Ascent: A Financial 
Literacy Tool

Financial education alone does not assure wealth
nor financial health. However, financial education
does secure some protection from damaging
financial behaviors that unknowingly disrupt the
journey to lifelong wealth.

Ascent is a financial literacy application that
aims to address the racial wealth gap with a
thorough and interactive method to learning
essential financial concepts – motivating
users to employ them in their own lives. This
accessible application uses gamification as a
low-stress entryway to financial education in the
form of simulations that will enable users to
replicate the choices they would face in
real-life circumstances.
DATE STARTED

August 2024

 PRACTICES

Secondary Research
User Research
Wireframing
Game Design
Prototyping
User Testing

 TOOLS

Google Suite
Figma
Twine
Illustrator














Research

As a novice to both gamification as well as instructional design, I was slow to find my footing for this project. I started by constructing a list of research questions surrounding the wealth gap, financial literacy, and gamification, which eventually began to take the shape of a conceptual mind map.

I used this mind map to keep track of different trains of thought, and it would act as my center to keep me focused. Extended View

Those who lack financial literacy are prone to committing financial errors, causing the inability to cope with economic shocks.Todayʼs black middle-class is predominantly first-generation investors making financial decisions with limited resources. Knowledge supports our ongoing financial success. However, outside of apps specializing in one area of finance (budgeting, credit building, etc), financial tools prioritizing education are mainly pdfs, worksheets, and online courses or media like blogs and podcasts. 

My product curbs browsing by having a wide range of topics in one place and eases Black Americans into financial education by acknowledging its overlooked emotional and racial pieces. If you’re interested in in-depth documentation of my research and process, check out my thesis paper.










Building a Game

Active learning is a strategy used to enhance student engagement. It necessitates that students do something with the subject matter, often taking the form of role-play, debates, and simulations. When students process information in ways that are interesting and meaningful to them, they become producers of knowledge rather than consumers of content, yielding a deeper understanding of the subject matter. In my financial literacy tool, I use simulation games as a vessel for active learning. 

I chose to create a “renting an apartment” simulation for this project because it is in line with the first of many financial decisions young adults make after moving away from home. It is a process that can take weeks, and it contains many intricacies that users may not be privy to without prior practice or advice from those with experience. 

The project began with a singular approach to simulations, one that watered down the users autonomy so as to guide them through practical actions as they go through the module. Following user testing and professional feedback, my approach to simulations shifted to include two additional approaches. The first gives the user complete autonomy so as to make mistakes freely and learn from them independently. The second aligns more accurately with the gamification aspect, requiring the user to reverse engineer a successful example and replicate the decisions made to accomplish any specific outcome. As it stands, the simulation is primarily guided by this last approach. 






Back to Home Next Project