Work
It’s business time for the UK’s best-loved bank
Monzo
When Monzo needed to launch their new business accounts, they asked us to help develop the visual identity. Over a series of design sprints, the partnership delivered an identity system with the simplicity and magic people love about Monzo, and the trust and reassurance businesses need from a bank.
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- Visual identity
- Digital design
- Art direction
The need to adapt
Monzo has built the sort of customer loyalty other banks can only dream of, through a raft of features they can only imitate. In launching its new accounts, the team needed to build a new visual identity for Monzo Business banking, appealing to an audience who may not be aware of the brand. They were looking for a quick-thinking and adaptable design partner to focus on the vision and direction, while supporting the team for launch.
Our vision is to become the ‘financial control centre’ for SMEs by providing the features, funding and services that businesses need.”
Building brand territories
As the project wasn’t starting from scratch, the first sprint was about reviewing and extending the work done to date, to link customer stories to Monzo features in an engaging way. We combined broad visual territories with functional wireframes to show how existing components could be used and adapted. It was energising to see how aligned the teams were after just a few days working together.
The customer’s the star
Our overarching idea was to put small business owners front and centre, and tell the story of Monzo Business from their perspective. With real customers as the stars, they could show how Monzo’s features help them to stay focused on their business.
Telling visual stories
To show the Monzo customers off in their best light, we art directed a photoshoot, with stills shot by Hermione Hodgson and testimonial videos by ManyMakers. Connecting these images with the existing Monzo brand was crucial, and we found inspiration in the signature ‘hot coral’ edge of the bank card. By wrapping this thread around imagery, we showed that a Monzo Business account has physical assets, while visually referencing the customer’s service.
Bringing it together
From hero imagery to features and benefits, we brought the thinking together in high-fidelity designs for desktop and mobile. The internal team used these to guide them in building the Monzo Business website.
Social by design
Beyond the website, the identity is clear and consistent in stories, video content and static social templates. Here the content is recognisable without the Monzo’s name or logo, through distinctive use of the design system and the extended brand colour palette.
Helping Monzo thrive
By collaborating with complete transparency and clearly defined roles, the Monzo and Output teams developed efficient and effective ways of working together.