Context & challenge
The Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), under NYC’s DCWP, offers free financial counseling to residents — helping with budgeting, debt, and money planning
The challenge
As demand surged, the appointment completion rate remained low
Many users got stuck midway, especially on mobile, or gave up when unsure of required steps. To address this, I led the end-to-end design process, collaborating closely with stakeholders and developers to solve the key pain points causing drop-offs and confusion in the booking flow.
Users find it difficult to understand what financial counseling actually offers
Users on mobile devices struggle to navigate due to endless loading and unclear progress steps
The Solution
Introducing the “Simplified Booking Flow” : less stress, more clarity
Simplied Booking Flow with:
Clear progress indicator
Interactive loading page
Toggle “view map” & “view list”
Impact
The redesign is currently under implementation!
We received enthusiastic and positive feedback during the final presentation, which highlighted the design’s intuitive navigation, simplicity, and effectiveness in addressing previously overlooked challenges. The client was particularly impressed with our detail-oriented approach and efficient execution, expressing excitement about implementing the design. Our clients not only plan to implement our design solutions to the financial counseling scheduler but also intend to apply this approach to other scheduling processes across their entire services.
“Excellent work! Very thoughtful approach to every aspect of the portal ”
-Vilda Vera, Commissioner
“We’re definitely applying this design to all our other appointment tools”
-Elina Tatis, Assistant Director at FEC
So, how did I turn confusion into clarity?
Background research
Discovering the Why behind the drop offs
8 Stakeholder interviews, workshop & live poll
Need intuitive and simple design that reduces drop offs
Collected User surveys thorugh Googleforms
75% users make appointment through their mobile phones
Benchmarking on Accessible Design based on research
Implementation of accessible design to support a wide range of users
Design opportunity
How might we redesign the booking flow into a clear and supportive journey — with step indicators, interactive feedback, and accessibility for older adults — to reduce cognitive load and improve completion rates?
Designing the flow
Mapped the new scheduling flow to give DCWP a clear view of how our proposed features integrate into the existing service experience
From the old flow that looked like a maze — long, flat, full of drop-off points
To short, guided path with fewer choices per screen.
Converting key problems to design solutions
Turning user frustration into clarity through thoughtful, accessible design.
Final design based on the feedback!
Solution for drop-off, delay, and accessibility
Solution 1
Clear progress indicator
Displays which step the user is on and how many steps remain, helping users stay oriented and reducing uncertainty during the booking flow.
Solution 2
Interactive loading page
Designed an engaging loading screen that highlights counseling benefits and shows estimated wait time, turning idle moments into reassurance and value.
Solution 3
Toggle “view map” & “view list”
Added a toggle feature during location selection, allowing users to easily switch between map view and list view based on their preference or accessibility needs.
Design system & accessibility
As part of our design system and accessibility efforts, we followed the Bootstrap framework to ensure smooth developer handoff and maintain consistent UI patterns. We ensured WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all screens to support accessible interactions for users of varying abilities. Typography and button sizes were refined for better legibility, particularly on mobile devices and for older adults. Additionally, we optimized UX writing to deliver clear, concise messaging that resonates with diverse user groups, including non-native English speakers.
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