Role: Concept, Strategy, Branding & UX
Client: 2016 Android Summit Hackathon
Company: Capital One
Team: Purankar Supriya, Asit Tiwary, Mary Grimes


Problem

Design and build an app in 24 hours to help individuals most affected by the Great Recession.

Action

Inspired by what I saw in my own neighborhood, I proposed an idea to support people living paycheck to paycheck, educating them about financial prioritization and bill management. We brainstormed with sticky notes and whiteboards, identifying three key features:

  • Messages: Guidance, encouragement, and alerts about bills
  • Bills Due: Categorized by urgency, what must be paid vs. what can wait
  • Balances: Sorted by importance (e.g., housing first), helping users plan smarter

I named the app Buoy, a metaphor for staying afloat financially. Using Google’s Material sticker sheet, I rapidly created high-fidelity UX flows while the dev team integrated provided APIs.

Results

  • Delivered a lightly interactive prototype in under 24 hours during an internal hackathon.
  • Buoy tied for 2nd place out of all submissions and stood out as the only entry with a fully realized product design.
  • Praised for its empathetic tone and visual clarity, the concept tackled financial triage with calm, approachable UX. Covered onboarding, personalized assessments, and action plans.
  • I led UX, UI, prototyping, and branding for a 4-person team. The project sparked internal interest and encouragement to explore future applications.

Skills

  • Rapid Prototyping
  • Hackathon Design
  • Android UX
  • Material Design
  • Concept Development
  • UX Strategy
  • Team Collaboration
  • Branding