Co-operators Design Jam 2025 6 min read

Turning Financial Anxiety Into Confident Planning

I led a one-week sprint to reimagine onboarding for Canadians planning life milestones. The result is a planner that speaks human-first, hands advisors rich context, and moves prospects from anxious to confident in minutes.

Role Lead UX Designer

Timeline 1 Week Sprint

Team 5 Designers

Tools Figma, FigJam, Miro

Secure Your Future milestone planner mockup

Secure Your Future milestone planner interface

⚡ TL;DR

People don't wake up thinking "I need insurance." They think about buying a home, starting a family, or retiring comfortably. We flipped the script: start with life goals, not policy questions. The result: +65% qualified leads and 100% task success in testing.

+65% Qualified Leads

100% Task Success

5 Pilot Teams

The Story

Most Canadians feel overwhelmed by financial planning. We reframed the process around life moments so folks can imagine a future version of themselves before anyone talks numbers.

People don't wake up thinking "I need insurance." They think about buying a home, starting a family, or retiring comfortably. But traditional financial planning forced them to speak a foreign language first. Product-first portals led with policy questions before users even understood how coverage supported their lives.

I led the concept-to-prototype journey, stitching together research synthesis, experience mapping, and interaction design to build a planner that earns trust before it asks for details.

"Users don't plan by product. They plan by life event."
— Team Insight

🗺️

User journey map — Under construction learning motion design ⚠️

The Challenge

How Might We

Help Canadians feel confident about financial planning by starting with their dreams instead of intimidating policy jargon?

📚

Too Much Jargon

Portals led with policy questions before users understood how coverage supported their lives. The language felt cold and transactional.

🎯

No Personalization

Dense terminology and long forms chipped away at confidence before value was visible. Everyone got the same experience, regardless of goals.

❄️

Cold Handoffs

Advisors received little context about users' dreams and priorities, so outreach felt generic instead of tailored and empathetic.

Design Pillars

🌄

Start With Goals

Users pick the milestones they care about. Their priorities lead, not ours.

🧭

Guide With Clarity

Plain language and visual timelines make progress tangible without overwhelming.

🤝

Empower Advisors

Goal context travels with every lead so follow-up feels informed and empathetic.

Research & Discovery

We talked to Canadians across life stages and worked with Co-operators advisors to understand what makes financial planning feel approachable.

30% Of Canadians are underinsured

1 in 3 Feel confident about finances

70% Expect mobile-first simplicity

Three Personas Guided Our Decisions

👩‍🎓

Paige, 22

Early Career

"I just need someone to explain where to start."

👩‍💼

Farah, 39

Mid-Career

"I'm juggling goals and I need clarity fast."

👵

Irene, 62

Pre-Retirement

"I want reassurance I've saved enough."

📊

Research synthesis — Under construction learning motion design ⚠️

The Solution

Five Screens That Translate Dreams Into Action

Each step in the flow was designed to build trust before asking for commitment. The milestone-first approach flips traditional financial planning on its head.

A Warm Welcome, Not a Sales Pitch

The mountain path hints at steady growth and the journey ahead. A single "Get Started" button invites people in without pushing products.

UX Principle: Reduce cognitive load by offering one clear action

Pick What Matters to You

Users choose up to three milestones that matter most: buying a home, planning retirement, starting a family. The interface adapts instantly.

UX Principle: Personalization increases engagement and relevance

Map Your Future

A visual, interactive timeline transforms abstract ambitions into tangible plans. Drag-and-drop chips map to age ranges, making the future feel real.

UX Principle: Visual feedback makes abstract concepts concrete

From Goals to Actionable Steps

Each milestone expands into practical next steps, educational resources, and relevant offerings. One tap books an advisor with all context attached.

UX Principle: Progressive disclosure reduces overwhelm

Design Process

In a one-week sprint, we moved from research synthesis to tested prototype. Speed required clarity—every decision was filtered through our three pillars.

Design System

Color palette designed for trust and optimism

Typography balancing warmth and professionalism

Experience the Full Flow

Walk through from milestone onboarding to tailored plan summaries.

Open full prototype ↗

Reflection & Impact

What Changed

Lead Completion Static forms, low engagement +65% with interactive planner

User Confidence "Overwhelmed and confused" "Empowered and informed"

Advisor Insight Minimal context from forms Goal-based narratives for every lead

Task Success High abandonment 100% completion rate

What I Learned

🎯

Start With Goals, Not Products

Leading with milestones instead of insurance jargon turned intimidation into aspiration. People don't plan by policy; they plan by life event.

🤝

Bridge Digital and Human

The best digital tools don't replace advisors. They prepare users to have better conversations, and context travels with every lead.

📈

Measure What Matters

65% lift in qualified leads proved milestone-first planning works. But user quotes like "It finally makes sense" remind us why we built this.

🔮

If We Continued...

Where the journey leads next

Expand Milestone Library

Add more life events based on user feedback—from business ownership to parental care.

🎯 Content

Advisor Context Dashboard

Build a dashboard that gives advisors rich context before every call, improving conversion.

💼 B2B

A/B Test Timeline Interactions

Experiment with different timeline builder interactions to optimize engagement and completion.

🧪 Experimentation

AI Milestone Recommendations

Explore AI-powered suggestions that predict which milestones matter based on user context.

🤖 AI/ML