Wellthi App

To kick off this process I researched the history of Sou Sou. I was amazed to learn about the long tradition of women all around the world, banding together in small groups to systemize a savings plan.

These savings regularly provide large payouts toward funding dreams of financial independence. The founder of Sou Sou is a former US Ambassador and learned of the tradition on her travels. She was inspired to create a platform to empower users.

Creating a website to market this concept , I interviewed company stakeholders and potential users of the product. Creating a discussion guide I was able to uncover the following insights

Stakeholder Painpoints

• The concept of Sou Sou is not easily communicated
• A modern minimal website would excite visitors
• Increase analytical benchmarks and conversion rates 
• Promote trust – credibility as a world class financial tool 
• The traffic was not tied to searches or social media. SEO not properly integrated resulting in marketing team motivation to create a new platform strategy

User Painpoints

• Many Americans don’t know the history of Sou Sou, but find the concept interesting. They needed a simplified way to learn more
• Lots of first generation Americans prefer to Sou Sou within their own community, not digitally
• Second generation Americans have heard about Sou Sou but can’t imagine a digital version. They are interested in trying it out
• Current website displayed no trust, or transparency of buying into  Sou Sou as an eCommerce product

The existing site had great content, but to drive traffic it needed to be re-organized and simplified.

I began by listing the existing content and grouping into sections. Those sections then became site pages. Making columns with section labels, I organized the content and started to eliminate duplicated information and write bold headings for each page. Once the page tone was defined I listed content and order based on user and stakeholder feedback. Below is the final content structure  and wireframes.

When constructing the design system I referenced insights received in the interview process. The wording that often came up was luxurious, minimal, sophisticated, inspirational, efficient, innovative. All elements were selected to invoke the visual language of these words.

Color pallet was kept simple to not distract from website content. I choose black, white and a pop color of turquoise.

Font roboto is clean and modern sans serif typeface that is flexible in all font weights, and colors.

Links & buttons were kept simple and clean to drive more user interaction.

Vibrant imagery to communicate the powerful tradition of Sou Sou and to connect the roots to the new visual language of the website refresh.

Now that the plan was in place it was time to move the design forward and launch.

The original website was build on Shopify, I recommended a re-platform to WordPress where the Sou Sou team felt more comfortable maintaining changes on their own.

After securing credentials I followed the content strategy and sitemap to build pages and sections. Pulling together the design elements of color, typography, icons, buttons and imagery. I created a visual language that communicated the brand and promoted trust through consistency.