2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Banking is changing. With younger customers shaking things up in the MENA region, Bank ABC wanted to create a new service that tailored its needs for their changing consumer. In many Arab countries, young people are the fastest growing segment, with some 60% of the population being under 25 years old, making this one of the most youthful regions in the world. We were tasked to help Bank ABC build a mobile-only banking brand that truly reflects a growing younger audience with different lifestyle and financial needs.

Tell the jury about the typography.

Introducing ila. Launched in Bahrain in 2019 and gearing up to expand across MENA. ila is a mobile only bank for the region’s growing youth. ila meaning ‘to’ in Arabic presents the idea of a journey. Key to the brand was a solution that would work for the mostly dual language population. So, we created an identity that literally reflects, English to Arabic. We wanted one logo idea that could work in both Arabic and English, working closely with our Arabic designer we worked on an idea that would truly reflect the ila brand purpose. A logo that actually reflects. Crafting the logo to work in in both languages required skill and precision, working with a font foundry we were able to find a solution that was legible in both languages.