Human-centered Design of Criterion Institute's Research

Role
Strategist
Facilitator
UX Researcher
Team
Camila Ordonez
Anaab Ibrahim
Bhumika Keswani
Louisa Buck
Bernardita Lira
Methods
User Experience Design
Data Visualization
Synthesis
Introduction
The Criterion Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on advancing socioeconomic change through gender-lens and impact investing, partnered with us to humanize their extensive research. Their mission is to shift power in financial decision-making, working with changemakers, investors, and institutions to use finance for social good. The challenge was to make their complex "Standards of Practice" (SOP) in inclusive finance more accessible and engaging for asset owners navigating these frameworks.
Brief
With over 300 SOP entries, Criterion Institute sought a solution to simplify and communicate the financial complexities in a way that resonated with asset owners. Our team was tasked with creating a user-friendly interface that would clarify these complexities, using intuitive design and impactful visualizations to make the content more digestible.
Solution
Through a four-week collaborative design sprint, we redesigned Criterion Institute’s landing page, restructured the information architecture, and rephrased financial terminology into user-centered language. We also created visualizations to simplify the SOPs, allowing asset owners like the Mastercard Foundation and Coralus to better align their goals with the financial practices necessary to advance economic equality and sustainable development.
Problem Framework Analysis
Criterion Institute tasked us with simplifying over 300 Standards of Practice (SOP) into a user-friendly interface that effectively communicates complex financial data through intuitive design and impactful visualizations.
The challenge: How can we help asset owners better understand and engage with the rich data in Criterion Institute's SOP?
To tackle this, we reframed the problem by focusing on the identity and goals of the asset owners—the primary users of the SOP.
Our aim was to design an interface that makes complex data easy to explore and visually compelling. This led us to a key question:
How can the SOP be leveraged to support asset owners' objectives?
Snapshot of Criterion Institute's Standards of Practice
Our research was limited as the partner shared only examples of asset owners like the Mastercard Foundation and Coralus but did not allow direct contact with them. These organizations focus on advancing economic equality globally. Despite this constraint, we focused on extracting insights from the available examples to inform our design approach.
Framing the Context
We identified key stakeholders involved in adhering to Criterion’s Standards of Practice and mapped out the value transmission pathways in both financial and social impact terms.
FUNDERS & DONORS
PARTNERS
& COLLABORATORS
ASSET OWNERS
TARGET USER
BENEFICIARIES
TEAM CRITERION
ASSET MANAGERS
NGOs
Criterion Institute
Resources
Articles
Partners
Asset Owners
Publications
Workshops
Standards
of Practice (SOP)
Asset Managers
NGOs
Educate, and collaborate with key stakeholders to drive responsible, equitable, and sustainable financial decision-making.
Navigating Criterion's Landscape: User-Centered Design
To progress, we looked into who our target user: 'asset owner' is, and found a spectrum of actors, each characterized by unique traits and needs.
We began by investigating the 'asset owner' profile, uncovering a range of stakeholders with distinct traits and needs, including investment analysts, asset managers, financial intermediaries, investors, NGOs, governments, and more.
Recognizing the diversity among asset owners in the landscape, we gained an understanding of their distinct needs and challenges. This holistic perspective paved the way for a tailored and effective strategy to address the intricacies of Criterion's objectives.
In pursuit of designing a user-friendly experience and interface for Criterion's asset owners, we identified 3 crucial needs:
*Given limited direct user data, our research relied on discussions with Criterion's client-facing team and secondary insights from partners like Coralus and the Mastercard Foundation. This informed our creation of a proto persona to guide the design.
1.
2.
3.
Pinpoint where the Standards of Practice intersected with the current user journey of the asset owners and Criterion's financial advisors.
Understand the role of the Standards of Practice in the broader mission and vision of the Criterion Institute.
Comprehend the measurement of qualitative and quantitative impact within relationships and financial advising with asset owners.
Andrew, Asset Owner
👨🏾
Who
High-net-worth individual with substantial assets & investments, interested in impact investing.
Challenges
Balancing financial returns with social/environmental impact, staying informed on evolving impact investing trends & opportunities.
Needs
Guidance on finance ecosystem, personalized communication aligned with impact investing goals, & access to a network of like-minded individuals.
Proto Persona
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for a Personalized Search Experience
To enhance the user experience and tailor it to individual needs, we recommended leveraging Generative AI to optimize Criterion’s Standards of Practice (SOP), offering asset owners:
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Personalized Recommendations
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Intuitive User Interaction
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Seamless Data Integration
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Scenario-Based Suggestions
Our goal was to make the journey with Criterion more personalized, interactive, and informed for users.
Who are you?
Profile Creation
In what area do you want to intervene?
Type of Impact
e.g. "Climate Change"
Research
Findings
Personalizing and refining the search through AI -
"a funnel experience"
Prototyping
We redesigned the platform to improve user interaction, streamline information flow, and foster collaboration with 6 key features:
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Profiler: Tailors content based on user identity, goals, and impact.
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Filters: Refines content discovery by user-defined criteria.
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Team Collaboration: Enables sharing and commenting, enhancing discussions and decision-making.
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Save Search: Allows bookmarking searches for quick access and time-saving.
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Suggested Topics: Recommends impact investing topics to guide users’ exploration.
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Question-Driven UX: Personalizes content based on user responses for a more intuitive, goal-oriented experience.
Outcome
Our teamwork with Criterion Institute showcases our understanding of financial inclusivity and commitment to user-centered design, as reflected in our work.
Our deliverables not only transformed the data visualization of the Standards of Practice for the asset owners, but also played a pivotal role in the comprehensive redesign of the institute's website.
The outcome reflects a heightened user experience, seamlessly integrating innovative design thinking to empower users navigating the nuanced landscape of impact investing.
My Role
UX Research
Although we had limited access to the target user, my role was to understand the target user. This was done through internal conversations with Criterion's team, case studies from the partners, and behavioral data.
Data Visualization
Designed an interactive tool effectively communicating the richness of the Standards of Practice database, catering to both precision-oriented users and those driven by exploration and curiosity.
Collaborative Design
Engaged in creative design thinking to translate financial and impact investing concepts into a user-friendly interface, collaborating with Criterion's Strategy team and incorporating diverse perspectives for a well-rounded solution.
About Criterion Institute
Criterion Institute, a nonprofit think tank championing finance as a force for social change, partnered with us to revolutionize the user experience of their research and findings, or "Standards of Practice" (SOP). At the forefront of gender lens investing, Criterion's decades-long collaboration with diverse stakeholders required an interface that seamlessly caters to asset owners seeking clear knowledge through advanced filtering and those driven by curiosity to explore new perspectives on inclusive finance.
Our objective was not to enforce standards but to generate innovative thinking about gender lens investing through a human-centered approach of their through data storytelling.
Over the course of four weeks, our design sprint aimed to deliver a mock-up that aligns with Criterion's vision and amplifies impact investing and inclusive financial practices.