Gen Money
Making Finance Snap
Finance isn’t exactly a Gen Z obsession, until it is. In a world of crypto hype, side hustles, and TikTok money myths, financial literacy has never been more important or more complicated. To address this, the Axel Springer Academy launched Generation Geld, a Snapchat-first educational series designed to make varying asset classes like crypto, stocks, or collectibles not only understandable, but interactive and entertaining.
The series consisted of six mobile-first video episodes produced by student journalists. But the real innovation came from its interactive layer: AR Lenses that let users playfully engage with key concepts. As Design Director for the AR experience, I led the design strategy, creative direction, and product development for the entire interactive layer of Generation Geld, collaborating with both Snap Inc. and internal stakeholders to ensure that the AR experience was not just an add-on but a crucial part of the learning journey.
Problem & Motivation
Financial education tends to be dense, abstract, and disconnected from how younger audiences consume content. Generation Geld wanted to fix that. We knew that Gen Z lives on platforms like Snapchat, where storytelling is visual, fast-paced, and often layered with personal expression. So how could we meet them where they are while still delivering real educational value?
The goal was to create a fun, frictionless AR experience that reinforces the video content while giving users a way to reflect, respond, and personalize what they’re learning. The challenge? Making complex financial concepts tangible in a format built for Gen Z.
The Role of AR in the Learning Experience
Rather than summarizing the videos or offering redundant interactions, we built the AR Lens as a companion space. One that extended and deepened the main story through active participation. Users were placed directly in the shoes of the protagonist, faced with realistic financial decisions such as when to buy or sell an asset. These contextual choices weren’t just cosmetic, they triggered dynamic outcomes that shaped the experience and reinforced core financial concepts through real-time feedback.
Instead of passively consuming information, users actively navigated scenarios that mirrored real-world financial pressures. By visualizing money gains and losses through expressive Snapchat-native elements like interactive face lenses, animated overlays, and responsive assets, we transformed abstract concepts into embodied learning moments.
As Design Director, I was responsible for leading this translation from static content to interactive storytelling. I bridged editorial intent with game mechanics and interaction design principles, ensuring that every decision made within the lens felt purposeful, platform-native, and genuinely educational.
The Design Journey
Week 1–2: Strategic Discovery & Direction
The project kicked off with a tight alignment between editorial leads, Snap’s content team, and our internal AR developers. To form a shared creative vision early, I facilitated a low-fidelity paper prototyping session that brought stakeholders from diverse disciplines: journalism, tech, and design onto the same page. This analog approach proved highly effective in exploring interaction possibilities without the constraints of software or fidelity, allowing us to iterate rapidly and build consensus.
Based on these discussions, we mapped each episode of the video series to a core interactive mechanic, be it a visual metaphor, decision-based challenge, or transformative lens effect. I then synthesized the collective input into a strategic experience blueprint that guided both the technical implementation and the storytelling logic of the AR lens.
Week 3–5: Interaction Design & AR System Building
This phase was all about turning ideas into usable interactions. I led the UI/UX design for the lens interface — from the wow moment to call-to-action overlays and progress feedback. Working with 3D assets and Lens Studio, I also directed the creation and optimization of visual assets to meet platform performance thresholds without sacrificing quality.
Each component was tested, reviewed, and iterated. I introduced motion studies to simulate interaction pacing and worked with editorial leads to ensure the content tone matched the lens behavior. Our challenge was to create something that was intuitive but not boring, educational without being preachy.
Week 6–8: Collaboration & Refinement
As launch approached, I led multi-stakeholder review sessions across Snap, Axel Springer, and our dev teams. We had to align on platform capabilities, editorial voice, legal standards, and user testing feedback all while shipping on a tight schedule.
We refined question logic, polished transitions, and finalized asset deployment to ensure a fluid, engaging user experience. User testing revealed the need for clearer feedback during decision-making moments, which led to improvements in visual progress indicators and user cues. I also implemented a modular design system that allowed for easy adaptation and reuse of the AR components across other thematic episodes, asset classes or even future editorial topics. By the time of launch, the lens had gone through multiple design and QA cycles to ensure that it hit the sweet spot between playful interactivity and meaningful financial education.
Final Outcome
Generation Geld launched across Axel Springer’s official Snapchat channels in January 2025. The six-part video series, paired with interactive AR lenses, quickly found traction among its target audience. Early analytics pointed to above-average completion rates and high re-engagement with the lens experience, indicating that users weren’t just passively watching. They were leaning in, playing, and learning.
More than just content, Generation Geld became a case study for how journalistic institutions can speak the language of Gen Z: not by simplifying information, but by elevating its form. With AR as a connective layer, we turned abstract financial concepts into tangible, personalized moments fostering curiosity and agency instead of lecture-style lessons.
What I Learned
This project reinforced a key principle I carry into every immersive design brief: AR earns its place when it deepens the story. Not every project needs interaction but when it does, that interaction must be in service of clarity, expression, or emotional connection.
As Design Director, I had to navigate a balancing act between editorial integrity, technical feasibility, and user attention spans. I learned how to translate didactic content into behavior-driven design and how to make finance feel less like a chore and more like a challenge worth engaging with.
Ultimately, Generation Geld reminded me that creative technology can empower users when it respects their intelligence, speaks their language, and invites them into the story, not just as viewers, but as participants.
Gen Money
Making Finance Snap
Finance isn’t exactly a Gen Z obsession, until it is. In a world of crypto hype, side hustles, and TikTok money myths, financial literacy has never been more important or more complicated. To address this, the Axel Springer Academy launched Generation Geld, a Snapchat-first educational series designed to make varying asset classes like crypto, stocks, or collectibles not only understandable, but interactive and entertaining.
The series consisted of six mobile-first video episodes produced by student journalists. But the real innovation came from its interactive layer: AR Lenses that let users playfully engage with key concepts. As Design Director for the AR experience, I led the design strategy, creative direction, and product development for the entire interactive layer of Generation Geld, collaborating with both Snap Inc. and internal stakeholders to ensure that the AR experience was not just an add-on but a crucial part of the learning journey.
Problem & Motivation
Financial education tends to be dense, abstract, and disconnected from how younger audiences consume content. Generation Geld wanted to fix that. We knew that Gen Z lives on platforms like Snapchat, where storytelling is visual, fast-paced, and often layered with personal expression. So how could we meet them where they are while still delivering real educational value?
The goal was to create a fun, frictionless AR experience that reinforces the video content while giving users a way to reflect, respond, and personalize what they’re learning. The challenge? Making complex financial concepts tangible in a format built for Gen Z.
The Role of AR in the Learning Experience
Rather than summarizing the videos or offering redundant interactions, we built the AR Lens as a companion space. One that extended and deepened the main story through active participation. Users were placed directly in the shoes of the protagonist, faced with realistic financial decisions such as when to buy or sell an asset. These contextual choices weren’t just cosmetic, they triggered dynamic outcomes that shaped the experience and reinforced core financial concepts through real-time feedback.
Instead of passively consuming information, users actively navigated scenarios that mirrored real-world financial pressures. By visualizing money gains and losses through expressive Snapchat-native elements like interactive face lenses, animated overlays, and responsive assets, we transformed abstract concepts into embodied learning moments.
As Design Director, I was responsible for leading this translation from static content to interactive storytelling. I bridged editorial intent with game mechanics and interaction design principles, ensuring that every decision made within the lens felt purposeful, platform-native, and genuinely educational.
The Design Journey
Week 1–2: Strategic Discovery & Direction
The project kicked off with a tight alignment between editorial leads, Snap’s content team, and our internal AR developers. To form a shared creative vision early, I facilitated a low-fidelity paper prototyping session that brought stakeholders from diverse disciplines: journalism, tech, and design onto the same page. This analog approach proved highly effective in exploring interaction possibilities without the constraints of software or fidelity, allowing us to iterate rapidly and build consensus.
Based on these discussions, we mapped each episode of the video series to a core interactive mechanic, be it a visual metaphor, decision-based challenge, or transformative lens effect. I then synthesized the collective input into a strategic experience blueprint that guided both the technical implementation and the storytelling logic of the AR lens.
Week 3–5: Interaction Design & AR System Building
This phase was all about turning ideas into usable interactions. I led the UI/UX design for the lens interface — from the wow moment to call-to-action overlays and progress feedback. Working with 3D assets and Lens Studio, I also directed the creation and optimization of visual assets to meet platform performance thresholds without sacrificing quality.
Each component was tested, reviewed, and iterated. I introduced motion studies to simulate interaction pacing and worked with editorial leads to ensure the content tone matched the lens behavior. Our challenge was to create something that was intuitive but not boring, educational without being preachy.
Week 6–8: Collaboration & Refinement
As launch approached, I led multi-stakeholder review sessions across Snap, Axel Springer, and our dev teams. We had to align on platform capabilities, editorial voice, legal standards, and user testing feedback all while shipping on a tight schedule.
We refined question logic, polished transitions, and finalized asset deployment to ensure a fluid, engaging user experience. User testing revealed the need for clearer feedback during decision-making moments, which led to improvements in visual progress indicators and user cues. I also implemented a modular design system that allowed for easy adaptation and reuse of the AR components across other thematic episodes, asset classes or even future editorial topics. By the time of launch, the lens had gone through multiple design and QA cycles to ensure that it hit the sweet spot between playful interactivity and meaningful financial education.
Final Outcome
Generation Geld launched across Axel Springer’s official Snapchat channels in January 2025. The six-part video series, paired with interactive AR lenses, quickly found traction among its target audience. Early analytics pointed to above-average completion rates and high re-engagement with the lens experience, indicating that users weren’t just passively watching. They were leaning in, playing, and learning.
More than just content, Generation Geld became a case study for how journalistic institutions can speak the language of Gen Z: not by simplifying information, but by elevating its form. With AR as a connective layer, we turned abstract financial concepts into tangible, personalized moments fostering curiosity and agency instead of lecture-style lessons.
What I Learned
This project reinforced a key principle I carry into every immersive design brief: AR earns its place when it deepens the story. Not every project needs interaction but when it does, that interaction must be in service of clarity, expression, or emotional connection.
As Design Director, I had to navigate a balancing act between editorial integrity, technical feasibility, and user attention spans. I learned how to translate didactic content into behavior-driven design and how to make finance feel less like a chore and more like a challenge worth engaging with.
Ultimately, Generation Geld reminded me that creative technology can empower users when it respects their intelligence, speaks their language, and invites them into the story, not just as viewers, but as participants.
© Selected Works / Fynn Langnau
Your brand deserves the best. Let me help you achieve it with a human-centered mindset.
Available for work
Let's Work Together.
© Selected Works / Fynn Langnau
Your brand deserves the best. Let me help you achieve it with a human-centered mindset.
Available for work
Let's Work Together.
© Selected Works / Fynn Langnau
Your brand deserves the best. Let me help you achieve it with a human-centered mindset.
Available for work
Let's Work Together.