Building Economic Infrastructure for the Ummah
The Mission
Sigillion aims to consolidate the economic institutions necessary for a strong, independent Muslim community (Ummah). As a registered 501(c)(3) charity, the platform creates infrastructure for sustainable financial growth and community empowerment through ethical, interest-free financial tools and community-driven investment opportunities.
My Role
As the Full-stack Designer & Developer, I was responsible for redesigning and rebuilding the entire digital platform to align with Islamic values while delivering modern, user-friendly financial tools. My work encompassed the full spectrum of design and development, from UX research and wireframing to implementing secure financial transaction systems and creating an intuitive interface that accommodates users from diverse backgrounds and financial literacy levels.
Design Challenge
The primary challenge was creating a platform that balances traditional Islamic values with modern financial technology, making complex financial concepts accessible to users of varying technical expertise. I needed to build trust through design while ensuring the platform was welcoming and intuitive for community members from diverse backgrounds and age groups.
Islamic-Inspired Design Principles
For Sigillion, I developed a design system that draws from Islamic geometric patterns and architectural principles, creating a visual language that honors tradition while facilitating modern digital interactions. The design embodies the balance, harmony, and ethical foundations of Islamic economic principles.
Balance & Harmony
Interface elements are arranged with careful attention to proportion and rhythm, mirroring the balanced geometric principles found in Islamic architecture. This creates a sense of order that makes complex financial information more digestible.
Visual Clarity
Clean typography and intuitive navigation make financial concepts accessible to users of all backgrounds. Each section uses visual hierarchy to guide users naturally through increasingly complex financial operations.
Meaningful Patterns
Subtle geometric patterns convey depth and interconnection, symbolizing the community's shared economic goals. These patterns serve both aesthetic and functional purposes, creating visual interest while reinforcing information hierarchy.
Trust Signifiers
Visual cues reinforce security and transparency in all financial transactions and interactions. From the color palette to interactive elements, every design decision was made to build trust and confidence in the platform's integrity.
Economic Empowerment Tools
Sigillion provides a comprehensive suite of financial tools that are both ethically compliant with Islamic principles and technologically advanced. Each feature was designed with extensive user research to ensure accessibility and usability for the entire community.
Interest-Free Financing
Providing Halal alternatives to conventional loans for business development and personal needs, with transparent fee structures and profit-sharing models that comply with Islamic financial principles.
Zakat Calculator
An intelligent tool that helps users calculate and distribute their charitable obligations according to Islamic guidelines, with customizable options for different schools of thought and personalized reporting.
Community Projects Calendar
A comprehensive scheduling tool for community economic initiatives with progress tracking, volunteer coordination, and real-time updates on funding milestones and project achievements.
Ethical Investment Screening
Advanced filters that screen investment opportunities based on Islamic financial principles, ensuring that all investments are free from interest (riba), excessive uncertainty (gharar), and prohibited industries.
Community Marketplace
A digital marketplace where community members can buy, sell, and trade goods and services within their local Muslim community, fostering economic self-sufficiency and supporting small business owners.
Financial Education Hub
Interactive learning resources that explain Islamic financial concepts in accessible ways, with personalized learning paths based on the user's background knowledge and financial goals.
Visual Language
Sigillion's visual language creates a harmonious fusion of Islamic design principles and modern UI patterns, establishing a foundation for trust, clarity, and spiritual resonance.
Typography
The typography system balances legibility and spiritual resonance. Alata serves as the primary display font, with its geometric structure evoking the precision of Islamic calligraphy while maintaining modern clarity. Montserrat complements as the body text, offering excellent readability even when explaining complex financial concepts.
Color System
The color palette draws inspiration from natural elements prevalent in Islamic architecture and art. Warm teal serves as the primary color, symbolizing growth and prosperity, while earthy tones create a sense of stability and trust—essential qualities for a financial platform. The system includes accessible contrast ratios that exceed WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
Theme & Patterns
Sigillion's interface incorporates subtle geometric patterns inspired by traditional Islamic art, creating a sense of cultural authenticity without overwhelming the user experience. The theme embraces whitespace, clear hierarchy, and careful proportions—principles derived from Islamic architecture that enhance both aesthetic appeal and functional clarity. Each interactive element transitions smoothly, reflecting the deliberate, measured approach valued in Islamic traditions.
Iconography
Sigillion's custom iconography system blends geometric precision with clear visual metaphors, ensuring immediate recognition while maintaining cultural sensitivity. Each icon is designed on a consistent grid with rounded corners that echo Islamic arches, providing a cohesive look that functions beautifully across various sizes. The icons avoid figurative representations in accordance with Islamic principles, instead focusing on abstract symbols and objects.
From Research to Implementation
The redesign of Sigillion followed a comprehensive human-centered design process, with special attention to the unique needs of the Muslim community and Islamic financial principles.
Implementation Roadmap
The flowchart shown served as a critical bridge between user research and implementation. By mapping out user journeys like "Learn More" and "Enroll Now," and aligning them with specific HTML pages and backend responsibilities, the team was able to translate insights into actionable components. Each section was annotated with iterative tasks — from uploading resources and editing testimonials to ensuring visual consistency and backend logic — ensuring that no detail was overlooked. This visual planning tool allowed for seamless communication between design, content, and development, guiding the build process from strategic vision to live implementation.
Initial Design Concepts
These early wireframes illustrate the foundational design thinking behind Sigillion's user interface. Created during the initial conceptualization phase, these mockups focused on balancing Islamic aesthetic principles with modern usability standards. The layout deliberately incorporates whitespace to enhance readability of complex financial concepts, while the modular component structure was designed to support future scaling of features.
The side navigation pattern seen here evolved through multiple iterations based on user testing with community members of varying technical abilities, ensuring the final implementation would be accessible to all segments of the Muslim community regardless of digital literacy levels.
The initial Sigillion homepage mockup was designed as a visual manifesto of the platform's mission: to empower the Muslim community through trust, clarity, and unity. Guided by the human-centered design process and informed by deep user and stakeholder research, this layout reflects both functionality and faith-aligned aesthetics.
The minimalist structure, neutral tones, and modern geometric logo echo Islamic design traditions while maintaining a clean, universal appeal.
Landing Page Implementation
This landing page marked a clear evolution from earlier mockups by integrating live video, enhanced contrast, and spatial balance, allowing the design to breathe and focus. Flanking messages ("Harnessing collective generosity…" and "Empowering high-impact initiatives…") speak directly to the hearts of community leaders, visionaries, and everyday Muslims, all while reinforcing trust, transparency, and impact — key themes uncovered during early research.
From a UX perspective, the streamlined CTA structure and elegant interface prioritise emotional resonance and frictionless navigation, ensuring users feel both inspired and oriented from the first interaction.
Impact & Learnings
"The Sigillion platform has transformed how our community approaches financial planning and philanthropy. The design makes complex Islamic financial concepts accessible to everyone, regardless of their background." — Ibrahim Khan, Community Leader
This project taught me the importance of balancing cultural sensitivity with modern design practices. By deeply understanding the community's needs and values, I was able to create a platform that feels authentic while leveraging the power of contemporary digital tools.
The most significant challenge was translating complex Islamic financial concepts into intuitive user interfaces that catered to users with varying levels of financial literacy. This required extensive research, iteration, and continuous user testing to ensure the platform remained accessible without oversimplifying important concepts.
Following the launch, user engagement increased by 75%, and the average time spent on the platform doubled. The most rewarding outcome has been seeing how the platform has empowered community members to take greater control of their financial futures while staying true to their values.