Elizabeth Alexander

We Bank (Concept / Strategy)

Process

I was assigned to come up with the concept and brand behind a bank.

First, it was decided the bank would be social conscious, meaning conscious of the needs and difficulties within a society or community. After taking a survey of what people wished to see more of in their bank, I found the core morals would rely on keeping it local, and sticking to your values; two things that make banking a personal experience.

We Bank Traits:

Logotype:

While designing the logotype for We Bank, I thought about what the brand stood for: keeping it local, and sticking our personal values.To express these ideas visually, I explored different visual metaphors and vernaculars. During this process I created over 100 logotypes.

After some work, and a long elimination process, it became clear that a hand-made quality would speak to the personal-aspect of the brand. I experimented with different kinds of variations on the We and the Bank. For example, should one be in set type, and the other be an ever changing hand written we, should there be different logos for each customer, etc.

The finished logotype is a combination of a We that resembles a stamp of approval, and a Bank that is personable and handwritten.

We Bank Website

With the We Bank website, I wanted to make something that would build community. Therefore, I made the structure similar to that of a social networking website, where each local business has a small bio page and a place where they can all come together to collaborate. For example, an elementary school may need cookies for a school assembly, so they would then turn to We Bank, where they could scope out privately owned bakeries who are also looking for an opportunity to work with another local business.

Stationary

Since We Bank is a socially conscious bank, that means we are also conscious of our environment, and the impact that we have on it. I made the stationary set so that it uses the least amount of paper possible. Which means that the business card, letterhead and buck slip all fit together with perforated edges on one fold-able 8.5 x 11 sheet. Beneath each persons name, theres a short fun fact in order to create personality and friendship within the We Bank community.