UI/UX case study · iOS · couples finance
Knot is a calm finance app for couples — a warm, private place to share expenses, grow goals, and check in once a month. Researched, designed and built end-to-end as a working prototype.
5
primary tabs
8
onboarding screens
7
card money date
100%
on-device, offline
The problem
Shared-finance tools are transactional spreadsheets with notifications, built for a single user. They force a choice between total transparency and total privacy, ignore unequal incomes, and turn money into a chore — or a fight. Couples are left without a calm, fair, shared place to manage it.
How might we…
help couples manage shared money in a way that feels calm, fair and private — and even brings them a little closer?
Research
I spoke with couples, audited the market, and dug into the literature on money and relationships. Four insights shaped every decision that followed.
6 couple interviews
45-min remote sessions
Survey · n = 42
money habits & friction
Competitive audit
8 finance apps
Secondary research
money & relationships
Insight 01
Money tension is really about transparency, fairness and feeling judged — not the rupees themselves.
Insight 02
Couples want joint visibility and a private corner of their own. All-or-nothing disclosure fails.
Insight 03
Existing apps are single-user spreadsheets with alerts — effortful, clinical, and built for one.
Insight 04
Couples rarely review finances proactively; the conversation tends to show up only under stress.
Competitive analysis
Splitwise nails splitting but isn’t built for partners. Honeydue is couple-first but cluttered. Monarch is powerful but finance-y. None combine privacy, fairness and a warm shared ritual.
| App | Couple-first | Shared + private | Proportional split | Goals together | Monthly ritual | Calm & warm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splitwise | ||||||
| Honeydue | ||||||
| Monarch | ||||||
| Knot |
Personas
The hardest part: one partner craves visibility and structure, the other craves freedom and privacy. Knot has to satisfy both — without taking sides.
Ananya Iyer
29 · Product Manager · Bengaluru
“I want us to see the full picture — without feeling like the household accountant.”
Goals
Frustrations
Needs
Rohan Mehta
31 · Designer · Bengaluru
“I’ll happily share — I just don’t want to feel judged for every coffee.”
Goals
Frustrations
Needs
User journey
Mapping the couple’s emotional arc across five stages surfaced exactly where friction lived — and where Knot needed an answer.
Realise
“We should manage money together.”
Pain
Doesn’t know where to start; fears a chore.
Knot’s answer
Warm 8-step onboarding + a personality quiz.
Set up
Invite partner, choose how to split.
Pain
Fairness anxiety; fear of total exposure.
Knot’s answer
Proportional model + a private “Mine” zone.
Everyday
Log expenses, glance at the balance.
Pain
Nagging, judgement, alert fatigue.
Knot’s answer
Quiet add, no alarms, settle at month end.
Money date
Review the month together.
Pain
Money talk only happens in conflict.
Knot’s answer
A calm 7-card monthly ritual.
Grow
Watch goals fill; reflect.
Pain
Motivation fades; wins go unnoticed.
Knot’s answer
Knots, rings, confetti & a journal.
Information architecture
A flat, predictable structure. A run-once onboarding feeds into five primary tabs — every core task is one tap from home.
Home
Money
Knots
Date
Me
Key user flows
Add a shared expense
Start a knot (goal)
Run a money date
Design principles
Restraint over decoration. One hero element per screen, generous space, content first.
No alarming reds, no badge counts, no urgency. Money should feel calm, not loud.
Progressive disclosure and plain language. Never ask for two decisions at once.
Off-white canvas, a serif for emotion, friendly illustration. Software with a pulse.
Private zones, shared rituals, and a couple — not a spreadsheet — at the centre.
Design system
It began Apple-minimal and warm. To make a finance app feel joyful, the identity grew a bolder gradient personality — used with restraint on the moments that matter: balances, rings, the FAB and milestones.
Palette
Type
Money, woven together.
Fraunces · display & emotion
Clear, plain language for everything the system says.
Inter · UI & numerals (tabular)
₹1,52,000
Indian currency, animated count-ups
The solution · working prototype
Every screen below is live and interactive. Actions persist on-device, so adding an expense or boosting a goal really updates the app.
Inside the solution
Ours, Mine and Theirs. Shared spending settles by your contribution model; a private allowance stays private; and you only ever see your partner’s total — never their details.
Each knot has a gradient cover, a contribution split between both partners, and a hero ring that counts up — finishing one rains confetti and ties the knot.
A seven-card, swipeable ritual: how the month felt, the numbers, wins, a gentle adjustment, goals and intentions — closing on a single word, “Closer.”
Eight screens: a money-personality quiz, a partner invite that joins live, and a knot-forming animation with confetti — personalising the whole app to your name.
Craft
Custom iPhone chrome, iOS-spring transitions, number count-ups, drag-physics on the money-date cards, and confetti scoped inside the phone for milestones. Illustrations are recoloured unDraw, bundled locally so the prototype works fully offline.
Framer Motion
springs, drag, layout
react-countup
animated currency
canvas-confetti
scoped celebrations
localStorage
real, persistent state
Reflection