Branding the BoB World, a new-age Digital Bank!
Client: Bank of Baroda
Services: Brand Strategy and Brand Identity
Brief
Bank of Baroda, also known as BOB, required a brand identity and strategy for their new-age digital bank, BOB World. BOB World is the digital face of the Bank of Baroda, offering various banking services in the digital World.
The brief was to create a strong brand identity for this digital bank while reflecting the values of the parent brand – Bank of Baroda. The branding must speak of the legacy and trust BOB holds in the minds of its customers along with being contemporary, relevant and universal.
Key Requirements
The branding must be:
Youthful
Contemporary
Friendly
Relevant to urban and semi-urban customers
Approachable to older customers yet appealing to younger costumers
Remain close to the design language of Bank of Baroda to reflect the legacy and instill a sense of trust among the customers.
The Problem
The primary challenge was to arrive at the name for this digital banking service: A title or term that is short, modern, and sleek while reflecting the parent brand, Bank of Baroda. The second challenge was to establish a strong position in the digital realm. Finally, the branding must be youthful while also reflecting the older and more traditional values of the parent brand.
Strategy
Design Stack and their client came up with the name BOB World for this digital banking service. The name BOB is an abbreviation of Bank of Baroda and checks all the criteria: short, modern, and sleek.
The term ‘World’ hints at the expansive sphere of services this digital bank offers while also implying Bank of Baroda’s worldwide presence, within fact the most prominent international reach. This crisp, young brand name, ‘World’ also instills a sense of community among users.
Approach
Design Stack developed a brand identity taking inspiration from the binary system, a universal symbol relevant to consumers. This design language transcends age, geography, and demography. It further connects the audience through a future-ready language, one that is digital. The word ‘bob’ in the logomark is in lowercase to emphasise ease and friendliness.
The colour vermillion from the parent brand, Bank of Baroda, is vibrant and youthful, rechecking multiple criteria. The use of italics in the logo and iconography offers a sense of movement, in sync with the parent brand’s design language since Bank of Baroda also uses subtle italics, reflecting progress.
The Design
The brand design must be:
Young
Vibrant
Playful
Short
Digital Friendly
The ‘bob’ logo is made from the binary code—101, using a typeface specifically designed by the Design Stack team and plays up the italicized style established in the parent brand’s identity. The colours used in the branding are Vermilion and Deep Blue which also leverage the Bank of Baroda trust factor by drawing on a core asset. The iconography and other signature graphics represent the speed, movement, and dynamism of the brand and services offered by this digital bank.
The logo is designed to fit small spaces, especially for mobile phone applications.
The team also developed a brand manual with complete and detailed design guidelines for any future references. In addition, the manual provides templates and examples to help the brand look and act consistently across all media, leaving no room for ambiguity.
Borrowing crucial elements such as italics and colours from the parent brand, the design reflects the values of Bank of Baroda and instills a sense of trust among consumers.
Also read, how Design Stack renewed the classical identity of SBI?
