At first glance, industrial design and financial services marketing have little in common. One is focused on shaping the physical products we use day-to-day, such as toothbrushes and phones. The other is about promoting intangible products and services designed to help people invest and save.
However, as with most things in life, seemingly unconnected areas can offer up ideas that challenge the status quo and elevate the final product.
Alpha Agency graphic designer Aman Paul’s first impression of financial services design was “it is very similar, conservative, corporate, with lots of blue”.
Having studied industrial design at university, sameness and difficulty standing out are challenges with which she is very familiar.
Think about the aisle in a supermarket. Even the most banal item – like a can of beans – needs to compete with every other brand. It’s often identically packaged. So, the differentiation needs to come from thoughtful details, she explains. Things like texture, colour, the shapes used; these, often subtle, elements all become sources of brand strength because, when done well, they are identifiable.
Brands can then become associated with quality and trust, meaning the buyer reaches for the same tin of soup every time they shop.
Transposing a 3D approach to a two-dimensional world isn’t without its challenges, but Aman is quick to point out that this ‘creative tension’ opens up opportunities. “You have less to work with, but this encourages you to be more creative because even the smallest details matter.”
She believes financial services companies can learn a lot from the way other industries approach industrial design, in particular because it’s cross-disciplinary and rarely happens in isolation. It involves engineers, researchers, copywriters, strategists, and specialists in user experience and materials science.
“When everyone works continuously together, rather than in silos, the result is not only stronger, but feels cohesive and more intentional,” Aman explains.
Taking learnings from industrial design holds clear value for financial services marketing, especially as the sector is often hesitant to break from traditional aesthetics. “Graphic design in finance is as strategic as it is visual. It has to speak directly and clearly to the end client.”
If you are interested in finding out more about how the Alpha Agency creative team can support your company’s efforts to push the envelope and resonate with your target market, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
In case you missed it:
When to refresh your brand: a graphic designer's perspective