Handle
Revolutionizing the subscription model by giving power back to the users
Initially tasked to convert desktop wireframes to a full mobile experience, I asked myself, "What else can I do?" In the emerging field of financial management, I saw a chance to break new ground through business design.
My personal goals were to understand the psychological mechanisms in data dashboards and to find innovative opportunities within this often dry yet deeply personal space.
Project Type
Student Capstone Project
Role
Solo UI/UX Designer
Time
9 Weeks
Tools
Figma, Zoom
SUMMARY
Access your subscriptions in full transparency and pay for what you want to pay for
In such a rigid space as financial management, Handle aims to give users access and control over their subscriptions. By integrating dialogue between companies and users, Handle makes dashboards not just informational but also emotional. This creates a unique experience, placing companies at the mercy of the user through its negotiation feature.
PROBLEM
How can we give customers a way to evaluate and affect the overlooked financial drain of subscriptions?
The answer is negotiation. Within the current space of subscriptions with top competitors such as Rocket Money, Copilot, Monarch, etc, there were little to none existing options to negotiate subscriptions. This project based on responsiveness has turned into an opportunity to reinvent the subscription model that could potentially alter the existing relationships between users and services — for the better.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Revolutionizing the subscription model through research
Tackling financial management, subscription models, and negotiation, I immediately went to white-paper research to understand the psychology behind the relationship between money and users.
Perceived Customization
Offering choices that seem personalized, like Adobe’s app selection, makes customers feel more in control, increasing the perceived value of the subscription.1
Control Means Trust
The ease and flexibility of subscriptions simplify decision-making for consumers, encouraging ongoing usage and reducing cancellations.
Establish a Win-Win Relationship
It is about balancing each other. The more genuine interest we can show in the other party and their aspirations, the less threatened they will be. They will volunteer information and the more likely we are to reach an ideal solution.
Trust and Transparency Matter
A significant percentage of consumers are wary of subscriptions due to concerns about forgetting to cancel, indicating the need for clear communication and trust-building.
USER INTERVIEWS
For users, money is emotional, dashboards are not
Keeping these insights in mind, I wanted to hear first hand from my targeted users who were primarily 25+ in age and have 3+ subscriptions under their name.
People are so used to hidden fees, a lack of transparency, and feelings of powerlessness
After going through my interviews, the one thing that caught me off guard was how emotional users were in such a rigid space. Users were fearful and cautious of such financial agreements. With the few services that are transparent, one user expressed: “if I was fully aware and in control of my payments/services, even if I were to leave for a bit — I’d definitely return to this service”.
From these interviews, the goal has shifted from stemming from innovation to being stemmed from the user. Trust in financial management is the most critical yet most fragile component to healthy relationships between the user and services. Services, despite a few, that are transparent establish longer and returning user relationships.
Goal: Introduce subscription transparency and a sense of control for customers while using negotiated discounting as a new path to profit for businesses
SYNTHESIS
Putting users back behind the wheel
Based on user interviews, in the current space of subscription management, user’s emotional journey upon subscribing are left unsure and cautious. Once determining the point of emotional decline, I saw my window of opportunity.
Current Model: Users are at the mercy of companies
With this project I will focussing on improving the Management, Cancellation, and Reconnection stages, while introducing an opportunity to Negotiate.
With Handle: Users are well-informed and in control
By introducing negotiation and reworking key stages, I wanted to focus on building a stronger and trust-focussed relationship between the user and their subscriptions.
Management: Moving beyond spreadsheets and bank statements, the first step was creating a transparent, all-in-one dashboard for managing subscriptions.
Negotiation: Introducing a negotiation option lets users reassess their subscriptions, save money, and stay with the service. This form of dialogue that was never possible before makes users feel heard, seen, and valued.
Cancellation: This project allows users to cancel subscriptions directly in-app, streamlining the process and eliminating any barriers.
Reconnection: Establishing a fluid, transparent, user-centered relationship encourages users to return even after cancellation.
BUSINESS THINKING
Align user needs and business opportunity in a new way
It’s a new concept. How to approach such a monstrous model that is heavily integrated in the majority of corporations? We must consider the following:
Opportunity
Introduce subscription models for companies without them
Break down large services into smaller, flexible offerings
Strengthen customer relationships to build long-term loyalty and encourage reconnection
Benefits
Track customer dissatisfaction
Highlight product demand
Cater to specific user needs.
Effective value proposition
Handle empowers users to manage subscriptions with transparency and customization, offering negotiation options to reduce costs and build trust. By creating a dialogue between users and services, Handle transforms subscriptions from rigid expenses to flexible, user-centered relationships.
IDEATION
Determining the best approach to represent negotiation
Stemming from the idea of perceived customization, I explored the idea of having the users ‘pay for what they want to pay for’. With this, the negotiation feature became the core feature of the app that made it a standout next to competitors. There were so many viable approaches and business opportunities to be explored, I decided to focus on two key negotiables and build from there: price and services.
5 Different Approaches
I came up with four different approaches and discussed an hypothetical approach to negotiation and conducted two rounds of usability testing with over 10 users. Each user evaluated the 5 approaches and ranked their preferences. To ensure unbiased conclusions and reduce primacy bias, I rotated the order in which the approaches were presented.
TESTING
Users want to be heard
When asked to rank options, users’ responses hinged on a critical condition: their proposals being reviewed by real people or pre-processed/AI-driven.
If proposals were actively reviewed by real people, all five users ranked the all-in-one approach as #1, valuing its freedom and negotiation power.
If proposals were pre-processed or AI-driven, 3 out of 5 users preferred the hybrid solution for its speed and intuitive UI.
What this means for users
Being Reviewed By Real People
Users felt valued, heard, and in control.
It reassured them that their input mattered and that companies cared.
Users were more willing to invest effort in negotiation, knowing it would be considered by actual people.
Although ideal, it's highly unrealistic
Pre-processed or AI-driven
Very quick and efficient
Users felt tricked and got their hopes up of getting good deal when they received an immediate counter-offer
Lost of trust in Handle
Questioned, "could they not have offered me this deal right off the bat?"
Dark Patterns and User Trust
In these discussions, I asked ‘even if the solution was instantaneous, if it told you it would take ‘2-3 business days’ or ‘a few hours to process’ would you feel any different?’
Surprisingly, they preferred this, believing it meant something was actually being processed. The sense of being heard, even if just a facade, would impact their ranking. However, prioritizing transparency and a user-first approach, I decided against pursuing this strategy.
Balancing Idealism with Real-World Constraints
These findings left me questioning whether to prioritize realism or idealism.
Idealistic: Users should have full control over their services, with proposals reviewed by companies.
Realistic: Businesses likely can’t dedicate full teams to review each proposal, especially early on.
Solution: The Hybrid Model with AI integration for immediate responses.
Moving forward with the Hybrid Model, I aim to incorporate insights from other approaches to identify opportunities for achieving the ideal solution.
SOLUTION
A hybrid approach
This solution offers a clean UI with the customization options users preferred in testing. Users can either select from recommended options for a quick experience or dive deeper to personalize their plan.
For those who valued the flexibility of the All-in-One and Selection approaches, I included an option to build a plan from scratch. To avoid false expectations, I removed the "name your price" feature; instead, prices adjust automatically based on selected features.
By allowing users to add onto plans rather than fully customize existing ones, this approach not only empowers users via perceived customization but also opens upsell opportunities, creating a win-win for both users and the business.
CONCLUSION
Giving power back to the users
This new subscription model puts users at the center. By introducing transparency, empathy, and dialogue into a traditionally rigid environment, users feel more enthusiastic and secure. Prioritizing users builds trust, leading to profitable, long-term relationships for businesses.
Benefits to Business
Track customer dissatisfaction
Highlight product demand
Assess the value of product features
Tailor offerings to specific users
Evaluate pricing effectiveness
Benefits to Users
Sense of control and being heard
Transparent subscriptions and service education
New dialogue between corporations and users
Cost savings by paying only for desired services
Enhanced engagement and trust
REFLECTION
Curiosity driving impact
This project had a steep learning curve. Blending financial management and dashboard design was one thing. But integrating innovative business thinking that could potentially revolutionize the current subscription model was definitely something I did not anticipate.
I've learned that my ideas and work have real merit and have real power, even early in my career as a designer. Throughout this project, I struggled with balancing realism and idealism, often downplaying my concepts as "not real." Overcoming this mindset was probably one of the hardest challenges.
As for the project itself, approaching a dashboard, I expected the project to be quite standard, but I was so wrong. Talking to users and observing behaviors revealed the significant emotional impact of subscription management and finances. Engaging with users deeply affected by prototypes inspired me as a designer and led to real solutions. It makes me curious how these solutions will perform in a real-life setting. It’s truly so exciting – the potential of this project is endless.
This experience alone excites me to explore such innovation. From a project that was rooted in responsiveness to one that can revolutionize the widely used subscription model that benefits both user and business, it makes me understand the power of curiosity. I cannot wait to once again ask, “What else can I do?”.
If I had more time
Time as a Negotiable
In addition to price and services, I’d like to explore how leveraging time as a negotiable factor could shape users’ impressions of this feature.
Further Discussion and Testing
I’d like to discuss this with business executives and validate my concepts and approaches through further user feedback.
Talk to Adobe Cloud Users
Rooted in Adobe Cloud's focus on perceived customization, I’d like to gather insights from subscribed users to evaluate their experiences with the service.
PROTOTYPE
Final prototype
