When product designers lead a rebrand
An unconventional approach to WorldRemit’s redesign yielded impressive results.
A small team of product designers probably isn’t an obvious choice for a rebrand.
We focus on the user and specialise in journeys, hierarchies and systems. How can this knowledge translate to the creation of a unique and visually stunning brand identity?
It’s a fair question and one that the product design team at WorldRemit, a leading UK fintech, recently answered when we led the company through a successful, albeit unconventional, brand overhaul.
Far from a straightforward process, there were many twists and turns, and seemingly endless designs of W’s; but we got there in the end. In fact, our unique knowledge of user experience and interaction turned out to be the game-changer that ultimately led to a successful new brand for WorldRemit.
A many-tentacled brand problem
As product designers, our first step in any project is to clearly define the problem. The rebrand was no different. Even though we may have been 110% sure it would benefit the company and customers, we still needed to fully understand the reasons for it. And it’s a good thing we did, because we realised quite quickly that the problem was much larger than we thought:
- The existing brand had taken the company a long way, but it was outdated and lacked standout in the now saturated market.
- The brand elements could no longer scale with the company needs. There was a limited colour palette, lack of modern visuals and no distinguishing elements that could be used to build unique and memorable designs.
- We had an inspiring founder and a global product that improved the lives of millions of customers, but the existing brand did not reflect the diverse and mission-driven nature of the business.
- In order to succeed, we would need to support our visual decisions with qualitative and quantitative research. We needed to ensure the new brand would achieve our goals without sacrificing customer trust or product usability.
Mapping the problem early in the process provided a north star for our work throughout the project. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to maintain the integrity of design when we encountered difficult decisions and compromises.
How will it work for our customers?
Once we defined the problem, we worked closely with the talented agency Point Studio and Senior Brand Manager, Linda Sooprayen, to share our brand vision. They took our knowledge of our customers, product and industry, combined it with their own insights and created three unique design directions.
Each one boasted a vibrant design that uniquely addressed our initial problem. However, we learned early on that the final solution would need more support than our visual preferences, even as designers. In order to get our shiny brand, we needed to prove that it was the best option for us and our customers.
Imagining our customer’s experience within the design directions was a unique challenge. WorldRemit is a global money transfer service, with several million customers in 145+ countries, speaking hundreds of different languages. We had to prove that our visual decisions would speak to them effectively across varied cultures, languages, locations and mediums.
For instance, could the design maintain its look and feel in noisy outdoor environments and also on simplified app screens? Did it promote trust and personality, even when we could only show our logo? How would a customer view the rebrand online in London? What about at money transfer kiosk in Nigeria?
These questions were top of mind as we mapped each unique journey and entry point. We spoke with users online and offline to learn how they interacted with our product. We also worked with experts in different countries to understand how the designs would be perceived around the world.
This exercise helped us narrow down Point’s initial directions to one that ticked the vast majority of our boxes. It was a vibrant, yet flexible design that would promote trust among our customer base and stand out in busy environments. And, amazingly, it still gave us the happy variety of design elements that we could use to create really cool stuff.
Win-win, right? Not so fast…we hadn’t tested it yet.
Do you like it or do you love it?
Some experts would advise against user testing a rebrand. It can undermine a truly original idea and isn’t there that quote about people not knowing good design until they see it? And, honestly, they have a point. In some cases, not testing and taking a risk is the best solution. However, in our case, it wasn’t an option.
WorldRemit helps people transfer their hard-earned money around the world. Trust is everything and betraying that trust, even if it’s for a really cool design, wasn’t going to work.
After all, we prioritise our user experience when we build features for the product, why would we ignore them for the rebrand?
So we tested, and tested and tested some more. We tested with more than 8,000 new and current customers to gain insights into logo marks, UI screens, outdoor advertising, colour schemes, CTAs, photography and more.
And what did we discover?
For one, people didn’t like what we wanted them to like. One of our favourite logo directions wasn’t received well, no matter how many times we tested it.
We didn’t want to let the idea go, but it didn’t resonate with our audience. Digging our heels in on the logo would mean forgoing the rebrand and, more importantly, not solving the initial problem we mapped out.
So we took a few steps back and approached the problem like product designers. We tested greyscale logo marks, colours and typography to find out what did and didn’t work for our users. We asked different questions in different markets until we found a solution that our customers loved, and that still gave us all the design elements we needed.
In short: we got our groove back. And we gained something else in the process.
All of that testing gave us a solid base of evidence and reasoning that really helped sell the redesign to the company. Because, the truth is: rebrands are scary. No one wants to make a mistake that could result in lost revenue and customers. And it sure does help to have solid evidence and customer testimony to prove you’re not making a bad or irrational decision.
More importantly, it anchored us in what really matters: our users. After all, isn’t that why we got into user experience in the first place? We want to improve our customers’ lives with our product and hopefully benefit in the process.
Backing our visual decisions with customer buy-in helped move the rebrand from an idealistic concept to an imperative action for the product and business.
You get a rebrand! You get a rebrand!
The amount of effort that went into the first half of this project almost makes it seem like the hard work is behind us.
Almost.
In truth, the coming months represent an unprecedented, albeit exciting, challenge for the company and design team. Launching all the elements of the rebrand across numerous channels, platforms and countries is a massive undertaking, even if this were the only project on our plates. (Spoiler alert: it’s not.)
How does a lean team of designers like ourselves manage something of this scale?
You guessed it: design systems. As product designers, we love this stuff. Anything that allows us to simplify our work, be more efficient and free our time to solve more complex problems.
As a team of only five, the efficiency we gain from design systems is invaluable. Not only will it help our workflows, it will also align the entire company behind the rebrand.
After all, a sexy new design works best when teams are empowered to use the assets in line with the larger design vision.
Looking ahead
Although this rebrand is still a work in progress, we have already received positive feedback from our customers and fellow employees. Not only has it inspired confidence in the product design team, it’s also helped create new attitudes around the entire company. We’re more open to trying new things and pushing the boundaries, and we’re more aligned than ever before.
It’s a hopeful and exciting time at WorldRemit. As we enter this next period of growth, with a fresh new look and plenty of exciting projects on the horizon, we may not know exactly what the future holds, but, as product designers we know that we have everything we need to create truly amazing work.
This rebrand was a true team effort and would not have happened without Marta Pogorzelska, Syeef Karim, Aftab Arab, Tapas Sharma, Linda Sooprayen, and myself 🤠. We also worked closely with and the wonderfully talented designers at Point Studio.
If want to learn more about WorldRemit or join the team, visit our Careers page and tell us what you think of the new and improved brand!
