Spiir

Overview

I researched, designed, and developed Spiir, a personal finance app that won Best of Finance and a staff favorite in the Scandinavian Apple App Store. I was the product design lead — I ran the user research, designed the UX, UI, and visual design, and coded the app myself in Titanium for both iOS and Android. Microsoft later offered to pre-install it on all Scandinavian Windows Phones.

The Research Shaped Everything

I went to grocery stores with users and an early prototype. They were walking through the store checking on their spending — basket in one hand, phone in the other. It became clear most features needed to be usable with a single hand.

We also learned that in the store, people wanted at-a-glance data — just the number, just the status. Later, at home on the couch, they wanted to dig deeper. Those two modes drove the whole design.

The Onion-Layer Approach

Those insights became the information architecture: an onion-layer model where each tap reveals exactly one more level of detail. All primary actions lived at the bottom of the screen, within thumb reach for true one-handed use. Small delighters reinforced the model — tapping a budget row that can't expand any further triggers a gentle bounce, acknowledging the tap without pretending there's more underneath.

I worked through more than 20 iterations of the budget module alone — not because anyone asked me to, but because it was what true simplicity required.

Recognition

"He has singlehandedly delivered our iPhone app... He has worked his way through more than 20 iterations of our latest budget module — not because I told him to, but because it was needed in order to achieve true simplicity."

— Rune Mai, CEO, Spiir