Meet Uncle Trader
Transforming a hackathon concept into a distinct AI trading experience.
Role
UX/UI Design
Brand Identity
Logo Design
Timeline
Oct 1
Tools
Figma
Team
Jordan
Patrick
01 CONTEXT
An Uncle Trader
Uncle Trader began as a hackathon project built around a simple idea: what if you could propose a trading idea to an AI agent and have it evaluate whether the idea actually makes sense?
After the hackathon, the team decided to continue developing the concept. I joined the team as the designer, focusing on the product's visual identity, UI, and design system.
My role was to polish up the visuals of this application and give it a distinct brand identity.
02 PROBLEM
It looked like every other AI chatbot.
The core concept was there, but the product lacked a visual identity that made it feel distinct. Its interface resembled other AI chat experiences, leaving little to communicate what made Uncle Trader different.
For people unfamiliar with trading, the product also needed to feel approachable enough to bring forward an idea and explore it without already understanding the complexities of the market.
This created a design opportunity: build a recognizable identity that gives Uncle Trader its own personality while making the experience feel approachable and purposeful.
How might we create a distinctive AI trading experience that helps people explore their trading ideas with confidence, without feeling overwhelmed by finance or another generic chatbot?
03 DESIGN DIRECTION
What should Uncle Trader feel like?
I wanted Uncle Trader to feel approachable, playful, and trustworthy — a friendly entry point into a world that can feel intimidating to people unfamiliar with trading.
I initially explored typography-led logo concepts, incorporating visual references to trading through color and stock-market-inspired symbols. However, these directions felt too generic to give the product a recognizable identity of its own.
Instead, I leaned into the idea of a robot mascot: a cute, uncle-like character with a monocle. Inspired by robot logos and character design references, I wanted to give Uncle Trader a personality that could extend beyond its name and become a recognizable part of the product.
Throughout the process, I worked with the team to incorporate their feedback and suggestions, particularly around visual elements associated with trading and stocks. Since finance wasn't my area of expertise, these conversations helped me connect the brand's visual direction to the product it represents.
The result was a shift from a logo that simply identifies the product toward a character-led identity designed to make Uncle Trader feel more distinctive and approachable.
04 FINAL DESIGN
Meet Uncle
I wanted Uncle Trader to feel less like an anonymous AI system and more like a character users could interact with. This led to the creation of Uncle — a robot mascot that became the visual anchor of the brand.
05 REFLECTION
How I met your uncle
This project reminded that design is about conveying a message and it is important that consumers understand. Throguhout the redesign process, I learned how minor design decisions like hierarchy, colour, icons and placement can have a great impact on solving a real world problem. The packaging problem became a lesson in information design and designing for context. A package doesn't exist in isolation; it exists on a crowded shelf, in a freezer, in someone's grocery bag, and eventually in their home.
Ultimately, this project reinforced my belief that design is about communication. The best solution isn't necessarily the most visually complex one — it's the one that communicates the right message to the right person, at the right moment.