Arcline Studio · Case study
Bloom — everyday banking that feels human
How we helped a member-owned bank rebuild its mobile app around real behavior — and win its audience back.
About the client
Bloom Bank is a member-owned regional bank with 240,000 customers across the Pacific Northwest — loved in its branches, invisible on mobile.
The product challenge
The old app scored 2.1 stars. Core tasks took nine-plus taps, sessions lasted under a minute, and 38% of new members never made a second transfer.
Our contribution
A four-person Arcline team led discovery, UX architecture, UI design and a full design system — working side by side with Bloom's in-house engineers.
Project outcomes
The new Bloom app launched in March 2024. Within one quarter, weekly active users grew 64% and the App Store rating climbed to 4.7.
Explore the case study
Chapter 01
Challenge & research
Understanding why members abandoned the app — and what would bring them back.
The business problem
Branch visits were down 30% while mobile expectations kept rising. Every abandoned session strained the call center — leadership needed the app to become the primary branch.
User needs
Members didn't want more features — they wanted fewer obstacles. Checking a balance, moving money and finding a fee-free ATM had to feel instant and obvious.
Research methods
Over three weeks we paired quantitative signals with face-to-face research to separate assumption from evidence.
Key insights
- 1Navigation mirrored the org chart, not member tasks — 71% of sessions detoured through search or support.
- 2Security anxiety blocked action: people wanted transfer confirmations they could trust at a glance.
- 3The three most-needed tasks sat three levels deep, buried beneath marketing content.
Product strategy
We reframed the app around moments, not menus: three home-screen cards for the tasks behind 80% of sessions, with everything else one swipe away.
User flows
Every core flow was rebuilt around a single decision. Tap a stage to trace it.
We charted every step members took from a low-balance alert to a completed transfer.
Design iterations
Three major passes — from rough flows to a confident visual direction. Tap any board to enlarge.
Prototypes
Final experience
The shipped app opens on a live balance with one-tap actions for transfers, cards and support — wrapped in a calm, accessible system built on Bloom's brand.
Measurable outcomes
- Time-to-transfer cut from nine taps to two — a 78% faster core flow.
- App Store rating rose from 2.1 to 4.7 within one quarter of launch.
- First-session completion of account setup reached 89%, up from 46%.
Arcline didn't just redesign our app — they changed how we make decisions. Every screen now traces back to something we heard from a real member.
Project learnings
- 1Researching skeptics — not fans — surfaced the friction that actually mattered.
- 2Weekly prototyping kept stakeholders aligned and killed dead ends before they got expensive.
- 3Shipping the design system alongside the app made the engineering handoff painless.
Our impact
Beyond the metrics, Bloom now runs its own research program — three in-house studies shipped since launch, keeping the product honest as it grows.