Research
Website Visit Insight
01 Too much of information has been leading to confusion.
02 Impact and guidance of the User Interface is missing.
03 Emotional connect with the social causes is lost while navigating through the data.
04 Information overload is blocking the asset managers from exploring the data and its impact.
Criterion Institute
Criterion is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to expanding possibilities for how finance can be used for social change. They work with changemakers, investors, governments, and institutions to transform whose voices are heard, whose expertise is valued, and whose metrics define success in financial decision-making.
The "Standards of Practice Table" project aims to design a user-friendly interface for accessing Criterion's database of over 300 individual standards.
Objectives:
01 Enable specific, precise filtering for audience use cases.
02 Provide interactive visualization tools for exploration.
03 Foster new perspectives on gender lens investing without requiring adoption of standards.
The ‘Standards of Practice’ is a decades long rich database of approaches towards financial investment practices that account for power, privilege, and bias to create a level-field. The database has an overwhelming amount of information which prevents investors from exploring new standards that could spark eve more inspiration in them & makes them stick to the specific standard they are looking for, to make change.
The current ‘Standards of Practice’ table is comprehensive,
but the user interface lacks intuitive movement & the ability to explore new standards
Problem Statement
PAIN POINTS
01 Inconvenient access to information pool
02 Navigation doesn't connect information to outcomes
03 Excess time consumption
04 Important information getting lost
Challenge
Visual Prototype
Impact Narratives: Pathways for Investment Transformation
Impact Narratives: Pathways for Investment Transformation - UI/UX Design
Client
Criterion
Project Deliverable
Toolkit proposition
Prototype
Product pitch
Timeline
Sprint - 7 weeks
Tools Used
Figma, Miro, Adobe Illustrator
Overview
My Role
Design Process
Understand Research Analyze Design User testing Presentation
I was responsible for user research, prototyping and designing the UI for the toolkit. I created a web prototype of the navigation & discovery tool using figma as well as Adobe Illustrator and designed the user experience and interaction with the CMS cards being used in the tool. Everyone participated throughout the overall ideation, research, and user interview process.
‘Impact Narratives’ is a solution that takes the form of a navigation & discovery tool, designed for asset owners to browse through Criterion’s database of ‘Standards of Practice’ to find relevant information as well as explore and engage with new standards.
User testing
Next Steps
Comprehension of the long database was being a hurdle. There are a lot of ‘standards’ that have a lot of steps to follow those standards. Tracking the journey and the next steps to achieve the standards had to be an initiative on the user’s side which makes the user journey difficult.
Insight 02
To enhance the user experience we started looking into journey tracking and progress tracking methods. This is an additional feature that was provided to the Criterion’s team from our side. It will improve the usability of the database and increase the adoption rate of the standards.
User testing
Insight 01
Next Steps
The asset owners found it difficult to join the dots between the ‘practices’ suggested and the emotions and outcomes associated with those practices.
They were finding it difficult to connect the information to the outcome. A call-to-action that serves as a motivational factor was missing. A high level of dedication is required for this kind of a systemic change hence, emotional engagement is necessary.
So far, we looked at unpacking the information for formulating and categorizing the data to make it easier for the asset managers to comprehend. Our approach was focused on making the information less overwhelming and organized. Now, we had to look more into creating a more appealing way to engage the asset-managers with the standards. We had to come up with methods of storytelling and visuals to capture the audience and make the database interactive.
RE-ITERATION
Clear navigation options, such as 'Modules', 'Videos', and 'Blog', which are easily accessible and prominently displayed.
Landing Page
Module Overview:
Present the modules in a numbered format with titles that clearly indicate the content, much like a table of contents or course syllabus.
Detailed Module Pages:
Within each module, the content is broken down into chapters or sections with descriptive headings.
Chapter Breakdown:
Each chapter is a self-contained unit that contributes to the module's overall learning objectives.
RE-ITERATION
Community forums:
Other features:
Tools for users to leave feedback on modules, such as comment sections, like buttons, or rating systems.
Value of the Impact Narratives for Criterion Institute
Value Exchange
Concept Models
Systemic Change
Growth
Asset Managers
Strategies for Systemic Change
Feedback
Feedback
Takeaways
Reflection
Understanding the client’s technical language
Through our journey as design strategists, I discovered the importance of bridging communication gaps by immersing ourselves in the language of our stakeholders. It's essential to craft our storytelling pitches from their perspective, meeting them where they are, to truly resonate and drive impactful solutions forward.
Effective Project Management Through Prioritization
I established priorities by considering the project timeline, user preferences, and business requirements. Sharing these priorities during meetings enhanced my adaptability and responsiveness to evolving needs.
01
02
Debbi Evans
Writer, editor & expert in Gender Lens Investing
Interview with Criterion Institute
Carolyn Burns
Impact Investor
‘We want to understand asset manager’s journey of exploring the standards. The ‘WHEN’ is tricky because they might adapt it at point of their investment journey.
‘We want to use appreciative inquiry. - Instead of making the client focus on the power that you don’t have, they make them focus on what power they DO have.
The industry is considered to be an intimidating industry to get started with & the financial managers are given the responsibility of dealing with personal as well as professional finance.
Industry Research Insight
01 Finance Landscape
02 Business Trend
03 Customer Analysis
04 Industry Opportunities: Expansive Audiences
Typical clients of Criterion can only be people that are already motivated to bring in social change & not the ones that need to be convinced.
Private investors and asset managers are willing to commit to these changes as there is a growing demand from the target audience for action to enable social change.
Social Change models can help in reaching out to newer demographics to break out of the so-called ‘intimidating’ business.