Zest was a UI design brief completed as part of my UX Design Institute diploma, requiring a full set of mobile, tablet and desktop screens for a challenger bank across three core sections, My Accounts, Current Account and My Spending. The brief set out three brand qualities to work within, playful, clear and trustworthy, and every design decision was measured against those three.
I looked closely at existing challenger banks and wider fintech products for direction, particularly how they balance approachability with the trust a financial product needs to establish. That research shaped an early decision to lean into playfulness through colour and illustration, while keeping the underlying information architecture restrained and highly legible, so the personality never came at the expense of clarity.
For colour, I chose a hot pink and teal palette, a combination bold enough to carry the fun, playful energy the brief asked for, while still feeling considered rather than gimmicky. To reinforce that same playfulness, I utilised AI to create a set of placeholder character illustrations across the screens, giving the product a distinct personality that set it apart from the more clinical visual language typical of traditional banking apps.
Clarity and trust were addressed primarily through structure. Account information, balances and spending data were laid out with a clear hierarchy and generous spacing, prioritising easy scanning and quick comprehension across all three sections. This extended consistently across mobile, tablet and desktop, ensuring the experience felt equally considered and trustworthy regardless of screen size.
The finished screens and Figma prototype were assessed alongside a formal written examination, and the assignment received an overall mark of 90%.
