Shark Tank — in Porto
🇩🇪 German text version is available on franzidesign:
👉 Link: https://bit.ly/341NndN
„Students create banking“
8 Students
6 Designers
11 Work sessions in Frankfurt
7 Reviews at the College Darmstadt
6 Guest lectures at the college
3 Final concepts
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
= one „Commerzbank“ presentation
Introduction
Digitalisation is everywhere and has radically changed the world we live in during recent years. Online banking competitors such as N26, Revolut, Fidor or direct banks achieve large growths and put traditional banks to the test. While in the past products were mainly sold marketing-oriented, digitalisation now poses completely new challenges to companies. The focus lies on the individual, the consumer experience with the brand and the product affects buying behaviour. What are users specific needs today and how do they interact with the brand?
Banking in Germany as well as Startup companies in the financial sector are having a tough time convincing costumers of online banking and mobile payment options, while digital banking in Africa has reached the masses already. The majority of the population in Kenya are using mobile payment services. Out of necessity, a pioneering project for digital banking emerged in 2007, and the telecommunications provider Safaricom has since long replaced the traditional bank in Africa. The problem: there were too few bank branches and the Kenyans did not have enough income to open an account. The potential was recognized and the new mobile payment system called M-Pesa was born. The service is used to send money, pay in supermarkets or to settle bills and receive salary. The money is simply transferred directly to the phone. People do not need a bank account, their mobile phone contract replaces it. The people can have their money sent to their mobile, charge money onto their phone, or withdraw it — it’s instantly available, and even the simplest phones, not just new smartphones, offer this service. Even here, more and more people refuse to visit a bank branch and new banks compete with the established ones. But what can the banking of the future look like? That was the main question of our cooperation between UX /UI designers and students of Darmstadt College.
The design challenge
Inspire students to take an interest in financial topics, offer them an exclusive insight into the daily business of a service design agency as well as designing the banking of the future together.
The process of the project
Innovation workshop in Portugal
The project started for me in March 2019 with a joint creative journey “Ideation”. We took a plane from Frankfurt to Porto at the end of March, staying for five days to work with the students there. Ten employees from Neugelb joining ten students from Darmstadt College of Applied Sciences. From the airport in Porto we took an UBER to the city center where we had booked a shared Airbnb. I had no idea what to expect. The only thing certain was the weather would be better than in Berlin with 17 degrees and sunshine in Porto. Arriving at the accommodation we inspected our house and I got to know the students for the first time. The house was huge, it had three floors with countless rooms. I shared a room with two colleagues from Frankfurt. On the first evening the students cooked a lovely dinner of burritos for all of us. We got to know each other over a glass of wine and were divided into five work teams. The next morning we started working in our teams. Everyone had the same subject: “Digital meets Analog”. Our group was called “Kolibri” and consisted of two students and two Neugelbians.
The first challenge: introducing the students to the field of banking and to think of exciting topics together.
The problem: the students were typical Sparkasse and Volksbank customers. They had a checking account and that was it. Credit card? No! Savings? No! Pension plan? No! Shares? An alien concept. Most of the students were given their accounts from their parents when they were children and were not very interested in banks and their products.
The second challenge: to design a hardware / software solution. So far so good.
Porto in fast-forward
Monday: Joint kick-off meeting during which all students were initially divided into five groups. The topic: “Explore Banking”. Our group “Kolibri” was composed of students Dareen and Sinem and Sandy and myself (UX Design) of Neugelb. The first challenge was to define a target group. We chose young people (students and trainees) as we wanted to connect to the network of the students and the university for the subsequent research. After the target group definition followed the analysis of users and business goals. In the beginning it was important to ask the right questions. How do the students handle money? How important is money to them? How do the students pay? In cash or digitally? Do they use credit cards? Which bank are the students with? What are the specific wishes and problems in terms of finances? All these questions had to be answered upfront. The first use cases even emerged from gathering these early information.
Tuesday: Enhancing the specific problems and needs of the target group. Pains and Gains were collected on sticky notes and a value proposition was created. The first solutions for hardware and software approaches were developed.
Wednesday: Countless sticky notes, colorful walls and a number of presentation rounds later our first concept approach was formed. The plan was to create a kind of financial coach, who takes young people by the hand and brings the topic “finances” closer. True to the motto: instead of revolution an evolution. Next the students were challenged in the first pitch situation „Shark Tank”: all five teams were allowed to present their ideas and the first team was eliminated. Our team “Kolibri” was able to stay and pursued the idea of the “financial coach” for young people. Sandy (UX Design) switched to another team and we were joined by Federica (UI Design) from Neugelb and another student (Benedikt). The change provided us with fresh input and we continued to refine the ideas.
Thursday: Sightseeing, because Portos landmarks should not be neglected. Of course shared dinners, beach visits and day trips. Porto has been the perfect breeding ground for the project. The teams found each other and the first concept approaches were in the starting blocks.
Friday: We headed back to Frankfurt.
Oh Porto
My Top 8 things to see in or generally typical for Porto:
- The best view on top of the city
Igreja dos Clérigos — Clérigos church - City tour
HOP ON HOP OFF BUS - Eating Pastéis de Nata
Puff pastry tartlets with custard filling - Eléctrico
A ride with the tram - A visit to “Livraria Lello” bookstore
One of the oldest and most beautiful bookstores in Europe (must-see for Harry Potter fans) - A walk through the old town
- Wine tasting
Porto is famous for its port wine - Be sure to try: Port wine & Tonic
A combination of the traditional port wine and Tonic Water
Joint work session in Frankfurt
After the joint cooperation in Porto, eleven work sessions followed in our office in Frankfurt where my colleague Federica (UI Design) and I were able to teach the students by the day. I commuted to work in Frankfurt every two weeks for at least two days to work on the concept with the students. We did so by implementing the classic Design Sprint Format as well as the Design Thinking Process. We had two concepts: saving and investing. From all the information we created a persona and a user journey for both approaches, which helped us to better understand the interfaces in the design of the software and hardware.
The Challenge: The concept was based on a hardware / software solution. We researched for artifacts. What kind of hardware did we aim for: a ring? A map? A bracelet? A chip? An adhesive film or a key chain? What material should the hardware be made out of?
How does the human interact with hardware and software? What are interfaces and how can we implement ideas as well as realize the technical implementation? I had to switch from my usual role as a concept creator into an entirely new one, teaching students, devising concepts, conducting research, analyzing, implementing and of course planing the project. Each of us had to grow into his role. As a guest lecturer, I was allowed to give a lecture at the Darmstadt College of Applied Sciences on the subject of user experience. I talked about my favorite book “The Design of Everyday Things” by Donald Norman and why the topic of “toilet experience” has not left my mind for quite some time. Since reading his book none of my everyday encounters are safe from me examining and judging anything by UX standards, ranging from the toilet to bike locks, smart bikes or my smart vegetable patch.
I can still remember the first work session in Frankfurt. The evening before I was really excited, I did not know what to expect. The students were on site more than punctual the next morning and sat in front of me like they were at school. I felt like a teacher — hello mentor role. I had to guide, give feedback and lead all at once. After the first day, a lot of it came crashing down on me, I sat through half the night on preparations and planning the next day. I was honestly glad when the first two days of work sessions were over. From work-session to work-session things got easier and easier. We shared the tasks in our team and coordinating each other. If we were unable to make a decision together, we had the user decide through a test to avoid personal conflicts in the group. For the students, this approach was completely new, but they quickly understood the efficiency of the method and had internalized what was important. The user is the focus and your own interests and opinions are not always the best. Our concept became more well rounded by every meeting. The collaborative interaction of the different fields took discipline but worked out very well. We communicated via WhatsApp and Slack and documented our findings in Confluence. This method was all new and unfamiliar to the students.
In the beginning the students were always questioning this work process, but by the end of the project, they had understood why the transparent procedure is an advantage. We visited bank branches, conducted interviews with bankers, conducted surveys and research, and students were suddenly interested in finance. They dealt with their finances for the first time and wanted to take immediate action to optimize their savings behavior themselves.
We produced countless scribbles on the walls and on the computer. The students built the first hardware polystyrene models in the workshop, which we kept testing. They also tested a variety of materials. A digital 3-D model was designed which was printed by laser in the college workshop then cut and sanded. Our hardware SMAMO was born. We created a design lamp that interacts with the interface and visualizes the users savings target by projecting it through light.
Interface
The wireframes of the app were developed into an interactive InVision prototype, which was then put through its paces with users. The aim was to convince Commerzbank of our solution at the closing presentation.
Our team gave 100 percent from start to finish, not one student missed any of the work sessions, which I personally was very proud of. It was not always easy, in addition to the normal work routine, but the final result rewarded our hard work. The tools and programs of the collaboration were not only completely new to the students, the whole project was also a challenge for me. Our team grew with the challenge from week to week, completing an impressive result.
Our target group. Why “Generation Z”?
Collaborating with the students made it easy for me to select them as the primary target audience because they know their needs best. We were also able to build the research on the network of the students. Main target group: Young people (pupils, students and trainees) who can use our solution to deal with their finances quickly and easily.
Persona: Caroline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nuVeYkv9zk
Illustration: Bo Virkelyst Jensen, Senior Visual Designer
Background information about SMAMO
Regardless of one’s own income and the financial situation, the sensitization and proper handling of one’s own finances comes often too late for many people. Young people in particular have difficulty controlling their finances regularly, calculating account activity correctly, or securing their own retirement. Touchpoints on saving, placing funds, investing or dealing with consumer behavior are more important than ever, but many young people simply do not know where to start saving or investing money. The processes are usually too complex, so that it is difficult for young people to find a tangible connection to their own finances. Until a year ago, areas such as shares were no exciting topics for me personally as well. But the more I dealt with these topics, the more exciting they became. The industrial designers brought the necessary knowledge for the physical experience and we brought along the digital experience. Through the cooperation, the concept SMAMO was created through collaborative work, which includes both the physical and digital experience.
SMAMO Project Description
SMAMO is a project offering young people assistance handling their everyday finances by combining hard- and software. The target group gains the ability to control their finances, services, expenses and revenues directly via the app.
The concept divides into two solutions. The first approach is the „short-term saving“. This simply refers to having sub accounts. Users can use the Commerzbank app to quickly and easily create sub accounts in order to save money fuss-free and gain overall control over their finances. The app gets into contact with a physical object which is called ‘Smart Money’ or SMAMO in short. The user can not only just view their saving targets within the app or directly on SMAMO which has a direct impact on the emotional experience the user has during use. This physical object is a very slim white designer lamp, approximately 10cm tall and 2cm deep. SMAMO can be mounted on the wall or just placed on a table and should not be missing from any flat. The user can activate SMAMO via the Commerzbank app. The lamp fills with light and displays the costumer their saving progress. By adding a layer of emotional value that motivates the user to save money a connection is created for the human interaction with a machine, hence giving back a personal relationship between the user and their finances.
The second approach is concerning „long-term saving“. Once the students were sensitized for the concept of saving we wanted to integrate another solution for retirement plans. On the basis of expert knowledge stemming from an interview we conducted with a banking expert, surveys as well as research, we decided to concentrate to the topic of stocks — an ETF saving scheme that costumers only have to set up once and never have to worry about again. Our young target audience has the opportunity to invest in and monitor sustainable equity funds via the app. Savings calculators and sliders offer the users an insight on the rate of return. A slender set of options further simplify access to the world of investments. Opportunities to save up for pension plans start from 25 €.
The final presentation
On July 11th 2019 it was finally time. The elevator took us to the 49th floor of the highest tower in Germany the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt. Eight students and ourselves from Neugelb. That was the big day we had all worked towards for the last few months. All three final teams had 15 minutes each to convince Commerzbanks group executive manager Ulrich Coenen of their concepts.
Prof. Phillipp Thesen and Holger Grünwald (MD Neugelb) started the presentation off with an introduction. The first group to showcase their work „SMAMO“. In order to introduce the topic we gave an overview of the background numbers and facts generated from studies and surveys of our own dealing with finances. It was followed by the designs for the interface and the model in the workshop, then the research and finally there was the final prototype and our model plus animation. The students proudly presented their object “SMAMO”, which they had built in the college workshop.
Team SMAMO:
Federica Deschino, Sinem Kicirti, Benedikt Schneeberg, Franziska Gronwald und Darleen Mittelstädt
After the presentation we went for a group lunch. The location was very special as the facilities are usually only intended for the board of the „Commerzbank“. We proudly looked on the Main river and celebrated with a glas of apple secco.
eDossier »Digital System Design by Neugelb Studios and the Hochschule Darmstadt«
Download
👉 Link: https://shop.page-online.de/shop/edossier-digital-system-design-bei-neugelb-studios-und-der-hochschule-darmstadt/
Learning from experience
The last weeks in particular were intense, however, every hour of hard work was worth it. A collaboration between hardware and software design was a new experience. I did not only act as a UX designer but as a mentor, project manager and teacher. The students were not the only ones taking new impulses with them, I too profit from the project in my everyday work. I have learned to test out things sooner, include more data driven design into my work and let the user decide rather than over-optimizing concepts. Testing drafts on real customers even when they are not perfect yet. Once a draft is too close to being finished you run the risk of getting feedback on colors and spacing which are not relevant at this point.
Preparation as well as post-processing are elementary components as well as regular feedback rounds reflecting ones own work even if this necessary process takes up a lot of time. Having said that I do appreciate the work of the project managers all the more, giving me the time and support to fully concentrate on my concepts and I am hoping for more cooperations like these in the future. Project such as this one are the right approach to prepare Generation Z for the work force. It does not matter how well one can recite certain things or only study to get good grades in the next exam. Team work and a real closeness to the customer are what is really important and what products and services should be oriented on.
Lastly I would like to say special thanks to the Commerzbank, my boss Holger Grünwald and Professor Philipp Thesen for this opportunity and the trust presented to me. This has been a great project with the potential of replication.
Text: Franziska Gronwald, Senior UX Designer at Neugelb Studios GmbH
Survey Creation: Mariana Schmellenkamp, Senior UX Researcher
Illustration Storyboard: Bo Virkelyst Jensen, Senior Visual Designer
Translation: Yvonne Tacken
The other projects can be found here:
About me
Hi, I’m Franzi. I have been working as a designer since 2004. Alone or in a team I develop communication concepts, print products and user interfaces — independent of location and in cooperation with different photographers, authors, journalists and programmers.
Follow me
Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn or on my website www.franzidesign.de
