Kiva is a fintech non-profit with the mission to expand financial access around the world, by enabling users to fund micro-loans to individuals and small businesses among financially underserved regions and populations.
As a visual designer I supported marketing campaigns and product initiatives with web and mobile layouts, illustrations, motion graphics, and more, in support of specific goals, from promoting lending to to refugee-owned businesses, to encouraging donations, to improving communication around how Kiva works.
Hello, I'm Nat.
I'm a multidisciplinary product designer who's fond of visual craft, non-obvious routes, critical optimism, and cats.
Design at Kiva
Design for Financial Inclusion
Collaborators
Creative Director
Head of Design
Cross-functional team
Head of Design
Cross-functional team
My Roles
Visual design
Product design
Motion design
Product design
Motion design
Context
Kiva Microfunds
2021 – 2022
2021 – 2022
As a designer at Kiva, I communicated Kiva’s goals, values, and identity across multiple platforms, to get users inspired to take part in their mission to expand financial access around the world.
Overview
Working on design at Kiva was centered around getting users excited about lending to empower people to improve their livelihoods.
Campaigns
I created layouts and visuals aligned with Kiva’s design system and brand to encourage users to lend or donate funds for specific goals.
Campaigns could revolve around global humanitarian causes like World Refugee Day or International Women’s Day, as well as initiatives specific to Kiva. I often opted for bold, clean, modern visuals, both in harmony with the design system and to communicate the powerful optimism of Kiva borrowers in their pursuit of improving their livelihoods.
I created design work for specific platforms: updates to the website or mobile app involved designing layouts according to Product specifications, while social media graphics were more freeform involving typography, photography, and illustration.
I created design work for specific platforms: updates to the website or mobile app involved designing layouts according to Product specifications, while social media graphics were more freeform involving typography, photography, and illustration.
Motion Graphics
I worked with design leadership to strategize how motion design could elevate the experience and brand, to increase engagement and messaging effectiveness.
The brand included energetic, hand-drawn, bold line work, so I used this as a core component to create illustrative motion and compositions. I created and optimized animated gifs for use on web, email, and social media. Incorporating motion design into user-facing material repeatedly showed increased engagement..
Design Exploration
In addition to creating designs to be shipped, I participated in exploratory design work as part of initiatives to explore the future of Kiva’s features and visual identity.
I specifically chose to explore graphic, colorful styles that could compliment the existing visual guidelines created for product. I thought about broadening the current illustrative language to provide alternatives to photography that could visually express Kiva's values and more abstract sentiments. I also sought to explore a visual language that might resonate with younger audiences who care about social good.