LIFE BOX
Empowering planners to organize and refine their estate details and increasing transparency for next of kin.
Year: 2024
Duration: 6 Weeks
Role: Sole UX/UI Designer
THE CONTEXT
64% of American adults think it’s important to have an estate plan.*
The majority of American adults, from new parents to retirees, think it’s important to have an estate plan to ensure their last wishes are protected.
Like many in the sandwich generation we’ve seen family members fall ill and others begin to reflect on their end stages. Their interest in gathering personal affairs and the complication in doing so led us to conceptualize a tool to help.
THE PROBLEM
But end-of-life wishes are difficult to address.
Estate details are uncomfortable to approach. While preliminary legal and accounting details are often outlined in a will, important medical and personal wishes can be overlooked leaving next of kin with numerous decisions to make on your behalf. People need confidence that their personal affairs are in order.
The Goal
Create an intuitive METHOD FOR USERS TO easily HONE AND REVIEW their LEGACY DETAILS
Reduce complexity in refining last wishes, encourage users to easily review their details, and increase confidence that personal affairs are in order
THE RESEARCH
Let’s understand the market landscape and users.
We began with a research plan to understand the market landscape and target audience, as we require both real-world context and user-centric insights to lead design decisions.
Competitor Analysis
We compared the features of three popular estate planning apps to highlight industry trends and opportunities for differentiation. Complex interfaces and gaps in features like physical asset organization leave room for improvement.
User Interviews
One-on-one remote interviews were conducted to get direct insight into user experiences. The six participants were asked questions such as:
“Has anything in particular prompted you to think about organizing your affairs?”
“What have you hoped to achieve by organizing your estate plan?”
“How often, if ever, do you think about revisiting or updating your plan?”
“Is there anything that makes you feel comfortable with the discussion or process?”
THE RESEARCH
Uncovering patterns and defining needs from the results.
We synthesized research results to decipher core motivations, goals, challenges, and needs. This provides clear insight into how users interact with estate planning tools and what features would most effectively address their pain points.
AFFINITY MAPPING
Affinity mapping revealed patterns and themes within the research. While major life events prompt users to take action, many struggle with discomfort and overwhelm, especially when navigating multiple documents. Users seek clear guidance, simplicity, and security in the process of discussing their last wishes - along with a touch of humanness.
PERSONAS
We developed two core personas using the final insights: the tech-savvy retiree and the caregiver of an aging parent. Both personas prioritize a secure, easy-to-use tool that offers peace of mind, transparency, and helpful prompts to refine personal wishes.
KEY finding 1
Estate Plan details are scattered across physical and digital storage. Between an attorney’s office, a safe, an old desktop, a notebook…participants are unable to easily access an overview of their details.
Key finding 2
Estate Plans details are ever-evolving. Life events such as changes in health, marital, or employment status are the key motivation for reviewing estate plans. Preferences will need to be updated accordingly.
key finding 3
Personal Directives are important but often uncomfortable to address. 66% of participants have opinions on their last wishes but have not transcribed them. Users need an approachable way to define and personalize these details in their own time.
key finding 4
Physical property division is necessary. 83% of participants are eager to itemize their personal belongings but haven’t begun doing so.
KEY FINDING 5
66% of participants haven’t shared direction on how to access their final wishes with their next of kin, yet reducing the burden on loved ones is key goal for getting affairs in order.
KEY FINDING 6
Participants only trust professionals with the legal and financial aspects of their estate plan. This clarifies which feature set to prioritize in our planning process.
How might we
CREATE An approachable PLATFORM FOR USERS TO UPLOAD, ORGANIZE, AND SHARE THEIR LAST WISHES
How might we provide clear guidance and an approachable interface for users to upload their estate plan details?
How might we ensure a streamlined process for users to organize and share their personal affairs?
How might we build trust by allowing users to customize their view, tailoring the platform to their evolving needs?
THE PLANNING
A focus on areas of estate planning that are more fluid and likely to change over time.
One key research finding was that users only trust professionals with the legal and financial aspects of their estate plan, and feel uncomfortable editing such details in an application. We therefore focused on personal directives, health directives, and physical asset inventory features. This combined with document storage would provide users with a comprehensive overview of their plans.
FEATURE ROADMAP
Customizable personal directives
Physical asset inventory
Secure storage for key documents (i.e. legal, financial, etc.)
Shared access or exporting option for key contacts or next of kin
User FLOWS
Onboarding
Adding and Editing an item in Inventory
Refining a Personal Directive
BRANDING
Establishing the look and feel for a new brand.
Before one builds, one must brand. The branding process began with creating a mood board and exploring color schemes around the users core motivations and needs. A serifed font and dark blue primary convey professionalism and reliability. We shifted from a security-focused logo to a more affirming symbol that encourages engagement and reflection on personal affairs. The final color palette includes muted yellows and oranges to evoke approachability and humanness.
WIREFRAMES & MOCKUPS
Sketching and building the design solutions.
Using the feature roadmap, site map, and user flows, lo-fi wireframes of key screens were sketched and tested both in-person and unmoderated via Useberry. These insights informed the development of the hi-fi mockups, which were then refined using the new branding.
FEATURE 1: DASHBOARD
Users liked a proactive prompt such as ‘let’s get started.’ One user suggested switching this message to ‘review your box’ once their set up had been completed
FEATURE 2: PHOTO INVENTORY
Results showed that users preferred the clean lines of a grid layout. Keeping the photo prominent with a title and description is important for clarity and scanning, ensuring the inventory can be navigated quickly.
FEATURE 3: PERSONAL DIRECTIVES
Users suggested a brief description of the directives would be helpful amongst the many tasks to manage. Ultimately, they prefer a healthy balance of information and negative space.
TESTING & ITERATING
Assessing the prototype functionality and overall user experience.
We evaluated our hi-fi prototype with ten users in an unmoderated usability test with Useberry. Participants were asked to move through the following tasks while interacting with the prototype.
Create a new account using Face ID
Add a new item to the photo inventory
Input details to a personal directive
The results showed an 80% user satisfaction rating and an 100% task completion rate. Users generally found the task flows clear and inviting, but some expressed a desire for more guidance in certain areas.
iteration 1: Onboarding prompts were revised with additional context
Some users will be approaching this subject matter for the first time and were interested in more introductory reading material. We had to create a balance with others who were eager to move quickly. To increase confidence and add clarity, we expanded upon the onboarding guidance.
ITERATION 2: Navigation cards were updated with descriptive text
60% of users noted the home screen was intuitive and logical. But facing multiple categories at once can lead to overwhelm. By adding brief descriptions and maintaining a balanced interface, we can reduce cognitive load and improve user engagement.
The Solution
bringing everything together
FINAL THOUGHTS
Users have evolving needs and continued security interest.
Life Box aimed to empower users to manage their last wishes with confidence and security. In a market typically fragmented by legal services and physical file storage, the platform stands out as a comprehensive solution to combine document storage, personalized directives, and inventory management into one hub. One ‘box.’
But each user will have a distinct and evolving set of needs, and may not require all features. Additionally, data encryption and platform security will remain central to the platform’s success.
Our next steps will involve implementing improvements in customization and security measures, while balancing user engagement and preventing interface overwhelm.