Project Overview
XP Investimentos is Brazil’s largest brokerage, serving investors with diverse financial goals and backgrounds. As their digital platform grew rapidly, it became a crucial element in expanding the XP advisory experience. Our project aimed to reshape the user experience on this platform, offering a deeper understanding of customer perceptions, behaviors, motivations, and frustrations.
Project Goals
XP was evolving from a stock-focused brokerage into a one-stop investment platform, particularly aimed at fixed-income clients. The new platform needed to reflect this shift and provide an improved, personalized experience.
Design Process
1. Immersion
For two weeks, our team worked on-site at XP’s office, gathering comprehensive knowledge on investments and aligning on the company’s business goals. We translated complex investment information into actionable KPIs and explained the value of design thinking to XP’s stakeholders, setting the foundation for our project’s approach.
2. Field Research
We started by segmenting XP’s investor profiles based on investment amounts and types. Over 1,000 investors were sorted into research clusters to understand their habits, journeys, and expectations. This preparation allowed us to conduct interviews that would reveal the deeper needs and frustrations of different investor groups. Each interview session was conducted by two researchers and recorded for accuracy, allowing us to gather detailed insights into user perspectives.
3. Personas
Based on the data from field research, we developed personas to represent common user types, each with unique behaviors and motivations:
Persistent: Highly knowledgeable and open to a variety of investment types, despite risks.
Dependent: Limited investment knowledge; seeks guidance and reassurance from advisors.
Solid: Strong understanding of specific investments, willing to take calculated risks.
Controller: General investment knowledge with a strong aversion to risk, focused on long-term gains.
These personas guided us in designing an experience that caters to diverse risk tolerances, knowledge levels, and engagement styles.
4. Prototyping & Validation
Before creating digital prototypes, we used paper sketches to quickly map out the user flow. Paper sketches allowed us to iterate ideas rapidly, though we later transitioned to digital prototypes for more in-depth user testing. Key insights from user testing included:
Individualize: Users felt XP could better tailor product offerings and avoid generic recommendations that seemed impersonal or irrelevant.
Simplify: Many investors found industry jargon confusing, highlighting the need to simplify investment terms and provide clear, actionable feedback on investment growth.
Advise: Investors wanted advisors to better align with their personal finance goals, reinforcing the role of the advisor as a guide rather than a salesperson.
5. User Interface and Design System
Using insights from our research, we crafted a user interface that balanced functionality with visual clarity. XP didn’t have a design system, so our deliverable extended beyond a UI—it established a visual identity for XP’s platform that would support consistency and usability for years to come.
TL;DR
For XP Investimentos, Brazil's largest brokerage, we redesigned their digital platform to support a shift towards a comprehensive investment experience, especially for fixed-income clients. Through field research, persona development, and rigorous prototyping, we identified critical user needs around personalization, simplicity, and advisory support. Our deliverables included a user-friendly interface and a new design system, creating a cohesive visual identity that would support XP’s growth for years to come.
