At Ophelos, a fintech focused on transforming the debt resolution experience, I was one of two designers responsible for the customer-facing app. It served as a self-serve platform that allows users to understand and manage their debt independently, without needing to speak to an agent.
The challenge was designing for people in genuinely difficult circumstances. Every decision, from layout to language, was made with that in mind.
The Problem
Traditional debt resolution is often a source of additional stress, aggressive communications, unclear processes, and little sense of control.
We set out to change that by building something that felt closer to a modern financial app calm, transparent, and user-led.
The Goals
1. Build a fully self-serve experience where users can manage their debt independently
2. Design with empathy, using considered visuals and supportive, non-judgmental language
3. Give users clarity and agency at every step, from setting up a payment plan to requesting support
4. Continuously evolve the product through iterative improvements and regular feature releases
My Role
Working alongside one other designer, I owned the end-to-end product design from discovery and journey mapping through to prototyping, usability testing, and delivery. Following a company-wide rebrand in 2024, I also led the UI refresh, aligning the product with updated typography, colour, and tone guidelines.
Research & User Testing
User insight was built into our process throughout. We ran 1:1 interviews with live customers across varying demographics, remote usability testing via Lyssna and Userbrain, and in-app feedback loops to capture ongoing sentiment.
Designing for Calm
Managing debt is an emotionally charged experience. Drawing on wellness-focused products like Headspace and Balance, we developed a visual and interaction language built around reassurance, soft colours, considered spacing, gentle micro-interactions, and copy written to feel supportive rather than clinical.
Designing a easy-to-use aesthetically calming budget assessment flow (for high vulnerability customers)
Design Process
I began by mapping the full user journey from initial contact through to account resolution, identifying friction points and emotional peaks along the way. From there I moved into wireframing, prototyping, and iterative testing across both moderated and unmoderated environments, refining flows based on real user behaviour at every stage.
Final Design
