Vario
Product Concept
Product Concept
I co-founded Vario to address the massive influx of inexperienced retail investors entering the market during the 2020 volatility. As the Product Lead, I guided the project from initial concept to beta release. My role encompassed the entire product lifecycle including defining the market positioning, designing the brand identity, architecting the information architecture, and executing the UX/UI design. Additionally, I developed the underlying financial algorithm that powered our proprietary scoring system, bridging the gap between complex financial data and an accessible user experience.
Year
2021 – 2022
Roles
Founding Designer
Contributions
Product, Strategy, UX, UI, Branding
Context & Challenge
While accessing the stock market has never been easier, understanding it remains a challenge for beginners. The sheer volume of data, technical jargon, and investment options creates a high barrier to entry which often leads to paralysis or reckless decision-making.
My idea was to build a tool that could guide these novices through the noise. I wanted to create a platform that moved beyond simple trading to offer genuine guidance. The goal was to help users identify stocks that matched their personal interests, their "Circle of Competence" as Warren Buffett calls it, while teaching the importance of diversification and risk management in a playful and non-intimidating way.
Product Strategy
We initially conceptualized Vario as an AI-driven ecosystem featuring five distinct personas where advanced and beginner users would have their own specific companions. However, early user testing revealed that this approach added cognitive load and friction, especially since the financial data was already overwhelming.
Based on this feedback, we reduced the complexity to a single, consistent companion and simplified asset classes to focus strictly on stocks, Bitcoin, and one global diversified ETF. We also shifted from a manual portfolio builder to an automated recommendation feature to ensure that users build a mathematically sound, diversified portfolio rather than just picking stocks they like.
The Algorithm
The core value proposition of Vario was the Vario-Score, a proprietary matching algorithm I helped structure. We needed to condense complex financial metrics into a simple and swipeable decision-making tool.
We built a database of 450 stocks and tagged them across 34 accessible themes like E-Mobility or Gaming rather than using financial terminology like "cyclical consumer discretionary". The algorithm evaluated assets based on growth, profitability, and stability to incorporate 15 relevant financial metrics combined with a unique user profile. This ensured that the gamified interface was backed by serious financial analysis.
Process
Regular user feedback and usability testing sessions established the foundation for our design decisions. Among various observations, we noticed that users misinterpreted fractional match scores like 9/10 as a countdown for remaining swipes, prompting us to switch to a percentage system for immediate clarity.
We further enhanced the architecture by introducing a personal dashboard, optimizing the chart UX, and adding algorithm customization and investment analyses through external APIs. We also implemented guiding feedback messages to clarify the user flow and integrated a broker overview to ensure the experience remained transparent and trustworthy.
Design & Branding
I developed the brand identity to reflect the app's function as a moral and financial compass. The logo combines a stylized "V" and "A" into a compass needle, subtly forming a heart shape to represent the matching mechanic.
For the UI, I moved away from the dark and data-heavy interfaces of traditional brokerage apps. I utilized a clean, white-space-dominant aesthetic that allows the stock charts and color-coded category tags to breathe. The primary color palette relied on a distinct green to convey confidence and growth, balanced by the classic red for bearish trends, grounding the modern app in established financial visual language.
Outcome
We successfully launched the app supported by a dedicated website and a cohesive social media campaign. The reception was positive with users specifically highlighting the intuitive UX and the innovative product concept.
However, at the end of 2022 the venture reached a critical juncture following the departure of my co-founder. Faced with the resource demands of scaling a fintech product alone and simultaneous high-level opportunities with Porsche, Volkswagen, and Sony Music, I made the strategic decision to discontinue operations. This move allowed me to fully dedicate my focus on my design business as a freelancer.
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