CASE STUDY
Options Trader Mobile App
CASE STUDY
Options Trader Mobile App
THE CHALLENGE
Options Trading has a deep learning curve.
Before making an informed decision, investors need to understand market conditions, strategies, strike prices, and potential outcomes.
Serving investors at every experience level was a requirement. The visual identity had to feel credible while introducing an engaging, welcoming personality. The experience also needed to balance research with education, so users could understand not only what a strategy is, but how it works
The Guiding Question
How might we make options trading more accessible to all by turning education into an engaging, game-like experience that builds real confidence?
This question shaped the creative direction, from the brand and visual language to onboarding, educational content, and gamification. It gave us a more welcoming entry point into options trading while preserving IBD’s credibility and investing philosophy.
CASE STUDY
OptionsTrader Mobile App
That foundation included:
Logo: Created the brand identity and logo.
Color palette: Established a palette that complements the IBD brand, balancing a fresh personality with consistency and trust.
Illustration library: Built a consistent library for iconography, marketing, and onboarding.
Visual consistency: Unified the design language across onboarding, educational content, research tools, and data visualizations.
THE APPROACH
Brand Identity and Visual Language
I led the creative direction from concept to execution, developing three distinct visual directions for OptionsTrader. Working alongside product designers, we presented each concept to stakeholders, marketing, and business teams, sharing the rationale and vision behind each approach. After team review, one direction was selected and refined into the app’s final visual identity, a foundation for the entire product experience.
Presenting multiple options early helped the team align on the direction and built shared ownership of the final look.
OptionsTrader is a 0-to-1 mobile app that makes options trading approachable for investors at every level. It pairs IBD’s trusted investing philosophy with curated trade ideas, advanced research tools, and interactive education, guiding users from learning to informed action.
As Creative Director, I led the brand and visual direction, from the logo, color palette, and illustration library to onboarding, gamification, and data visualizations. Education sits at the heart of both the free and paid tiers, with game-like elements that make learning engaging rather than complex.
Onboarding and Education
Education was a core part of the product, not an afterthought. We designed an onboarding experience that introduced the app’s value and guided users through the fundamentals of options trading. Interactive lessons and quizzes introduced new concepts, built their fluency, and tested their understanding of options trading.
The visual design supported the journey by breaking complex topics into bite-sized pieces, so even advanced ideas were within reach.
THE CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE
Options Trading has a deep learning curve.
Before making an informed decision, investors need to understand market conditions, strategies, strike prices, and potential outcomes.
Serving investors at every experience level was a requirement. The visual identity had to feel credible while introducing an engaging, welcoming personality. The experience also needed to balance research with education, so users could understand not only what a strategy is, but how it works
Gamification
Game-like elements were added into the educational experience to make learning feel motivating and rewarding. Rather than treating education as a static library of financial information, the goal was to engage users through interactive lessons, quizzes, and a sense of accomplishment.
Paired with custom illustrations, these elements gave users a reason to return, keep building their knowledge, and grow more comfortable with the concepts behind options trading.
The Guiding Question
PRODUCT EXPERIENCE
Designing the UI
OptionsTrader’s interface was designed to feel simple, educational, and fun. A clean layout keeps complex options information easy to scan, while lessons, quizzes, and playful illustrations turn learning into part of the everyday experience rather than a separate step.
I worked closely with UX/UI designers to make sure design system patterns and UI elements stayed cohesive and on brand across every screen. Whether someone is exploring a trade idea, reading a chart, or completing a lesson, the product feels like one connected system with IBD’s credibility built in.
The same interface supports both the free and paid experiences, so investors can start with daily trade ideas and education, then move into advanced strategies and real-time data without having to relearn the app.
Charts and Graphs
Options trading is all about data, probabilities, and possible outcomes. The challenge was to make charts that felt useful to experienced traders without making things harder for beginners.
Options strategies can be hard to picture, so a library of charts and patterns helped to identify options positions. Strategies like the broken wing butterfly were created, so investors could visualize how a trade might play out.
How might we make options trading more accessible to all by turning education into an engaging, game-like experience that builds real confidence?
This question shaped the creative direction, from the brand and visual language to onboarding, educational content, and gamification. It gave us a more welcoming entry point into options trading while preserving IBD’s credibility and investing philosophy.
Free Experience
Daily curated trade setup: A new options trade idea every day, with a complete strategy laid out for the user.
Algorithm-powered trade ideas: Call and put opportunities across more than 100 popular stocks.
Unusual activity screener: A way to explore notable options activity.
Interactive education: Lessons and quizzes designed to help users sharpen their options trading skills.
Paid Experience
Advanced options strategies: Tools and strategies beyond simple calls and puts.
IBD Market Trend: Access to IBD’s assessment of the broader market environment.
Real-time data: Market information without the standard 20-minute delay, helping users make more timely decisions.
Advanced screeners: Tools to explore significant changes in open interest, volume, and other options activity.
Dedicated customer support: Service and support from IBD’s Customer Success team.
Together, these tiers created a product experience that combined accessible entry-level tools with more advanced capabilities for investors looking to deepen their options research.
THE APPROACH
THE APPROACH
Brand Identity and Visual Language
I led the creative direction from concept to execution, developing three distinct visual directions for OptionsTrader. Working alongside product designers, we presented each concept to stakeholders, marketing, and business teams, sharing the rationale and vision behind each approach. After team review, one direction was selected and refined into the app’s final visual identity, a foundation for the entire product experience.
Presenting multiple options early helped the team align on the direction and built shared ownership of the final look.
That foundation included:
Logo: Created the brand identity and logo.
Color palette: Established a palette that complements the IBD brand, balancing a fresh personality with consistency and trust.
Illustration library: Built a consistent library for iconography, marketing, and onboarding.
Visual consistency: Unified the design language across onboarding, educational content, research tools, and data visualizations.
Onboarding and Education
Education was a core part of the product, not an afterthought. We designed an onboarding experience that introduced the app’s value and guided users through the fundamentals of options trading. Interactive lessons and quizzes introduced new concepts, built their fluency, and tested their understanding of options trading.
The visual design supported the journey by breaking complex topics into bite-sized pieces, so even advanced ideas were within reach.
Gamification
Game-like elements were added into the educational experience to make learning feel motivating and rewarding. Rather than treating education as a static library of financial information, the goal was to engage users through interactive lessons, quizzes, and a sense of accomplishment.
Paired with custom illustrations, these elements gave users a reason to return, keep building their knowledge, and grow more comfortable with the concepts behind options trading.
Charts and Graphs
Options trading is all about data, probabilities, and possible outcomes. The challenge was to make charts that felt useful to experienced traders without making things harder for beginners.
Options strategies can be hard to picture, so a library of charts and patterns helped to identify options positions. Strategies like the broken wing butterfly were created, so investors could visualize how a trade might play out.
Charts and Graphs
Options trading is all about data, probabilities, and possible outcomes. The challenge was to make charts that felt useful to experienced traders without making things harder for beginners.
Options strategies can be hard to picture, so a library of charts and patterns helped to identify options positions. Strategies like the broken wing butterfly were created, so investors could visualize how a trade might play out.
THE PRODUCT EXPERIENCE
Designing the UI
OptionsTrader’s interface was designed to feel simple, educational, and fun. A clean layout keeps complex options information easy to scan, while lessons, quizzes, and playful illustrations turn learning into part of the everyday experience rather than a separate step.
I worked closely with UX/UI designers to make sure design system patterns and UI elements stayed cohesive and on brand across every screen. Whether someone is exploring a trade idea, reading a chart, or completing a lesson, the product feels like one connected system with IBD’s credibility built in.
The same interface supports both the free and paid experiences, so investors can start with daily trade ideas and education, then move into advanced strategies and real-time data without having to relearn the app.
Free Experience
Daily curated trade setup: A new options trade idea every day, with a complete strategy laid out for the user.
Algorithm-powered trade ideas: Call and put opportunities across more than 100 popular stocks.
Unusual activity screener: A way to explore notable options activity.
Interactive education: Lessons and quizzes designed to help users sharpen their options trading skills.
Paid Experience
Advanced options strategies: Tools and strategies beyond simple calls and puts.
IBD Market Trend: Access to IBD’s assessment of the broader market environment.
Real-time data: Market information without the standard 20-minute delay, helping users make more timely decisions.
Advanced screeners: Tools to explore significant changes in open interest, volume, and other options activity.
Dedicated customer support: Service and support from IBD’s Customer Success team.
Together, these tiers created a product experience that combined accessible entry-level tools with more advanced capabilities for investors looking to deepen their options research.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Go-to-Market Strategy
I partnered with the marketing team to bring OptionsTrader’s brand to life at launch. I extended the visual identity across every touchpoint where investors would first meet the app: the landing page, banner advertising, social media, and App Store assets.
Using the same logo, color palette, and illustration style as the product, each piece gave potential users a clear, friendly preview of what to expect. The result was one consistent story from the first ad to the first lesson, with IBD’s credibility and the app’s more playful personality showing up everywhere.
Go-to-Market Strategy
I partnered with the marketing team to bring OptionsTrader’s brand to life at launch. I extended the visual identity across every touchpoint where investors would first meet the app: the landing page, banner advertising, social media, and App Store assets.
Using the same logo, color palette, and illustration style as the product, each piece gave potential users a clear, friendly preview of what to expect. The result was one consistent story from the first ad to the first lesson, with IBD’s credibility and the app’s more playful personality showing up everywhere.
REFLECTION
Within a few months of launch, OptionsTrader earned a 4.8 out of 5-star rating on the App Store, a strong sign of early user reception.
The app gave IBD a new digital product that pairs its investing philosophy with a distinctive visual identity, interactive education, and gamified learning. By putting education at the center, we set out to help investors at every level build confidence trading options and keep learning over time.
As Creative Director, I shaped OptionsTrader’s creative direction from the ground up, connecting the brand, onboarding, illustrations, gamification, and data visualizations into one intuitive experience. It kept IBD’s brand identity while adding a friendly, and engaging personality.
Above all, it was a chance to take a very complex subject and make it simple, clear, and easier to learn.
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
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© 2026 Tina Simpkins. Think deeply. Design clearly.
© 2026 Tina Simpkins. Think deeply. Design clearly.
© 2026 Tina Simpkins. Think deeply. Design clearly.