UX/UI

Sign up & KYC

UX/UI Design

My Role

2 months

Duration

GROUP PROJECT

About project

ANote Music is a music investment platform that enables users to purchase shares in music catalogues and earn monthly royalties from the songs’ performance within the music catalogues.

Internal analytics revealed a high drop-off during the sign-up and KYC (Know Your Customer) process. This onboarding friction led not only to low conversions but also to operational overhead and increased customer support tickets.

I led the UX strategy and execution for redesigning this critical conversion funnel, working cross-functionally with product, legal, and customer support teams.
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People involved: Ginna Lozano (Customer Success Officer), Matteo Cernuschi (COO), Virginia La Torre (Product Manager), Joris Hotton (UI/API Developer), Henri Sycip (UI/API Developer), Luigi Felaco (Full-stack Developer & Operations Analyst).

The problem

Key user problems:

  • The process lacked time estimates, leaving users uncertain about next steps.
  • 52% of user identity document submissions were rejected due to misaligned image specifications, resulting in user frustration.
  • Social media sign-ups using nicknames often failed KYC due to name mismatches, with no system feedback - leading to frustrated users.
  • Users from restricted countries unknowingly completed KYC but couldn’t invest later, leading to frustration and dissapointment.

Key business problems:

  • Only 48% of users passed KYC on the first attempt.
  • Support Overload: Support teams were overwhelmed with KYC-related issues, causing delays and inefficiencies.
  • Higher Costs: Repeated failed KYC attempts increased fees from the service provider (Mangopay).
  • Platform Friction: Third-party tools (Cognito, Mangopay) added technical constraints.
  • Investment Drop-Off: Poor guidance and feedback led to high verification abandonment, reducing the pool of potential investors.

The goals

User Goals:

  • Reduce cognitive load and be able to complete profile with minimal friction
  • Get informed upfront if any legal document will be required
  • Know upfront if they are eligible to invest
  • Receive timely and helpful feedback during KYC

Business Goals:

  • Increase account completion rates to boost potential investment
  • Dicrease customer support tickets
  • Improve first-time KYC pass rate to reduce third-party costs
  • Strengthen compliance with international regulations

The results

Key outcomes 2 months post-launch:

Design Process

To guide the process, I followed the Double Diamond methodology, which allowed for both broad exploration and focused refinement:

  • Discover - Collected insights from user data, support center logs, business metrics, and stakeholder interviews.
  • Define – Mapped out the user journey, identified bottlenecks, and prioritized issues based on impact and feasibility.
  • Develop – Explored multiple design solutions, ensuring each was aligned with legal constraints and the capabilities of our KYC provider.
  • Deliver – Created new wireframes and flows aligned with the service provider restrictions, then worked with development and legal to implement and validate the redesigned onboarding experience.

1. Discover

Mapping the Problem Space

Using the Double Diamond framework, I started by gathering insights from user behavior analytics, customer support tickets, legal & compliance constraints, technical feasibility (AWS Cognito, Mangopay) and direct feedback from users.

Key Pain Points Identified

1. Sign-Up Flow

  • Users inserted nicknames (instead of legal names), causing KYC mismatches failing to pass identity verification.
  • All fields were crammed on one page, violating Hick’s Law.
  • A late-stage toggle for company vs. individual accounts wiped previously entered info.
  • Social media sign-ups failed due to pseudonyms not matching legal IDs (Mangopay limitation). Users were not receiving the appropriate warning.

2. First Login Experience

  • Email inputs with uppercase letters were incorrectly rejected without feedback – violating Postel's Law.
  • A late-stage toggle for company vs. individual accounts wiped previously entered info.

3. Account Completion & KYC

  • No upfront notice that ID and financial details would be required – leading to a high amount of drop out at the ID submission.
  • No image guidance/specifications led to unreadable/blurred ID submissions – violation of the “Conservation of Complexity Law”. As a result, users failing to pass the KYC.
  • When a document was rejected a vague error message was provided failing to guide users corrective action – Postel’s Law.
  • Financial details caused confusion (users thought they were for deposits, not withdrawals).
  • No progress bar or estimated time – users felt uncertain and overwhelmed.
  • Users from restricted countries could unknowingly create accounts, but were later blocked from investing as they would not be allowed to withdraw their funds to a restricted country’s bank account.

User & Business Needs

 Business ObjectivesUser needs
Sign up
  • Decrease customer support tickets caused by unclear sign-up issues and user complaints.
  • Simple & intuitive flow
  • Guidance on creating a strong password.
  • Clear, immediate error messages during sign-up.
  • Notification that a legal name is required (especially for KYC purposes).
Account completion
  • Increase account completion rates to boost potential user investment.
  • Alleviate pressure on the customer support team so resources can shift to higher-priority business tasks.
  • A fast, smooth account completion flow.
  • Upfront notice that ID and financial details would be required for the account completion.
  • Clear, step-by-step instructions.
  • Help uploading valid ID documents.
  • Early notification for users from restricted countries that they cannot invest or fund accounts.

Constraints

 Service Provider ConstraintsTechnical Constraints
Sign up
  • Users must accept Terms & Conditions for storing personal data before first login.
  • Full legal name must be submitted before login, per Cognito requirements.
  • Email verification is mandatory before first login.
  • Users must enter promo/referral codes during sign-up to avoid broken link tracking (due to occasional failures in unique referral links).
  • Notification that a legal name is required (especially for KYC purposes).Due to platform limitations, users cannot directly access the platform post-verification; they must log in with their new credentials.
Account completion
  • Mangopay Terms & Conditions must be accepted before ID and financial document submission.
  • Users creating business accounts must upload all required company documentation.
  • Users must specify individual or company account type before accepting Mangopay terms.
  • The flow uses UI fragments (stacked screens), which limits temporary data storage – regular data saving is needed to avoid loss (e.g., name, birthdate, address).
  • Biometric verification is not supported, as Mangopay lacked this functionality at the time.

2. Define

UX Framing & Hypotheses

Problem and Hypothesis statements

Transparency on Time & Steps

  • Problem: Users don’t know how long onboarding will take and may postpone it.
  • Hypothesis: If we provide time estimates and progress indicators, users will be more likely to complete the process (Goal-Gradient effect and Completion Bias).

Drop-Off During ID Verification

  • Problem: Users abandon the flow when asked for documents they don’t have on hand.
  • Hypothesis: If we notify users early about the required documents, they will be more prepared and less likely to drop out.

Failed ID Submission

  • Problem: Users failing pass ID verification due to not properly taken photos of their identity or not proper document type
  • Hypothesis: If we provide image specification and guidance users might pay attention and submit a proper identity image - resulting to lower customer support tickets.

Legal Restrictions

  • Problem: Users from restricted countries complete profiles but can’t invest, leading to disputes.
  • Hypothesis: If we block or notify these users earlier, we reduce frustration and legal risk.

Social Sign-Up Pitfalls

  • Problem: Mangopay fails KYC if social account names differ from legal names.
  • Hypothesis: If we explain this before social sign-up, users will switch to email, improving KYC pass rates.

3. Develop

UX Solutions

New flow

Pre-signup disclosures

Tooltips and modal warnings about social sign-up limitations.

Motivational onboarding

Welcome email explaining the value of music investing and an introductory screen prompting user to complete profile by explaining how much time it will take to complete it and the documents that will be needed.

Introductory screens per category

Informing users the purpose of each category and the required documents that might be needed by them.

One task per screen

  • One-task-per-screen UI: Reduced decision fatigue (Hick's Law) and improved flow clarity.
  • Progress indicators: A progress bar with steps and estimated completion time.
  • Option to save & exit: Users could pause and return, respecting their control.t

Legal compliance messaging

Based on nationality or residency, users were notified about investment restrictions before profile completion.

Identity submition

  • ID image guidelines: Image specs on lighting, cropping, and focus for ID upload.
  • Guided status or error warning: Inline error validation and helper text (Postel's Law).

4. Deliver

Crafting the Visual Experience

Visual direction

Visually, the new design needed to reflect ANote’s position as a fintech-forward, credible, and approachable brand.
Design Aims:

  • Elegant, clean layout with fintech aesthetics
  • Vibrant accent colors to highlight key actions
  • High-contrast CTAs for better accessibility
  • Brand-aligned typography and iconography
  • Curated lifestyle imagery that users can relate to
  • Charts and performance graphics that simplify complex data

The result was a polished, professional interface that balances clarity, credibility, and emotional engagement - helping users feel informed and secure when entering a novel investment category.

Results

The redesign delivered measurable improvements across multiple areas within two months of launch:

Reflections

This project demonstrated how UX, legal, operational, and technical constraints can be harmonized through cross-functional collaboration and user-centered design. By tackling the root causes of abandonment and frustration, not just surface-level UI issues, we delivered a streamlined, compliant, and scalable onboarding experience.

sherma_vas@hotmail.com