UX Research & Design
Encouraging, educating, and edifying the public to reinvest wealth into Black communities.
BankBlackUSA is an independent, grassroots organization with the goal of connecting individuals with Black-owned banks and credit unions in their area.
Dubbed the “Crown Jewel” of the BankBlackUSA website, the Black Banking map feature is an interactive map that displays the network of Black-owned banks and credit unions across America. My team of four designers functioned as a design consultancy to assess the usability of the current map and design and deliver improvements to the map user interface and user experience.
-
Client
BankBlack USA is an independent, grassroots organization with the goal of connecting individuals with Black-owned banks and credit unions in their area. By providing Black communities with financial tools and resources specifically for their needs, BankBlack is empowering those individuals to take hold of their finances and improve the overall financial wellness of the Black community in America.
Their organization was formed from the larger #BankBlack movement following deadly police shootings in Black communities.
-
Role and Responsibilities
UX Consultant (Research and Design)
Concertedly carried out user experience research and design methods
Facilitate client + team meetings
-
Duration
8 months
-
Problem
The Black Banking Map currently displays a superfluous amount of information that is not clearly presented to its users. The task was to present the information in a way that is easy to understand and empowering, so that more users are encouraged to bank Black. The redesign of this map also enhanced visibility and educated stakeholders about where to find Black-owned banks. This directly correlates with the goals of the organization because the increased visibility guides users to invest their money in Black-owned institutions, which allows for the redistribution of wealth within the Black community. This map will be instrumental in bolstering financial and economic empowerment while serving as a key resource for the Black community.
-
The team sat down with the BankBlack team to understand the problem space and learn about the organization’s intentions.
-
We identified our research goals and questions and made the decision to use a survey, usability tests, and conduct a comparative analysis to understand the needs of current and perspective users.
-
Informed by UX requirements defined in the research phase, the team went through iterations of low fidelity through high-fidelity mockups.
-
Once the final design was ready, the team conducted A/B tests to receive feedback on the original vs new design of the Black Banking Map.
-
The team delivered design recommendations to our client as our final deliverable.
Research Phase
Background research and acclimation
Before diving into the work, our first client meeting was spent learning the history and motives behind the BankBlackUSA mission as a whole. A flame reignited by the the police killings in 2016, had really been burning since the tragedy of the most prosperous Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the late 1800s. In response to the decades of social injustice and senseless acts of violence, a group of activists banded together to create BankBlackUSA as a way to close the racial wealth gap by building on the work of activists who predated them.
As a young Black man, I felt a personal connection to this project. I was compelled that this group of individuals was able to come together to redirect their energy into building something beneficial to the community at large. Knowing that I could play a small role in their mission, I was more inspired to make an impact.
Original Black Banking Map
Research Goals + Questions
-
Research Questions
What user needs are not yet met with the current map feature?
What information is most important to users when searching for a bank or financial plan?
Who are the most common users of the Black Banking Map?
How important is the map feature to the user?
-
Research Goals
User Satisfaction: Identify user needs and desires in regards to using an interactive map.
Product Usability: Explore what design features and information are mainly used on the map.
Brand Awareness: Discover if there is user awareness of the BBUSA mission through the use of the map feature.
Research Methods
-
Survey
Goal: Understand banking habits of prexisting users of BankBlack, prospective individuals considering a switch to a Black owned bank, and supporters of the BankBlack mission.
Result: 109 respondents,
Takeaways:
1) Proximity and availability of financial services were the most important factors when choosing a bank.
2) High interest in learning more about BankBlackUSA and the services offered
-
Usability Tests
Goal: From our pool of survey respondents, we invited 10 individuals to more closely understand the usability of the current Black Banking Map.
Takeaways:
1) Time consuming to navigate to desired location on map
2) Unreliable search; search bar navigation parameters are unclear
3) Not enough system status visibility to understand the different features of the map
-
Comparative Analysis
Goal: Assess 5 comparator sites that utilize interactive map features to gain design inspiration.
Result: Analyzed 2 direct comparators, 2 indirect comparators, and 1 analogous comparator.
Takeaways:
1) Utilize cleaner visual interface design
2) “Less is more” when it comes to features
3) Implement guided search to aid user
Personas
-
Jordan Holmes (Primary)
Jordan is a community advocate and family-man who’s passionate about grassroots work to positively impact current and future generations.
-
Winston Jones (Secondary)
Winston is a recent grad who’s excited about developing her financial literacy to one day build generational wealth for her family.
-
Neika Allen (Secondary)
Neika is a busy professional who wants to support the #BankBlack movement but feels like she’s unable to commit enough time away from work to get up-to-date with Black banking resources.
Design Phase
Design Requirements
The research phase concluded with the identification of design requirements. These were prioritized by importance as defined by our research goals.
Design requirements page 1
Design Requirements page 2
Lo-fi, mid-fi & hi-fi designs
The main elements of the map we focused on redesigning were the Legend, Bank Information Table, and Search Bar. We iterated over these three features to improve the overall user experience of the Black Banking Map.
New design overview
Guided Search:
The new search functionality provides clarity and facilitates the search process for the user so that they know exactly where they are in the search process. The design affords this by providing 3 ways to start a search for a Black-owned bank; zipcode, state, and bank name.
Integrated legend:
Users of the interactive map were overwhelmed with the amount of features on the map thus delaying their search process. To mitigate this, we built the legend feature into the new search process so that when a new search is in progress, the user is met with only the most relevant information based on their search.
Reworked information table:
The preexisting table design overwhelmed users with information overload. To combat this, we implemented a card design to clearly and concisely communicate essential information back to the user.
Redesigned Black Banking Map flow (1)
Redesigned Black Banking Map flow (2)
Redesigned Black Banking Map flow (3)
Full Report