The designer Ralph Caplan once said:
"Thinking about design is hard. But not thinking about it can be disastrous."
Good design can brings your fintech’s visual identity to life. Bad design can kill it...
Read on for our whistle-stop tour on all things fintech design.
What is design?
In the marketing world, design refers to the application of graphic design principles to help achieve your brand strategy.
It encompasses both the creation of your visual identity as well as how you consistently showcase yourself via your online and offline marketing activities.
Your fintech’s design is fundamental to your brand strategy since it is the primary way to grab your target market’s attention.
It is also important for brand consistency, with evidence to show it can increase a business’ revenue by 33%.
Consistent visuals will help make your brand become more recognisable and build a rapport with your audience, creating brand loyalty in the long term – which is crucial in the fintech sphere.
What’s the difference between design and branding?
Although branding and design may seem interchangeable, the main difference is the former is the overall identity of a business, whilst the latter is for bringing your branding to life visually.
Branding is a long-term strategy that builds your fintech’s reputation amongst its target market. Your branding is a combination of:
- Logo
- Visual identity
- Brand identity (values, mission, vision)
- Marketing
A great example of fintech branding is Wise (formerly TransferWise). On its 10th anniversary, they made the executive decision to rebrand.
The renaming of the business implies that the brand has matured, presenting the business as more established and knowledgeable.
Design, by contrast, is more concerned with the technical aspects of how you directly communicate your brand identity in an engaging and desirable way to the customer visually.
It does this by incorporating your visual brand identity's elements, too (your logo, colour palette, and typography).
Unique and engaging design will help build the value of your band and assist in achieving the business’s goals.
A brief history of design
Graphic design began to flourish after the invention of the printing press back in 1440. The printing press enabled the recreation of text, art, and design on a huge scale and in a cost-efficient way.
Soon after, businesses began to realise how visuals could positively impact shopping behaviours and increase profits.
The printing press paved the way for the ‘coranto’, the precursor to the newspaper. The 1600s birthed print advertisements, which saw more and more mass-produced advertisements go into circulation.
Technological advances throughout the 1800s fuelled the progression of chromolithography (the ability to print in colour), which opened new doors in the world of print advertising.
Brands then began experimenting with fonts and colour palettes to build a rapport through imagery.
But what’s design like today?
Design today
The digital age has allowed us to further develop how we use graphic design.
Adobe Photoshop, released in 1990, changed how we would design forever. Photo manipulation created a whole new realm of design, blending elements of photography, illustrations, and video.
Founded in 2003, Shutterstock revolutionised the availability of digital media changing the approach to design. The marketplace allowed graphic designers to download hundreds of thousands of stock images and video, and create more bespoke, intricate design and imagery with them.
As a team of creatives, we’re excited to see how the emerging trends and micro-trends are shaping the next chapter of design, and how we can implement them into our future campaigns.
Design in fintech
Design is greatly influential – it can connect or disconnect certain groups from your business. It can also attract attention, communicate feelings, and builds trust.
You can use design to embody your fintech’s brand and broader marketing strategy.
Fintechs are part of the wider financial services industry. They comply with financial regulations, just like traditional banks do, and innovate financial technology.
But to fintech customers, trust and removal of friction when handling their personal finances are what matters most. Design helps you convey this quickly and simplistically.
Design can also play into fintech lead generation strategies. After all, a distinct design makes all communications and advertisements more distinct, too.
When crafting your fintech’s visual identity, several aspects of design should be considered.
If you are outsourcing your marketing, you should also consider working with fintech-specific partners.
After all, just as you would use fintech copywriters for your website, you should use designers with experience in the industry for your design.
Why put your brand in danger with inexperienced partners?
Fintech logo design
A potential customer’s first impression of your brand is likely to be your logo, so it’s worth taking the time to think about how it portrays your business.
You need to create a strong logo that is memorable and resonates with the public, whilst also reflecting the business itself.
- Keep it simple – Your logo needs to be easily identifiable. A good logo will be unique without being overly complicated.
- Be memorable – You want your logo to be unforgettable and hold a global presence.
- Is it appropriate? – Your logo must be fit for purpose. If you’re a legacy bank, your logo may be sleeker and more corporate. However, a fintech disruptor may take a more playful and vibrant approach.
For example, Lloyds Bank’s logo has a traditional corporate feel. It is clean and sleek, using darker and professional colours.
The logo has also stood the test of time. The ‘black horse’ icon is easily recognised by most people and is a household name, evoking trust and reliability.
Stripe’s logo pushes the boundaries with a bold upfront statement. Whilst still being clean and sleek, it is very vibrant and colour, reflecting their messaging and value proposition.
Your logo doesn’t have to be is timeless. The fintech industry is fast-paced and ever-changing so as the industry grows, your brand identity should with it.
You should always consider if your visual identity needs refreshing when you’re scaling up as a business as it may start to look outdated.
Fintech app design
As a fintech, your app must be cutting-edge; it needs to showcase how game-changing and innovative your business is.
Whilst conveying the above, your app also needs to be simplistic, intuitive, and provide the perfect user experience.
If you want to stand out when designing your app, it’s important to consider whether the following needs to be integrated:
- Gamification
- Voice processing
- Social media integration
- Open Banking
- Personalisation
These features all work together to create a more personalised and streamlined user experience for your customer.
Fintech UX
UX design is the process of creating products or services that provide meaningful experiences for users including function, branding, usability, and design.
As much as visual design is going to be at the forefront of your mind, the most extravagant app is useless if it isn’t seamless and easy for your users.
In this age of mobile banking and smartphones, users expect websites and mobile apps to be immediately intuitive.
When designing your app, ask yourself: How will users interact with my brand? How will they feel after the interaction?
Your goal should be for your users to have a positive interaction with your product and/or service.
You want your customers to feel fulfilled, whether that be by finding the information they are looking for or solving a problem.
Currensea’s app is a fantastic example of user experience done well. It is visual and seamless, serving an impeccable user experience for its cardholders.
The app also offers incentives for its users such as the ability to support its two main ESG initiatives: planting trees and ridding the ocean of plastic.
And it provides as cashback offers with many big highstreet brands.
Fintech website design
Did you know that it takes 0.05 milliseconds for people to form an opinion about your website?
With the fintech industry continuing to grow rapidly and estimated to reach a market value of over £220 billion by 2025, a great website is essential in helping you stand out from the crowd.
Due to the crowded market, customers have a wide range of options available to them.
So, it’s important to communicate your USPs quickly, directly and, of course, visually.
A successful website should allow for clear navigation. Whether your potential lead is interested in your pricing or ready to convert, you need to help them find what they need swiftly.
We often say here at that Blue Train, that most customers are busy and hyperactive people online, they scroll and vanish at the first obstacle.
We can all understand this because we are all customers, too!
SEO services for fintech can only take you so far if your website's design is terrible. Getting users on-page without making them want to dwell there is not helpful to your marketing efforts.
Imagine your ideal customer has found your website as they queue for a coffee.
They have a 3 minute window before they collect their order and go back to the office, where they'll soon get back to emails and meetings, i.e., they'll forget about you.
If it takes them more than a matter of seconds to find what they want on your website, they aren't going to forfeit much of their 3 minute break. They'll bounce from your website immediately.
Ensure that you have clear calls-to-action (CTAs) across your site, encouraging your potential leads to move down the sales funnel.
A great example of a website done well is Paystand. The company builds trust by using client logos and social proof on its homepage. The structure of their initial page is clean and digestible.
The colour palette is calming and welcoming. They have a non-corporate feel to their visuals, making them seem approachable and clearly a fintech!
B2B vs B2C fintech design
Marketing in the business-to-business (B2B) fintech world and business-to-consumer (B2C) world is different.
There are some different strategic marketing factors for fintechs in both spaces to consider.
Different buying frequencies and average order volumes (AOV), for a start.
But also different sales to marketing pipelines, too.
However, the B2B world in general is changing. It's marketing - including in design aspects - is becoming markedly more creative.
As the fintech B2B industry evolves, we expect to see it cross over more and more with its B2C cousins.
Conclusion
Design encompasses your brand’s visual identity as well as how you implement it through marketing campaigns.
Although your design has a great impact on your branding, they are not interchangeable.
Your branding encompasses the essence of your company, whereas your design is its visual representation.
B2B and B2C fintech marketing differ due to factors such as buying frequency and AOV. However, the B2B industry is becoming more creative and is expected to overlap with B2C in the future.
When working on the design elements of your business, consider your logo, website, and app.
But don’t get carried away with making a lavish website or app, user experience comes first so make sure they are user-friendly.
Blue Train Marketing puts creativity at its heart, whether that be graphic design or content creation.
We are an agency that specialises in fintech content creation and design.
If you would like to learn more, get in touch.
