Money talks

Every high street bank has undergone a brand redesign in recent years. Modern banking, from the services Tesco offers to Egg, is full of new products and providers, so that financial branding is not the straightforward, traditional enterprise of old.

Contemporary design is now crucial in the finance sector. Everyone is interested in money, yet consumers tend to switch off when financial firms discuss the intricacies of money management. This means that the symbols finance companies use, and the way that they use them, are vital to make their brand stand out.

Folk discusses branding and design in the finance sector, and shows how it can be applied effectively through all elements of communications, from signage through to advertising.

“ Today, working with the finance industry, especially in insurance, there is a real level of mistrust from the general public; they think insurance companies are just ripping them off. You therefore have to angle your branding to be appealing and up to date.

The public don’t trust insurance people, they think that when they make a claim they’ll have to fight tooth and nail for their money and that its dead money –they are throwing it away as they won’t get anything back. Your branding therefore has to get through this level of mistrust.

So many brochures and collateral we looked at were really patronizing and talked at, not to people - it was all clichéd imagery; blue sky, blurred images of boys jumping around on a beach. Everyone plays on inspirational/aspirational values of life which doesn’t work anymore, perhaps it worked in the late 80’s/early 90’s but not now.

Contemporary design is out of the question now, it’s gone full circle. More honest, down to earth and gritty is what people want now and we’ve therefore been trying to motivate our financial clients to go down this route.

Perhaps if you’re dealing with big clients contemporary design could work as there’s an overall proposition, for example the big blue chips, but with the smaller companies and the day to day issues, it becomes less pertinent”.