December 9, 2024
Being a designer is fun. It can also be hard. One thing a designer should always be striving to do is to challenge themselves. We must not be lured into a rut of doing the same thing over and over again. Nothing leads to creative burnout faster than this. Here in the financial industry, banks and credit unions can share a lot of the same products and services, which means we must find ways to make our clients stand out from their competition. There are a lot of tools and ways to do this; such as upcoming AI implementation, personalization features, and even the tone in which you talk about your accounts to the site visitor.
So today, I come to you as a designer in the purest sense. Not a problem solver or solution finder designer. A designer who just wants to cover some of my wish list items, that when it makes sense to do so, I would love to see FI’s try on their sites more. Some of these ideas might not be a fit for your institution, but you never know. Loosen that tie around your neck, kick your feet up on your desk, and don’t be so “banky” for just a bit with me.
Illustrations
I love illustrations. I’m not talking about icons or an infographic, I’m talking about that feeling of opening a page in The Hobbit and seeing that artwork accompanying the story. Nothing quite makes you stop what you were doing to focus on the artistic passion that goes with a great illustration. Over the course of my career, I’ve heard illustrations are “cartoony” and not to be taken seriously, but I disagree. They are a special way to bring the user into a small sphere of space and give unique opportunities to convey your message. They’re unexpected. Sometimes there is nothing out there like it, it is one-of-a-kind. Just check this out and tell me you wouldn’t linger on this homepage just a bit longer than you might have if it was just a picture of someone checking out at the grocery store?
Videos
If a well-made illustration can grab your attention and make you stop for a second, a video might do that even better. We’re always drawn to movement, and the days of a video on our site bogging down its load speed are in the past (when properly prepared). Using a video as a background can draw someone in and keep them engaged that section, giving you time to get your message across. In 2024, it’s easier than ever to be a videographer. Pull out that supercomputer in your pocket or purse and get shots of your community, hosted events, and happy employees. When video is used as a background and framing element, it doesn’t need to win an Oscar. The moving images in the background will get the job done. If you just aren’t comfortable capturing video, don’t worry, stock photography sites now offer videos to fill the role at a very affordable price.
https://www.polaris.com/en-us/
Typography
Great use of type rarely gets the credit it deserves. It is a discipline that takes time to master. Letterforms within themselves, each and every single one, are already a piece of art. So, to take words and sentences and elevate them to another artistic level, to pull them out of a normal headline or paragraph of body copy, it is a skill. When typography is used in unexpected ways, it can work with your messaging to be more impactful and meaningful. Like many of our points today, it makes you want to hover your eyes over for it, just for a few extra seconds, to appreciate the time it took to set. On responsive websites, it isn’t always easy to go wild with typography as we need to stay aware of all the screen sizes and compliance, but when it works, it works.
Bold Use of Color
We are all familiar with color, the calming effects of an Earth tone room, or a red light on a traffic signal alerting us to slam our brakes before we fly through that intersection. In our industry though, I think we are sometimes a little afraid of color. We think we need to rely on the tried-and-true colors, like: blue for stability, green for growth, and maybe even a little gold for the riches. I have received many FI brands over the years, and inside them are secondary colors that were handpicked to evoke emotions, great splashes of vibrancy, and attention-grabbing shades. But then, told not to use them too much. ☹ I think we are far past the point that our FI sites need to stick with just blues and greens, and start leaning into the unexpected here and there. And then maybe a little more. So, when that homepage loads for the first time to a new user, they’re smacked across the face with a delightful cornucopia of serotonin inducing feelings and nostalgia.
I know your pupils dilated when you saw that blue.
Thank you for letting me geek out for a bit with you today, and hopefully you’ll look at your current site and say, “Maybe we should try that…”
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