About
Openstock is a fintech company that provides senior management and employees of privately held companies with innovative liquidity solutions and data analytics under one comprehensive platform.
Overview
How it started
The client approached us to turn a high-level, investor-backed concept into a market-ready product as quickly as possible. Early on, development began before the design was fully defined, leading to gaps in information architecture and workflow.
I worked on this project in its early stage for several months at Normative.
I was working with a project lead, a team of development, another senior designer and a project manager to help our client manifest their vision for the product.
My contribution in this project had to do with research, strategy, prototyping, testing and visual design.
Approach
By introducing and implementing a more iterative, design-led approach, I pushed to bring structure to the process and reduce constant iteration during development.
Impacts
We shipped the MVP while avoiding costly rework and built a stronger foundation for the product. I wasn’t there through launch, but I contributed key groundwork for what came next.
Gathering context
I ramped up quickly through independent research and conversations with stakeholders, then created a comprehensive flow map outlining users, workflows, and key touchpoints.
This helped align the team, clarify the MVP scope, and identify opportunities to improve the experience despite tight timelines and resources.
Make recommendations
To align with the client on scope and priorities, I created a feature recommendation list outlining what to include in the MVP and what to defer. This helped set clear expectations and focus efforts on high-impact features.
Working with the project manager, we translated these priorities into structured sprints, ensuring the team had clear, measurable goals and a shared understanding of what needed to be delivered.
Refine strategy
The client needed support defining their product strategy, so I facilitated working sessions with my lead’s support to align on positioning and offerings. Midway through, they realized the need to differentiate more in the market and further refine their value proposition.
These sessions gave the team clearer direction, improved alignment, and helped set more realistic expectations moving forward.
Sitemap
With the information I gathered, I put together a sitemap and started getting into the design work. To recap, there are 4 main workflows for 4 different stakeholders, and I was touching on the onboarding experience for all of them.
Styleguide
I restructured the existing UI into a cohesive, scalable system, reusing what worked and adding new reusable components aligned with the brand direction. The standardized components also helped the development team move faster during implementation.
Create demo for CFO workflows and conduct user testing
I designed onboarding flows and key CFO workflows, then conducted user testing sessions with target users sourced through the client.
I created the testing script and collaborated with a senior designer to run sessions, generating insights that led to significant improvements in the product flow.
While the client initially saw these sessions as sales calls and was hesitant about sharing in-progress work, as an advocate for iterative product development, I aligned with them on the value of early feedback - positioning it as a way to better understand user needs, build trust and create a more effective product.
Testing materials
Testing prototype, User testing guideline, Script, Informed consent form, Post-test questionnaire
Who & How
4 CFOs & 3 employees, think-aloud, moderated
Why
Examined usability & users’ understanding
Insights
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Users need more context on why they have to provide certain information
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Users want more onboarding & hand-holding
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Users find the concept for the product helpful
From insights to actions
How-Might-We framing
Update the user flow & prototype
The senior designer and I then solidified the feedback and managed to get some framing for what should be prioritized next. We identified the lack of context as the biggest problem and then decided to rework the onboarding experience.
We redesigned the user flow and made updates to the prototype ready for another round of testing.
Recap & learning
This project reinforced how critical design is, beyond aesthetics. I was initially brought in to “make it look nicer,” but ended up shaping product structure and strategy, from defining workflows and aligning stakeholders to supporting competitive thinking.
I did not get to finish the project with the team till the end, but I was able to do a lot of work that set the foundation for what is now a launched product.