Working in partnership with The Brand Engineers we helped to launch this new bank into the market in the winter of 2021. Together, we defined their brand architecture, strategy, positioning, personality, messaging and visual identity.
The bank was ambitious, with the ultimate goal of becoming the leader in digital transaction banking.
Our aim was to position Syndeo Bank as a one-stop-shop partner, one that connects financial institutions, corporates, regulators and consumers by collaborating to remove the limitations that currently hold back their international financial movements.
To do that it needed to build trust through a sense of purpose.
Mobility was a major macro trend influencing the move towards open banking. Our research had determined that access to financial services was still prohibitive, with barriers still existing for many, such as migrant workers for example.
Ultimately, we positioned Syndeo Bank as a fair and inclusive bank that uses fintech expertise to drive progress. A bank that believes human progress happens when world-wide access to financial services is a right not a privilege.
Our organising idea for the brand became ‘Progress Unlimited’ and we used this as our creative north star for the brand positioning and identity moving forwards.
Their name ‘Syndeo’ is the Greek translation for the word ‘connect’. We created a logo that combined the themes of ‘connections’ and ‘unlimited’ by creating an infinity symbol by joining two circles to create an ‘S’ shape. The resulting mark represents the unlimited flow of ideas and the human energy that drives their business.
A contrasting green colour scheme was chosen to stand out against their financial competitors, the majority of which existed in the blue or red colour space.
A friendly round typeface ‘Co Text’, originally developed by Dalton Maag, was chosen to reinforce a feeling of openness and accessibility.
We created a set of guidelines to help communicate Syndeo Bank more effectively and consistently. This is currently being rolled out across all branding, marketing and communications activity, enabling Syndeo Bank to raise awareness, create greater understanding and drive engagement with all internal and external audiences.
