COMPANY  //  AOL Time Warner

SOLUTION  //  AOL Money & Finance iPhone App

MY WORK  //

HIGHLIGHTS  //

• #1 iPhone Productivity App
• #4 iPhone App overall in App Store
• 1 million+ downloads from App Store

PROCESS  //

We utilized the waterfall methodology to develop this mobile app.

THE PROJECT  //

The launch of the first iPhone in 2006 changed the digital game, and poured fuel on the fire of the AOL and Yahoo! rivalry, especially between their Money & Finance channels. AOL wanted to provide an alternative to Yahoo!’s free finance app that was installed on every iPhone, and to provide its user base with a mobile alternative. So we set out to design the best money & finance mobile app that would be easy to use while shattering the boring finance design that plagued the industry.

In our market research, we looked across the finance industry and found that most designs were white with few design details, where these companies wanted the information to be easily conveyed without the user getting lost in additional design details. Bloomberg was the ultra-luxe product at the time, and they had taken a risk with the all-black interface, but dumbed down the design in the process for faster performance.

We decided to take on the difficult assignment of designing a modern version of the Bloomberg design. We ensured our user experience design was simple and intuitive, where we added creative touches of color and imagery to accent and highlight the most important data for users.

The AOL Money & Finance app for iPhone was launched in April of 2008 and quickly became one of the hottest downloads in Apple’s App Store. The mobile app included news, great charts, real-time quotes, a neat “movers” section, custom portfolios, and a very clean design.

 

APP REVIEWS  //

The AOL Money & Finance iPhone app quickly became one of the hottest downloads in Apple’s App Store, and received rave reviews from various tech media, including Engadget, Business Insider, AdWeek, and others.

 

The AOL Money & Finance mobile app was ranked the #1 Productivity App during the first week it launched, #4 iPhone App overall, had a million+ downloads, and was selected as an Apple Staff Pick. Apple also highlighted the AOL Money & Finance iPhone app in a lot of their advertising, promotional activities, and even on their website (see below).

 

IN THE NEWS  //

• Business Insider: AOL ‘Daily Finance’ iPhone App Looks Good
• Adweek: AOL Sees Success With ‘Finance’ iPhone App
• Engadget: AOL Daily Finance app raises the bar for iPhone investment tools

 

LET’S DISRUPT THE FUTURE  //

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