Beanstalk
Revolutionising children's savings with a collaborative ISA app.
Introduction
This case study covers the design and development of Beanstalk, a children's Individual Savings Account (ISA) app built around a simple but powerful behavioural insight: saving for a child's future shouldn't fall on parents alone. By making it easy and emotionally rewarding for friends and family to contribute, Beanstalk transformed saving from an individual obligation into a collective act.
Objectives
Help parents save consistently for their children's future
Make it straightforward for friends and family members to contribute to a child's savings
Make saving feel emotionally worthwhile — not just financially sensible
Develop & ideation
To understand user needs and define the app's features, I led a series of discovery workshops with stakeholders and domain experts. Together we developed ecosystem maps, journey maps, and initial wireframes. This collaborative process surfaced the emotional dimensions of saving — particularly the role of shared ownership and family connection — which became central to the design direction.
Rapid Prototyping
Multiple iterations of the app's interface and functionality were built and tested in quick succession, with user feedback incorporated at each stage. This iterative approach kept design decisions grounded in real user response rather than assumption, and allowed the team to identify what was working — and what wasn't — early enough to act on it.
High-Fidelity Interactive Prototypes
High-fidelity interactive prototypes brought the full user experience to life for both stakeholder review and user testing. Regular presentations ensured alignment with the project vision and gave stakeholders the visibility they needed to provide meaningful input throughout development.
Conclusion
Beanstalk was an exercise in applying behavioural design to a financial product — taking a behaviour (saving) that people know they should do but often don't, and redesigning the experience around what actually sustains it: shared purpose, emotional reward, and a sense of collective achievement. The result was a product that didn't just function well, but gave families a genuinely motivating reason to keep going.
What people said
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Love it! Got the whole family using it. It's so easy to use and my family are all linked to the kids' accounts so they can contribute.
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Lovely design, even better functionality. Really clean interface — helps make a habit out of putting money away for the kids.
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Perfect for families spread across the UK. This app allows us to put little bits away for the kids.