Hiroko
Truscott
A designer who listens first, then designs. I bring empathy and observation from a nursing background into product work — focused on simple, instinctive, and user-centred experiences for startup teams.
Selected Work
2022-2025MyDosh
Finance.
A personal finance companion redefining how a new generation builds clarity and control over their money — designed from research, not assumption.
Role
UX / UI - Product
Year
2024
Sector
FinTech
What do users
really need from
their finances?
We were asked to develop a solution that merges modern tech with design-first thinking — making personal finance management not just easy, but accessible. The aim: empower a new wave of users to take control of their finances effortlessly.
Our first challenge was the most important one to get right: what are users actually looking for when it comes to controlling their money?
From a single app
to a platform.
Our design journey began with the aspiration of creating an iOS app for personal finance management. As we moved through research and early development, pivotal moments reshaped that trajectory — and the product with it.
Exploration phase
We began with a focused exploration of the iOS landscape, driven by the desire to provide a seamless financial experience for younger, tech-savvy users. Initial feedback was promising — but it soon became evident that staying on one platform was restricting the audience we could reach.
Realising the limits
As we went deeper into user demographics, we recognised the need for a solution that transcended platform constraints. Users across financial backgrounds — including the FI/RE community — wanted a more comprehensive view of their financial landscape than a single mobile app could offer.
The pivot to SaaS
In response, we made the strategic decision to pivot toward a Software-as-a-Service model. The shift unlocked cross-platform accessibility and let us speak to a wider audience — different levels of expertise, different financial realities.
Meeting user needs
Becoming a SaaS PFM platform let us address the evolving needs of our users with a more comprehensive suite — budgeting, savings, investments, and long-term planning, viewed in one place.
Mapping the
flow.
Final
interface.
Designing for
adaptability.
The journey from an iOS app to a holistic SaaS personal-finance platform reflects the iterative nature of design — and how essential it is to stay responsive to user needs and to industry shifts. By staying close to research and listening to the people we were designing for, we evolved the solution to serve a more diverse audience, and reaffirmed our commitment to designing money tools that fit the lives they live in.
Trained in
empathy.
Before I became a designer, I was a nurse. That background shaped everything about how I approach product work — I learned to observe carefully before acting, to ask questions before assuming I understood the problem, and to design with the whole person in mind.
I moved into UX because I saw an opportunity to apply those same principles at scale. The same instinct that made me good at patient care — reading what people aren't saying, noticing where systems create friction — makes me good at finding where products fail the people who use them.
I work best in early-stage teams where there's still room to ask the uncomfortable questions before the design decisions are made.
Capabilities
Currently
Open to UX roles in early-stage startups — particularly in FinTech, HealthTech, or tools that touch people's everyday lives. Based in Japan, open to remote.