Coino
A personal finance companion that helps users track spending without the overwhelming complexity of traditional budgeting apps.
Context
Audience
Young professionals who want to understand their spending patterns without the complexity of traditional finance apps.
Why It Matters
Most budgeting apps overwhelm users with features. Coino takes the opposite approach—showing only what you need to make better financial decisions.
Constraints
Built as a solo project focusing on high-fidelity interaction design. Had to balance complex animations (Framer Motion) with PWA performance on mobile devices.
Decisions
What I Chose
- Progressive Web App for native-like mobile experience without app store friction
- Clean, airy aesthetic with soft gradients to make financial tasks feel less stressful
- Minimal categorization—auto-grouping instead of manual tagging
- Framer Motion for subtle transitions that feel premium without distraction
What I Didn't
- Complex budgeting features like envelopes or goals—kept scope focused
- Bank API integrations—manual entry keeps users more aware of spending
- Social features or gamification—finance should feel personal, not performative
Reasoning
Every feature added is a feature someone has to understand. For personal finance, simplicity reduces friction and increases daily usage.
Outcome & Reflection
What Worked
The frictionless design fostered a consistent habit. By removing barriers to entry, I successfully replaced manual spreadsheets with a seamless mobile-first workflow.
What I'd Improve
Explore budget forecasting based on historical spending trends. Recent updates include data export and recurring transaction support.
What I Learned
Constraint breeds creativity. Focusing on just the core logic allowed for deeper polish on the interactions that actually matter to the user.