Sparrow Student Loan Platform.
Tech Stack
Services
Sparrow Portal
Sparrow Labs, Inc. is a fintech company that connects students with loan providers worldwide. Their platform can be used by students according to the B2P lending business model. In addition, they provide their solution as an API for businesses that need to integrate student loan search and qualification functionality.
Challenge & Goals
Providing student loans is a seasonal service so the main goal was to launch the platform before the peak demand. We had to finalize both the informational website and borrower platform under the pressure of tight deadlines and adjusting to changing customer requirements on the go.
Solutions & Result
Our design and development team created an information website to represent Sparrow’s value proposition. We also developed an interactive and animated borrower portal in the form of a responsive web app, where students can apply for loans and get qualified in real-time. The project attracted $7 million in investment and is now used by 8000 students globally.
Sparrow Portal
We have created a robust, SEO-optimized, and animated website that stays on top of Sparrow’s sales funnel, providing students with information about the company’s service offer and its innovative opportunities. We made the highest bet on clear information architecture, well-communicated value proposition, and conversion-driving elements.
User’s dashboard
Our design team has developed robust, well-visualized, and intuitive dashboards for borrowers to help them stay updated with all the relevant information in a single place. As a core solution, we leveraged Chart.js - a powerful tool for data visualization.
Application forms
As one of the core features, our team crafted intuitive and effective loan application forms, tailored specifically to the needs of students seeking financing options and ensuring that they can navigate the application process with ease.
Pre-approved offers list
We created an interactive student loan pre-qualification roadmap to help students seamlessly reach their goal without feeling the burden of a complex loan application process. Instead, the system guides them step-by-step, providing relevant information on each of the financing stages.
Methodology
The project was created according to the Waterfall development methodology. We created each part piece by piece, testing each of them iteratively and staying in close touch with the customer since the requirements were frequently changing as well.
Research
The lion’s share of project development time was spent on studying the large volumes of documentation with customer’s ideas. We also devoted a lot of time to project timing planning. This process was carefully documented with the customer since we had to work under the pressure of deadlines.
Sitemap
UI Design
Design Concept
The design concept we have crafted for Sparrow is a harmonious blend of several key elements aimed at delivering a unique and user-centric experience. At its core, the concept revolves around the seamless integration of animation, trust-inspiring colors, bold typography, generous white space, and complex dashboard visualizations.
Undergraduate, graduate and international student loans
Sparrow offers a range of loan options tailored to the unique needs of undergraduate, graduate, and international students, including different repayment terms and interest rate options, so we created separate features for these categories of borrowers.
Student loan refinance & parent student loan
This feature provides parents with accessible and competitive financing options to support their child's education. We made sure this category of users can seamlessly find the best opportunities via quick search, simple form submission and an intuitive application process.
Animated icons
Both the informational website and borrower portal required the use of a large number of illustrations and animations. To avoid website overload, the majority of visual elements were created with HTML/CSS from scratch and then animated with GSAP. We used Adobe Illustrator for creating icons, and Adobe After Effects for creating animations.
Our design team has meticulously crafted every design element of the Sparrow portal to ensure that every user can enjoy a seamless and effective experience, complemented by unmatched design aesthetics.
Mobile version
The customer initially wanted to create a borrower portal in the form of a mobile app but under the pressure of deadlines, decided to opt for a responsive web solution. We leveraged React.js as a core solution for responsive web app development; Lottie for creating complex animations and AWS as the main hosting with unlimited scalability potential.
Typography
Colors
Design system
Together with the customer, our design and development team created a comprehensive design system for the Sparrow student loan project. This design system not only ensured a cohesive and engaging user experience for the Sparrow student loan platform but also paved the way for reusability across other projects within the customer's portfolio related to student loans.
Conclusion
