Enhancing User Experience Through a Seamless Rebranding Effort
Permanent TSB – PTSB
User Interface (UI) Rebranding and Enhancement
Duration: 3 Months
Permanent TSB, a prominent Irish Bank with a rich legacy, sought to elevate its digital presence through a comprehensive rebranding initiative. Collaborating with an external branding agency, our team embarked on a journey to seamlessly integrate the new brand identity into the bank's existing website. The primary goal was to execute the rebranding with finesse, ensuring a cohesive user experience that resonated with the bank's established customer base.
As the Lead Designer on this transformative project, my role was pivotal in ensuring the accurate interpretation and execution of the brand vision.
The project's core objective was to reimagine the bank's website through a "re-skinning" approach. This entailed updating the website's aesthetics and visual elements while maintaining the underlying code and functionality. The challenge lay in preserving the existing user experience while incorporating the new brand elements, all within a cost-effective framework.
Harmonising External Branding with Digital Implementation: Collaborating closely with the external branding agency, I took on the task of translating the rebranding concepts into a digital reality. It was imperative that the new brand elements, encompassing logos, color palettes, typography, and imagery, seamlessly melded with the website's structure and functionality.
Workshops for Alignment: To kickstart the creative journey, as Lead Designer on the project, along with our team, we orchestrated a series of collaborative workshops. These sessions served as a platform for the client, the external branding agency, and our team, to synergise their perspectives. Open dialogue and brainstorming allowed us to comprehend the intricate nuances of the new brand identity and its implications for the digital realm.
It was also an opportunity to manage the client’s needs and expectations, as well as the brand agency, and help them to understand the challenge of executing this rebranding effort without compromising the existing website's functionality and without creating a disjointed user experience.
The entire website was meticulously analysed by our team: the Product Owner, the Designer (myself) and Front End and Back End Designers, to identify the most suitable candidates for immediate visual enhancement. This ensured that the transformation process remained focused and manageable, avoiding disruptions to the user experience.
Ensuring Visual Finesse without Functional Hiccups: The critical challenge was to execute the rebranding without causing any functional disruptions. Careful consideration was given to the technical implications of design changes, and rigorous testing was conducted to verify that existing functionality remained intact throughout the transition.
Strategic Rebranding and Seamless Implementation
Harmonious Reskinning: The rebranding strategy was rooted in iterative reskinning. Careful analysis identified pages ripe for visual enhancement, fostering a seamless transformation that retained user familiarity.
Preserving Functionality: Maintaining the website's functionality was paramount. Rigorous testing verified that existing features remained intact throughout the transition, ensuring a smooth user experience.
Fusion of Aesthetics and Functionality
Results: The collaborative endeavor between the external branding agency and our team bore fruit in a seamlessly rebranded Permanent TSB website. The brand's essence melded with the digital reality, embodying both heritage and modernity.
Conclusion: The rebranding case study underscores the power of harmonising aesthetics and functionality through collaboration. The strategic blend of creativity, precision, and resource awareness revitalised the brand's digital identity and enriched user experience. This journey from brand vision to digital maturity exemplifies the potency of creative leadership in navigating successful brand integration in the digital landscape—a testament to understanding and innovation that transforms brands.