SCADpro * FINRA
SCADpro Sponsor Course
Accessibility Guideline and New Investor Tool
Overview
As part of a 10-week collaboration with FINRA, our team was tasked with improving the accessibility and usability of digital tools for a broad and diverse user base. Working within a highly regulated environment, we focused on balancing clarity, compliance, and user empowerment. This project reinforced the value of inclusive design in building trust, supporting user confidence, and aligning organizational goals with meaningful, human-centered outcomes.
(Project under NDA – Details Obscured)
Methods
Survey, Interview, Affinitization, User Ability Testing, Sensory Cue Workshop, Co-creation Workshop, User Journey Mapping, Storyboards, Figma Prototyping
Meet the Team
19 students from 8 majors
My Role
User Experience Co-Lead
Tool
Figma, Zoom
Duration
10 Weeks, 2025 Jan. - Mar.
My Responsibility
As part of the Risk Assessment Team, I…
Conducted user research and created 3 archetypes & journey maps for target investors to identify pain points and opportunity areas.
Co-led a team of 11, designing and iterating on 50+ lo-fi and mid-fi responsive screens on Figma, mainly focusing on the final result page and interactive flow.
Conducted 2 user interviews independently and contributed to analyzing 9 user testing findings to generate actionable design insights.
Built and refined scalable 6 UI components for consistency and accessibility.
Communicated with clients and collaborated with accessibility teams to align interface decisions.
Key Takeaways
Designed complex Figma prototypes, focusing on responsive flows and scalable UI components to support clarity and accessibility.
Strengthened my ability to balance user needs with stakeholder expectations, aligning design direction with FINRA’s brand tone through co-leadership.
Gained hands-on experience across the full research-to-design process, including interviews, usability testing, and collaboration with accessibility experts.
Learned to adapt design strategies within a highly regulated industry, aligning user insights with organizational goals.
The Challenge
Efforts behind the scene
As FINRA works to empower and protect investors, a key challenge is ensuring that financial tools and resources are accessible and understandable for a wide range of users. The challenge was to enhance accessibility design guidelines and communication and new public-facing investment tools in ways that promote accessibility, clarity, and user confidence.
The Approach
Mixed method research
We conducted secondary research focusing on investment, investment risk, customer behaviors, and industry trends, followed by 5 interviews and a 109-response survey with target users. We focused on understanding both the emotional and cognitive barriers that new investors face and the pain points around accessing and interpreting financial tools.
Synthesis and Insights
Our findings highlighted a need for more consistent design standards, more straightforward language, and support for users with varying familiarity and accessibility needs. These insights guided the creation of inclusive design strategies that balanced simplicity, interaction, and precision.
Prototyping and testing
To ground our work in real user needs, we successfully conducted nine usability tests and facilitated a sensory cue workshop. These sessions helped us uncover how users interpret content, navigate interfaces, and respond to visual, auditory, and interaction cues.
Collaboration
Within the accessibility team
We also collaborated closely with our internal accessibility team to ensure all design solutions met current accessibility standards. Their expertise and guidelines were critical in helping us embed inclusive practices into both the visual and functional aspects of the experience.
With the client
Throughout the project, we worked closely with FINRA’s internal stakeholders, whose consistent engagement and thoughtful feedback were instrumental to our progress. Together, we carefully tracked and discussed every key design decision to ensure alignment with organizational goals and user needs.
In the later phase of the project, following detailed feedback on our mid-fidelity prototype, we gained a deeper understanding of FINRA’s preference for a more traditional, professional, and trustworthy visual approach—aligned with both the nature of the financial industry and FINRA’s established brand tone. While this direction initially differed from some of the insights we gathered through user research, we saw this as an opportunity for open dialogue. We scheduled a dedicated meeting to present two design directions: one reflecting FINRA’s brand expectations, and another rooted in user-centered findings. Through collaborative discussion, we were able to refine and align the final design strategy. In the end, the client response was very positive, and our final presentation was well received.
The Impact
Deliver Value
Evidence-Based Design:
The iterative testing and prototyping process gave stakeholders confidence in the solutions we proposed, while also aligning internal teams around user-validated design choices.
Inclusive Experience:
Our approach aimed to reduce barriers for novice or underserved users and enhance the clarity and approachability of the overall user experience.
Scalability:
The insights and design frameworks we developed laid the groundwork for more accessible and consistent experiences across future tools and platforms.
