Crafting Trust Through UX: Designing the Onboarding Flow for Collectibles Management Application

As the Product Designer, I shaped the end-to-end experience: from brand development and UX research to flow mapping, wireframing, prototyping, and microcopy. The onboarding journey was built to establish trust through discretion and elegance, mirroring the tone of private banking and luxury service culture.

The objective was simple yet nuanced: to create an onboarding flow that feels minimal, intuitive, and secure - like opening a private vault rather than downloading just another app.

CV-Video-Thumbnail.png

Challenge

UHNWIs face a fragmented ecosystem when it comes to managing their collectible assets:

  • Records are often spread across galleries, insurers, spreadsheets, or personal assistants.

  • Existing digital tools are generic, visually noisy, and lack a sense of exclusivity.

  • Security and privacy are often under-communicated, creating hesitation to use digital solutions.

The challenge was to design an onboarding flow that builds confidence immediately while introducing personalization without friction.

Problem Framing

The original login experience was a blank navy screen with no loading indicator. Users perceived it as either broken or slow. Without brand reinforcement or interaction feedback, the app failed to build trust at first entry - especially crucial for a high-net-worth financial platform.

Role & Team

I was the sole UI/UX designer at ARI Financial Group, collaborating directly with the frontend developer and product owner in a 2-week sprint.

Approach

We used microinteractions and motion design to convey system feedback and express brand authority.

Challenges.

Constraints around backend load times and authentication processes limited how quickly we could surface real content. The visual experience had to manage user expectations with no data being served.

Solution

Introduced animated lion logo with fade-in and elevation motion

Added subtle loading bar to reduce perceived wait

Enhanced color contrast and depth using a vertical gradient

Created mobile-optimized animation under 1.8MB for fast load

Results & Impact.

  1. Bounce rate on login screen ↓ 52%

  2. Time users waited without quitting ↑ 61%

  3. Logo brand recall (user interviews) ↑ from 10% to 43%

  4. Became the new brand standard for app entry experience

Next steps

We’re exploring turning the loading state into an interactive onboarding nudge with AI-driven progress insights to reinforce value during wait time.