Money. Key to most of our everyday requirements and desires. Something which drives our basic needs. Seeming almost innate in its very existence and yet superficial in its actual value, one cannot escape its existence. Despite all its forms, representations, utilities, and volatilities, money and finance are undeniably a key aspect to our lives in the 21st century.

So, what is money? Is it a piece of paper? Or a piece of metal? Does its physicality even matter? Isn’t it amusing to think that such core components of our lives almost go unnoticed, or are ideally ‘delegated’ to someone who knows it better? Thus, is there a gap that needs to be filled? Are we financially literate?

This paper looks to explore the different manifestations of the Canadian financial system, from the lens of the participants who might be the most vulnerable. Using inclusive design methodologies, the idea is to identify the range of pain-points associated with finance from co-designers who have first hand experience. These co-designers were mostly young newcomers to Canada who are trying to find their way within a new ecosystem, without any formal financial education.

The paper also aims to examine the vehicles that enable financial literacy and tries to understand the gaps associated with them. The main purpose is to find ways in which visual design can further solidify or simplify these concepts for the people in need. These visual design outputs are expressed in the form of infographics with minimal supporting text, aimed towards mitigating the implications of terminologies and jargon.

The ultimate goal is towards identifying and prototyping solutions for the diverse range of needs among the participants, rather than arriving at a statistical majority. This looks to tie into the Government of Canada’s National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021-2026, which aims towards enabling a financially resilient future.

Keywords: finance, money, literacy, Canada.