design Lead, I led a team of designers to create high-fidelity flows for Brookwell’s core experience, from onboarding through post-deposit money movement.
Role
Project Manager & Design Lead
Team
6 designers (Blockchain at Berkeley)
Timeline
October to
December 2025
Tools
Figma
Figjam
Notion
01 PROBLEM
Gen Z consumers are comfortable with digital finance but remain locked into low-yield traditional banking. While crypto-curious, they are discouraged by DeFi’s complexity and volatility. This leaves users without a reliable way to access modern financial yield for everyday spending.
How might we help young consumers earn yield on their money through stablecoins while preserving the safety of a traditional banking experience?
02 DESIGN GOALS
As a team, we aligned on three guiding principles early on:
The product should feel as trustworthy and established as a bank.
1. Prioritize Trust
2. Under the Hood
Stablecoins power the product but should be abstracted to not overwhelm the user.
3. Financial Clarity
Users should always know where their money is, what it’s doing, and how to access it.
03 ESTABLISHING THE SYSTEM
Before any UI work began, I guided the team through mapping the entire money movement lifecycle.
We mapped Brookwell's full money lifecycle end-to-end from first-time setup to everyday use:
This covers both onboarding constraints (KYC, disclosures, account creation) and post-onboarding financial actions (funding, earning yield, card usage, and account management).
04 OUR INSPIRATION
We proceeded to study the design of key flows in modern financial applications that succeed in making money movement feel intuitive and trustworthy.
Calm, institutional tone
Strong hierarchy for balances, transactions, and controls
Mercury
Capital
Simple UI makes money movement feel fast and intuitive
Motivating and progress-driven visual targets
Cashapp
Robinhood
Focuses on financial literacy
Clear breakdowns of balances and activity
Feels premium without sacrificing trust
Introduces advanced financial concepts gradually
05 SPRINT-BASED DESIGN PROCESS
Each sprint deliberately built on the last. This let us to iterate with intent, align frequently, and ship under real constraints.
To manage scope and move efficiently, I structured the project into a milestone-driven sprint-based process.
SPRINT 1
Brand Foundations
Focus:
Establish product direction and define Brookwell’s visual identity
Finalize color palette and typography
SPRINT 2
Lo-Fi Onboarding & Empty States
Focus:
Carve out lo-fi onboarding flow to optimize clarity for first-time users
Home screen layout and empty states
SPRINT 3
Hi-Fi Onboarding & Home
Focus:
Translate validated lo-fi flows into polished, branded experiences
Led the transition from lo-fi to hi-fi by implementing branding
SPRINT 4
SPRINT 4
Post-Onboarding Core Flows
Focus:
Created lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes for all post-onboarding financial tools
Decomposed post-onboarding into Card, Fund, Earn, Pay flows
SPRINT 5
Hi-Fi Polish & Handoff
Focus:
Revised and refined all hi-fi screens
Constructed micro-interactions
Cleaned and annotated Figma files for engineering
05 THE FINAL DESIGN
HOME PAGE
Watch your capital compound effortlesly in real time
Pre-deposit empty states encouraging first funding
Post-deposit states highlighting growth and activity
Quick actions reduce friction for core financial tasks
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Direct every dollar without lifting a finger.
Distinct separation between Checking (spending) and Savings (earning)
Transparent display of 1% vs 10% yield
Real-time balances and simple money movement between accounts
CARD FLOW
Spend globally with unparalleled control.
Instant virtual card creation with wallet integration
Clean card dashboard with quick actions
Transaction flows designed for speed and trust
The unified Brookwell experience — earn yield as you spend
We designed a complete mobile experience, guiding users first deposit through earning and managing stablecoin-backed funds.
SPEND FLOW
Get a comprehensive breakdown of your spending
Interactive chart translating spending into clear category distribution
Detailed breakdown by category
Chronological list of transactions with clear amounts and timestamps
06 REFLECTION
Systems thinking is critical in fintech
Designing Brookwell required understanding the full lifecycle of money. Mapping how users onboard, fund, earn, and spend helped us design coherent flows and reduce friction.
Trust is the product, not just a feature
Every decision we made needed to reinforce security and transparency to make a hybrid trad-fi/DeFi experience feel safe to use.
My takeaways…
06 REFLECTION
Thank you!
* Brookwell is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services will be provided by an FDIC-insured financial institution. Funds held in Brookwell accounts may be eligible for FDIC insurance through the partner bank and participating network banks, subject to applicable limits and satisfaction of certain conditions for pass-through insurance.
