Ome DUO is an easy and fun tool to
calculate the study financing, helping students
gain insight in future consequences and
prevent unexpected high debts.
calculate the study financing, helping students
gain insight in future consequences and
prevent unexpected high debts.
Research a service or domain you're passionate
about, identify user needs or pain-points,
create a solution and validate it.
about, identify user needs or pain-points,
create a solution and validate it.
Project
Timeline:
8 weeks
Client:
Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs
Type:
Personal project
Team
Individual project
Role
UX Designer
User Research
UX Strategy
UI / Motion design
I noticed that many people experience
student debt as a lasting burden, which led me
to research Dutch study financing and
develop a solution to prevent it.
student debt as a lasting burden, which led me
to research Dutch study financing and
develop a solution to prevent it.
Problem
31% of dutch students rashly choose
the maximum study loan amount.
the maximum study loan amount.
Many Dutch students select the maximum DUO loan by default, without considering long-term consequences. This often results in unnecessary debt and reduced financial freedom later on. The system makes over-borrowing easy, enabling careless decisions.
Root-cause
Students are short-term oriented because
their rational brain is underdeveloped.
their rational brain is underdeveloped.
Young adults are naturally focused on the short term, as the part of the brain responsible for long-term planning is still developing. This makes evaluating future debt difficult, especially when DUO's calculation tools are functional but not engaging or intuitive.
Opportunity
What if calculating the study financing
was as easy and fun as spending it
was as easy and fun as spending it
What if calculating your study financing didn't feel bureaucratic or confusing, but as engaging as planning how to spend the money? While DUO offers calculation tools, they are text-heavy and uninspiring. A more interactive experience could help students make better-informed decisions.
Ome DUO, a study financing
calculator using emotion for better
rational understanding.
calculator using emotion for better
rational understanding.
Ome DUO turns financial decision-making into an intuitive experience. Instead of static numbers, it uses interactive scenarios and visual feedback to help students emotionally feel the impact of borrowing large amounts over time, leading to more conscious and rational loan decisions.
Onboarding
Starts with recognition & humor
The app starts with an introduction from Mark Rutte (amongst students better known as "Ome DUO") to create trust and engagement.
Reframed questions
Makes spending time easy & fun
Gamifying the questionaire and framing questions to fit the short-term oriented mindset reduces bounce rates and motivates the student to hold on to the positive experience.
Calculating future debt
Manipulates time to create awareness
An underdeveloped rational brain makes it hard to think about future consequences, but translating 30 years of debt repayment to 30 seconds of waiting within the app will create a sense of time (waiting/boredom) and trigger a negative emotion. This emotion will from then on be associated with the future debt and will help the student understand future consequences.