Ayuuto
Role
Sole UI/UX Designer
Type of Project
Personal Project
Project Duration
Five weeks
The Problem: Preserving Tradition in a Digital World
Ayuuto, a traditional Somali community savings and lending practice, has long been a lifeline for families and friends pooling resources. However, as digital banking takes over, Ayuuto faces challenges in adapting without losing its essence of trust and collective support. How can we ensure its survival in the modern financial landscape?
01. Discovery
The Process
02. Define
03. Ideate
04. Prototype
05. Test
Discovery
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
01. Balancing Tradition with Progress 🇸🇴
While Ayuuto remains vital, it faces major hurdles:
No standardized system: Contributions are often tracked manually, leading to disputes.
Verbal agreements dominate: A lack of written records reduces accountability.
Generational divide in digital literacy: Older users struggle with new tech solutions.
Understanding the Real Needs
To build a meaningful product, we embedded ourselves in the Ayuuto ecosystem, using:
Contextual inquiries: Observing real Ayuuto groups in action.
Storytelling interviews: Capturing firsthand experiences from users across generations.
Competitive analysis: Studying existing digital savings and lending platforms to identify gaps.
What We Discovered:
Trust matters more than tech: Users prioritize security over convenience.
Simple is best: A complex interface would discourage adoption, especially among elders.
Automated reminders could reduce missed contributions: Many Ayuuto members forget payment dates.
Discovery
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
02. Making Sense of the Chaos
To break down our findings, we used Affinity Mapping, to help us uncover three crucial themes:
Transparency & Accountability: Users need clear transaction histories.
Ease of Use: A simple, mobile-friendly interface is essential.
Cultural Familiarity: The design must reflect Ayuuto’s community-driven nature rather than feeling like a banking app.
Bringing the User to Life
To ground our design in real user needs, we developed personas. Ayaan, a 32-year-old working mother, is one of our core users:
Pain Points: Struggles to track contributions, remind members, and settle disputes.
Goals: Wants a frictionless way to contribute, receive payouts, and manage group trust.
Asking the Right Questions
To define our challenges, we crafted HMW (How Might We) Statements:
How might we make Ayuuto more transparent and trustworthy?
How might we simplify onboarding for users of all ages?
How might we introduce seamless reminders to improve participation?
Discovery
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
03. Sketching the Future ✍🏽
Sketching with User Stories in mind
We kicked off the design phase with rough sketches and low-fidelity wireframes, exploring key features:
A Contribution Dashboard for real-time tracking.
Automated Reminder System to keep members accountable.
Community-driven verification to ensure trust among users.
Pen and Paper Sketches
After some Figma Magic
Bringing It to Life
We explored colors that symbolize security, tradition, and clarity:
Deep Blue & Green: Representing stability, growth, and trust.
Earthy Neutrals: Keeping the interface culturally familiar.
High Contrast UI Elements: Ensuring accessibility for all age groups.
The Final Touch
With color exploration and refined UX in place, we developed high-fidelity prototypes that represented the final version of our digital Ayuuto experience:
Polished UI components to reflect a professional and intuitive interface.
Interactive design elements to enhance engagement and usability.
Seamless transitions and animations for a smoother user experience.
Discovery
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
04. This is all I got ⌨️
Discovery
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
05. Testing in the Wild
Usability Testing
Sampled Questions asked during usability interview
Say you wanted to create an Ayuuto group how would you go about doing it? How would you proceed?
Usability Testing Result
Success: All 5 participants successfully navigated the landing page and executed the task without any issues.
User Feedback: Users found the page intuitive and easy to navigate, with no reported pain points. The clear layout and well-defined actions contributed to a seamless user experience.
Before
After
User Testing
Sampled Questions asked during usability interview
If you wanted to join an Ayuuto group how would you go about doing it? Say your thoughts out loud as you go through it
Usability Testing Result
Issue: 4 out of 5 users struggled to join a private Ayuuto group. Many found the UX writing unclear and overlooked the "Input Code" section.
Feedback: Users expressed confusion about the process of joining an Ayuuto group and requested a more intuitive and seamless experience. The current design caused them to miss critical instructions and added unnecessary friction.
Before
After
So I changed the whole user journey to make it simple. Rather than sharing a code with your friend to join your Ayuuto Group, you can just share a link (which is easier and more convenient these days).
Reflection
Working on this project was both challenging and rewarding. It was my first time working on a product deeply rooted in my community, which made the stakes feel personal. Translating a traditional, trust-based financial practice into a digital system without losing its essence was no easy task. There were moments of frustration, particularly when facing the realities of low digital literacy among older users or trying to balance modern UX principles with long-standing traditions.
At times, I questioned whether digitizing Ayuuto was even possible without compromising its core values. However, through constant iteration and community involvement, I saw how technology could enhance rather than replace tradition. The experience reinforced the importance of designing not just for the people we aim to serve. Ultimately, this project deepened my appreciation for community-driven design and the role technology can play in preserving cultural practices while making them more accessible for future generations.
We’re just getting started. Our next steps include:
Onboarding more communities and expanding adoption.
Introducing new features based on ongoing feedback.
Collaborating with financial institutions to increase accessibility.
Through this project, we’ve proven that UX design can bridge cultural heritage and digital transformation, ensuring Ayuuto remains a trusted financial resource for generations to come.