---
date: 2018-04-01
type: ship
title: Fineo
slug: fineo
project: Nimble
kicker: A learning platform for finance, law, and business professionals.
excerpt: "Designed from the ground up: a modular system that balanced financial credibility with learner-friendly modules. Users completed lessons 20% faster in the preferred prototype direction."
cover: /assets/covers/hero-fineo.webp
palette:
  accent: "#8C7088"
  source:
    brand: "Pantone"
    name: "5135 Mauve"
  role: Lead Product Designer
  pull: Credibility isn't a color. It's the negative space between the numbers.
tags: [product-systems, fintech, learning, 0-to-1]
---

## Context

Professional learning in finance and law sat in separate places: spreadsheets in one tool, courses in another, market insight in a third. Fineo set out to put them under one roof, credible enough for working professionals and approachable enough for first-time learners.

![Fineo lesson view on a MacBook framed by chromatic glass ribbons. Top of the screen shows a green "Modern Portfolio Theory FL · Portfolio Management" book cover beside three queued module cards (Financial Markets and Financial Intermediaries, The Financial Market and its Market Segments, Transformation Roles). Below, the article reads "Financial Markets" with a small-caps drop cap and three measured paragraphs explaining how financial markets coordinate consumption, saving and investments, with inline blue links on words like "shares" and "investments" and a sub-heading "How might such a transaction look in the financial market?".](/assets/projects/fineo/fn-reading.webp)

## What I designed

A modular design system that scaled from dashboard to lesson. Spacing, rhythm, and hierarchy did the structural work so chrome could stay out of the way. Built to localise quickly across languages and regions with a small team.

![Fineo learner home on an iPad surrounded by chrome ribbons. The header reads "fineo · Hi, Catherine" with a profile and bookmarks count. A green "Fundemental · Modern Portfolio Theory FL · Portfolio Management · Progress 35%" book cover sits beside its module list: Financial Markets (2) Continue, Return (3) Start, Risk (4) Restart, Diversification (6) Continue, Return (3) Start, Risk Management (12) Continue, Shareholders (4) Continue, Principles of Currency (3) Start. A blue "Continue Module" CTA centres the bottom.](/assets/projects/fineo/fn-module.webp)

## The trade-off

We held two design directions in tension. A traditional fintech surface (serious, dense, data-first) versus a learner-led surface (lighter, modular, faster to enter). Both were prototyped and tested with finance and legal professionals.

The fintech-credible prototype read as trustworthy but slow. The learner-led version completed the first lesson 20% faster and was rated more approachable. We didn't pick a side. We kept fintech's palette and typography for credibility and adopted bite-sized modular content patterns for momentum. Trust at the surface, pace in the structure.

## What it changed

Lessons completed up. Time on key modules up. The system now extends into new product areas without rebuilding the foundation underneath.

![Fineo mobile dashboard on an iPhone floating among chrome glass shapes. Top of the screen shows the John Muskeeter profile with "13 Bookmarks" and a "Last Visited Page" tag. Below, the active module reads "Financial Markets and Financial Intermediaries" with a Tasks in Progress card titled "Consequences of information efficiency", paragraph preview, "1 / 12" count, and a "Progress 25%" indicator. A bottom tab bar carries Control Center, Content Manager, Search.](/assets/projects/fineo/fn-mobile-tasks.webp)

## Role

Lead Product Designer. Worked closely with engineering and content to make sure visual rhythm and learning rhythm pulled in the same direction.