kósmos: Currency Exchange for Global Travelers 

The Challenge

The Problem: Travelers often don't know where to find the best exchange rates or how to understand the local value of their money.

Key Pain Points: Through user interviews, I identified that travelers struggle with "what’s the best rate," "what’s the total amount after fees," and understanding how products/services are valued differently in various countries.

The Goal: To create a seamless experience where users can find the best exchange rates with ease while gaining cultural context.

The Design Process

From Paper to Digital: I iterated through multiple paper wireframes to ensure all necessary elements, like a map and search bar, were included to address user pain points.

User-Centered Features: I focused on a currency converter as a core component, allowing users to navigate between "Exchange" and "Country" information easily.

Usability Insights: Testing revealed that users wanted a "page-to-fit" screen, a combination of a search bar and map, and a minimal navigation design.

The Final Solution

Refining the Experience: The final mockups addressed feedback by incorporating accessible visuals, a search bar dropdown menu, and more intuitive icons.

Accessibility First: I prioritized a clear information hierarchy to reduce "visual noise" for neurodivergent users and maintained high contrast for users with low vision or those in high-glare environments.

Impact: One user noted that the cultural facts were a "cool addition" that would help them navigate their destination with more confidence.

The Future

Moving Forward: I plan to integrate a real-time API for live fluctuations and a "best rates nearby" feature that uses geolocation to identify physical kiosks with the lowest commission fees.