KefanShi

Design

Visual Story

About

WalkFund

Behavior-driven Micro-Savings Platform

A saving product that turns daily steps into automatic savings tied to personal goals.

Role

Product Designer, Visual Designer

Timeline

12 Weeks, 2025

Problem

People want to save money, but most tools don’t fit into everyday life. Saving apps take effort, and step apps rarely turn movement into real savings.

When saving happens in the background without being felt, people lose interest and stop.

Goals

User

Build a secure savings platform that makes forming a savings habit as effortless as walking.

Business

Create a savings experience that increases engagement and long-term retention.

Research

What existing products get wrong

Most fall into two patterns:

Saving happens invisibly in the background.

Rewards are small and disconnected from real financial goals.

Interviews

Interviews with 6 young adults (22-35) in New York:

They want financial stability, but current tools fail to connect saving with their daily lives.

Rewards alone didn’t motivate behavior, but meaning and visibility did.

Insights

From interviews and behavioral observation:

People are more motivated when progress feels visible and personal.

Strategy

Walking already feels meaningful. Saving often does not.

Behavioral Economics shows that when financial goals are reframed into small, familiar actions, people feel more motivated and confident(Berkeley Economic Review).

Likewise, research on the Automatic Savings suggests that micro-contributions reduce friction and boost long-term saving behavior (Hershfield, Shu & Benartzi, 2018).

WalkFund brings these theories together by converting daily steps into automatic, visible micro-savings.

Why Walking and Saving?

Design Principles

So, here are 3 principals of our product:

Target Users

To focus our opportunity spaces into a clear product direction, I narrowed WalkFund’s audience.

This spectrum revealed two distinct behavior patterns.

Here are two dominant groups and personas:

Life-driven who seek meaningful walking moments

Finance-driven who prefer efficiency and tangible results

Research & Strategy

Define the behavior system

Building Trust First into the System

Walking triggers micro-savings, trusted payment flows keep users confident, and rewards keep them motivated.

The system focuses on habit and trust reinforcement. (Conneted with Paypal, Apple Pay. etc)

Explore interaction models

Then, I generated 50+ feature ideas and narrowed them through structured filters into four strategic directions:

Micro-goals Setting — Finance Motivation

Nearby Rewards — Finance Motivation

Progress Visualization — Lifestyle Value

AI Savings Assistant (Personalized Help) — Lifestyle Value

The sketch quickly visualized explorations and helped shape the core features.

Refine the product experience

Here is the journey to illustrate how WalkFund’s core features work together and support two groups of users.

Tested 18 participants across with Figma and Useberry (Round 1: n=9, Round 2: n=9, Final Return: n=3).

Tests and Iterations

Users can understand WalkFund’s core idea: Walk to Save, with 80% accurately re-describing it.

Iteration Principle: reducing complexity of actions.

Challenge 1: Hidden and Hard-to-Find “Add a Goal” Entry

Round 1 testing (n=9) revealed that users struggled to begin one of the app’s core actions: 6/9 users couldn’t find Add a Goal (buried too deep).

Result:

• Find the “Add a Goal” button improved (Avg): 1m14s (Round 1) → 60s (Round 2) → 15s (Final Return).

• Round 2 users (n=9) and Final Return (n=3) described the interface as clearer and aligned with expectations.

Challenge 2: Removed Digital Coins

From the Round 1, 6/9 users were confused by “Savings vs. Digital Coins (original ideas for the rewards),” which increased cognitive load.

Result:

• Round 2: Users described the interface as clearer, more direct, and aligned with expectations.

• No further conceptual confusion reported.

Challenge 3: Streamlined onboarding experience

55% of users (Round 1, n=9) rated the original goal-setting flow confusing or unintuitive, citing friction and unclear steps.

Result:

• Task time 64%↓(Avg): 62s (Round 1) → 12s (Round 2).

• 55% (Round 1) confusion → 100% ease (Round 2, 6/9 Easy ↑ and 3/9 Very Easy ↑↑)

Process & Challenges

Visual / Icon Design

Results

Savings Transfer

When a step goal is reached (e.g., 1,000 steps = $1), a small transfer is triggered through Apple Pay, PayPal, or Cash App.

Walk-saving Goal

A simple four-step setup lets users gradually build a saving habit without financial pressure.

Goal Achievement

When users reach their target amount, the system celebrates progress and keeps long-term goals on track with light reminders.

Local Partner Rewards

WalkFund encourages users to walk and explore nearby neighborhoods, connecting life with local community.

AI Advisor

Help user understand feelings through simple, low-pressure reflection.

Micro-interaction

Outcomes

Across the usability test with 18 participants with Figma and remote with Useberry. (Round 1 n=9, Round 2 n=9, Final Return n=3).

WalkFund demonstrates how everyday habits like walking can trigger consistent real saving behavior.

Imapct

By turning walking into a trigger for saving, the concept could help urban professionals build healthier lifestyles and stronger financial habits.

Reflection

Friction wasn’t a setback. It was the signal.

Early tests revealed friction and confusion, which helped me shape each iteration’s direction. This project reinforced a core product principle: clarity, simplicity, and a focus on key behaviors matters more than adding complexity.

I’m Kefan! Glad we could meet here.

Why don’t we collaborate, coffee chat or learn more? So let's connect!

Email me

I’m Kefan! Glad we could meet here.

Why don’t we collaborate, coffee chat or learn more? So let's connect!

Email me

I’m Kefan! Glad we could meet here.

Why don’t we collaborate, coffee chat or learn more? So let's connect!

Email me