2022 Winners & Shortlists

Summary of the work

Context ila is built differently from the ground up, with consumers, and their ever-evolving lifestyle needs, at the core of its offering. Merging state-of-the-art technologies with a deep human understanding, the digital mobile-only bank offers consumers an extremely personalized banking experience through an intuitive mobile banking app. Featuring seamless end-to-end digital banking services and financial management tools, ila is designed to enable its users’ everyday lifestyle experiences and short-and-long-term financial aspirations. Its simplicity, flexibility and 24/7 accessibility through ubiquitous mobile devices, make it appealing to all income-generating consumer generations. Powered by artificial intelligence and data analytics, ila is equipped to continuously co-create customized solutions alongside its users in response to their fast-changing needs. It also employs the region’s first emotionally intelligent digital human assistant, with autonomous movements and facial expressions, named “Fatema”. The Challenge The challenge was to build an energetic brand that matches the Bank’s disruptive DNA, catalysing a lifestyle banking trend. Aligned with the Bank’s mission to spur financial inclusion in the region, the brand had to be relevant to all segments of its MENA-based audience. The Solution Arabic for the word “to”, the chosen brand name - ila - represents movement towards financial goals and ambitions. It is short, memorable and catchy, making it easily applicable in creative visuals. ila reflects the modern, experience-centric and tech-savvy consumer. It also Indicative of a bridge towards financial freedom and an inevitable transition towards a digital-first lifestyle. Considering our dual-language speaking audience, the English logo was designed as a reflection of the Arabic in mind, keeping the brand promise at heart – “banking that reflects you.” The innovative brand encapsulates the Bank’s disruptive DNA and fuels its endeavor to spark a lifestyle movement. Spurring financial inclusion as it attracts the underserved/unbanked, the ila brand is relevant to all segments and generations of society. Execution The Bank ABC and ila teams worked tirelessly to develop a relatable, trendy and energetic brand. The ila brand embodies the concept of a journey towards financial aspirations and its logo design is based on reflection. The English logo has been designed as a reflection of the Arabic in mind, keeping the brand promise at heart– “banking that reflects you”. The logo is playful, bold and dynamic, distinguishing it from other brands in the financial world. Its dual language makes it magical; when flipped horizontally it can be read fluently in Arabic. Pairing a bright green, symbolic of the traffic light colour to ‘go’, and a rich deep blue, ila's striking colour palette alludes to financial freedom and stability. The typography is minimalist and fuss-free, reinforcing the simplicity and efficiency of ila’s seamless digital banking app. Arabic for ‘to’, ila encapsulates the Bank’s concept of propelling users along their journey from where they are in life, ‘to’ where they aspire ‘to’ be in the future. The clever dual-language logo design is reflective of the Bank's "naturally smart" banking offering, designed to intuitively detect and respond to consumer needs .