Agnieszka Antonowicz // Product Design // FinTech

Project details

Client:

IG Group

Tool:

Figma, Google Analytics

IG’s Economic Calendar

Introduction

The economic calendar is a critical tool for traders, helping them track macroeconomic events, company earnings, dividends, IPOs, and other market-moving factors. At IG, the existing calendar was outdated, buggy, and disconnected from the trading experience. Many clients relied on external tools such as Bloomberg, Investing.com, and DailyFX, which fragmented their workflow and limited engagement with IG.

To solve this, a new economic calendar was designed and developed from scratch, powered by Trading Economics data via TastyTrade API.

This case study follows the Double Diamond design process - Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver - to show how research insights were translated into a modern, integrated solution that has already received strong positive feedback.

IG’s calendar recognized as one of the Top 11 Best FX Calendars 🏆

Discover 📚

Problems with the legacy calendar (Refinitiv/Reuters):

No longer supported by provider.
Incorrect and buggy data (missing events, wrong times).
Missing features like past numbers, charts, and filters.
Opened in an external window, breaking the IG experience.
Outdated UX, inconsistent with IG brand.

User Research (9 participants: 5 IG clients, 4 prospects):

Multiple calendars in use: Most traders used 2–5 calendars daily because no single source met all needs.
Essential to workflow: Most checked at least once a day; some left it open continuously. Earnings/dividends were less frequent but still important.
Device usage: Mobile first thing in the morning and on-the-go; web for detailed analysis.
Expectations:
- Preference for in-platform experience.
- Expanded views with charts and historical data seen as useful.
- Demand for filters, personalization, and importance labels tailored to watchlists/sectors.

Industry Context:

DailyFX and TastyTrade already use Trading Economics with strong user reviews.
Trading Economics is ~$45k cheaper annually than Refinitiv and trusted for real-time, reliable data.

Define 🤹‍♀️

Objective

Create a modern, accurate, branded, in-platform economic calendar that integrates seamlessly into the IG experience, supporting both macroeconomic and corporate events.

Core Requirements

Micro front-end (mobile + web).
Event categories: Macroeconomic events, earnings, dividends, IPOs, stock splits.
Day/week/month toggles (3-month range).
Multi-theme support (navy/dark/light).
Localization (EN, JP, FR, DE, IT, SE, TW/ZH, ES, PT).
Importance levels (High/Medium/Low) with clear color coding.
Add-to-calendar (.ics download).
Filters on all pages, with personalization to watchlists/sectors.
Banner for transition period between old and new calendar.

Develop 💫

Prototyping & Testing

Moderated sessions were conducted, followed by usability testing with traders.

Key Findings:

Value of integration: Traders welcomed having everything in-app, reducing the need to switch platforms.
Confidence & efficiency: Integrated content increased confidence in decision-making.
Personalisation demand: Users wanted filtering by importance, sector, and watchlist relevance.
Visual clarity: Expanded event views with charts and forecasts were highly valued.
Alerts: Even traders who don’t use alerts today expressed interest in contextual alerts to avoid missing opportunities.

Completed Development (Phase 1):

Integrated TastyTrade APIs via AWS API Gateway.
Extended date range to 3 months.
Implemented API modifications in collaboration with TastyTrade.
Conducted first stakeholder demo and gathered feedback.
Iterating design (importance labels, layouts, personalization).
Applied new IG branding.
Deprecated old Refinitiv calendar.

Deliver ✅

Launch Plan

July 2024 → New calendar went live.
July–October 2024 → Dual-calendar period with banner notice.
October 2024 → Old calendar deprecated.

Future Enhancements (Phase 2+):

Contextual alerts integrated directly into calendar.
Impacted currencies shown for each event.
Greater personalization (importance thresholds, watchlist-based views).

Develop 💫

Prototyping & Testing

Moderated sessions were conducted, followed by usability testing with traders.

Key Findings:

Value of integration: Traders welcomed having everything in-app, reducing the need to switch platforms.
Confidence & efficiency: Integrated content increased confidence in decision-making.
Personalisation demand: Users wanted filtering by importance, sector, and watchlist relevance.
Visual clarity: Expanded event views with charts and forecasts were highly valued.
Alerts: Even traders who don’t use alerts today expressed interest in contextual alerts to avoid missing opportunities.

Completed Development (Phase 1):

Integrated TastyTrade APIs via AWS API Gateway.
Extended date range to 3 months.
Implemented API modifications in collaboration with TastyTrade.
Conducted first stakeholder demo and gathered feedback.
Iterating design (importance labels, layouts, personalization).
Applied new IG branding.
Deprecated old Refinitiv calendar.

Deliver ✅

Launch Plan

July 2024 → New calendar went live.
July–October 2024 → Dual-calendar period with banner notice.
October 2024 → Old calendar deprecated.

Future Enhancements (Phase 2+):

Contextual alerts integrated directly into calendar.
Impacted currencies shown for each event.
Greater personalization (importance thresholds, watchlist-based views).

Develop 💫

Prototyping & Testing

Moderated sessions were conducted, followed by usability testing with traders.

Key Findings:

Value of integration: Traders welcomed having everything in-app, reducing the need to switch platforms.
Confidence & efficiency: Integrated content increased confidence in decision-making.
Personalisation demand: Users wanted filtering by importance, sector, and watchlist relevance.
Visual clarity: Expanded event views with charts and forecasts were highly valued.
Alerts: Even traders who don’t use alerts today expressed interest in contextual alerts to avoid missing opportunities.

Completed Development (Phase 1):

Integrated TastyTrade APIs via AWS API Gateway.
Extended date range to 3 months.
Implemented API modifications in collaboration with TastyTrade.
Conducted first stakeholder demo and gathered feedback.
Iterating design (importance labels, layouts, personalization).
Applied new IG branding.
Deprecated old Refinitiv calendar.

Deliver ✅

Launch Plan

July 2024 → New calendar went live.
July–October 2024 → Dual-calendar period with banner notice.
October 2024 → Old calendar deprecated.

Future Enhancements (Phase 2+):

Contextual alerts integrated directly into calendar.
Impacted currencies shown for each event.
Greater personalization (importance thresholds, watchlist-based views).

Final Design 🔥

Highlights of the New Design:

Clean, IG-branded interface.
Quick filters: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7/14 days, Custom date.
Visible search and dropdown filters.
Color-coded importance labels (High/Medium/Low).
Event details with Forecast / Actual / Previous for context.
Fully responsive for web and mobile.

Impact 🏆

Early feedback from traders confirmed the new design was clear, fast, and trustworthy, reducing the need to rely on external calendars.
Stakeholders valued the cost savings (~$45k/year) and brand consistency.
By centralizing insights, the calendar is helping IG move closer to being an end-to-end trading destination rather than just an execution venue.

Quote from usability testing:

“Having this inside the app is a game changer—I won’t need to keep Bloomberg open all the time anymore.”

Mission & Vision

The mission was to create a reliable, integrated economic calendar that makes traders’ lives easier and strengthens IG’s ecosystem. The vision is for the calendar to evolve into a personalized insight hub, surfacing only the most relevant events and opportunities for each trader.

✨ This case study shows how research-driven design, technical collaboration, and business alignment transformed a legacy feature into a high-value, user-loved product.

Final Design 🔥

Highlights of the New Design:

Clean, IG-branded interface.
Quick filters: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7/14 days, Custom date.
Visible search and dropdown filters.
Color-coded importance labels (High/Medium/Low).
Event details with Forecast / Actual / Previous for context.
Fully responsive for web and mobile.

Impact 🏆

Early feedback from traders confirmed the new design was clear, fast, and trustworthy, reducing the need to rely on external calendars.
Stakeholders valued the cost savings (~$45k/year) and brand consistency.
By centralizing insights, the calendar is helping IG move closer to being an end-to-end trading destination rather than just an execution venue.

Quote from usability testing:

“Having this inside the app is a game changer—I won’t need to keep Bloomberg open all the time anymore.”

Mission & Vision

✨ This case study shows how research-driven design, technical collaboration, and business alignment transformed a legacy feature into a high-value, user-loved product.

Final Design 🔥

Highlights of the New Design:

Clean, IG-branded interface.
Quick filters: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7/14 days, Custom date.
Visible search and dropdown filters.
Color-coded importance labels (High/Medium/Low).
Event details with Forecast / Actual / Previous for context.
Fully responsive for web and mobile.

Impact 🏆

Early feedback from traders confirmed the new design was clear, fast, and trustworthy, reducing the need to rely on external calendars.
Stakeholders valued the cost savings (~$45k/year) and brand consistency.
By centralizing insights, the calendar is helping IG move closer to being an end-to-end trading destination rather than just an execution venue.

Quote from usability testing:

“Having this inside the app is a game changer—I won’t need to keep Bloomberg open all the time anymore.”

Mission & Vision

✨ This case study shows how research-driven design, technical collaboration, and business alignment transformed a legacy feature into a high-value, user-loved product.