One site is a design problem. A network is a delivery problem.

The Challenge at Scale

One site is a design problem. A network is a delivery problem. Every branch has a different building, footprint and landlord, and the work is built over years by different contractors, often in different countries.

The system has to survive all of that and still leave a customer knowing which bank they're in without looking for the logo. It also has to cover every format, from flagship to small branch to ATM lobby, and absorb acquisitions without breaking. That's why one of the solutions we offer is a kit-of-parts: every component of the identity, ready to be installed according to the requirements of each site.

What's in the Kit

Our identity system is a complete visual vocabulary that carries the brand from a business card to a branch façade. We start from the brand strategy and develop a creative big idea, usually a selection of appropriate identity routes presented before one is chosen. The chosen route becomes the full kit.

• Logo and brand architecture: the logos the group needs, and how each brand relates to the parent.
• Core visual elements: colour palettes, primary and secondary typography, and a visual language of graphic devices.
• Image styles: photography, illustration, iconography and infographics.
• Rules for use: co-branding principles, layout grids and information hierarchy.
• Voice: tone of voice and a messaging framework, with the proof points behind each claim.
• Applications: stationery, web and social assets, email templates, brochures, advertising, presentation templates, promotional items, apparel, gifting and event materials.

The Interior and the Physical Brand

The space is designed together with the identity, so it works in three dimensions from day one. We take the interior through a structured process, with a presentation and your feedback at each stage.

• Audit and appraisal. We take our lead from the brand strategy and confirm the brief with you, so we share the same understanding of the requirements. We audit a sample of your sites, and your competitors' sites in the same markets, and work through your operational requirements and equipment.
• Concept design. We study how people move through the space, alongside the operational, technical and functional requirements: flow, technology, the entrance, access, look and feel, customer flow and the position of any promotional elements. Signage is designed in the same stage as part of the same concept.
• Design development. We detail the concept with local content and materials in mind, and with local artists and artisans where they add value. We design the interfaces between elements and areas, and make recommendations on finishes, lighting, spatial quality and specialist services.
• Technical documentation. Plans, sections and elevations for all customer areas, with finishes layouts and specifications, shopfitted elements, signage layouts, furniture designs and schedules of finishes, ready for your team to take to tender.
• Design adherence inspections. We visit sites under construction, and suppliers where needed, to make sure what gets built matches what we designed.

We work with your facilities team on the back-of-house areas, and produce 3D renders of every component and space as the basis for approvals and stakeholder buy-in.

The whole system is built on the kit-of-parts, with every component drawn and specified, and the stratification matrix setting which components each site receives. We test it on pilot sites first, then apply it branch by branch across the network, whether the site is new, fully refurbished or getting a lighter facelift. Signage is designed as a family: the main identity pylon, building signage, entrance and reception signs, restroom signage and statutory signage in the brand's style.

The Manual

A digital control manual holds it all together: brand strategy, values, platform, corporate signature, visual language, style guide, application guide and prohibited uses. Interior standards sit alongside it in the form of retail appearance standards, kit-of-parts and shopfitting drawings, and signage guidelines, with rendered illustrations, so every contractor and franchisee builds it the same way.

In Practice

When Commercial Bank of Africa rebranded as CBA, every part of the branch environment carried the new brand, from the architecture and signage to customer flow, furniture, finishes and service areas. The formal banking halls gave way to open, welcoming spaces built for conversation, and every branch delivered the same experience. The result was a brand customers recognised and trusted.

That strength mattered when CBA merged with NIC in 2019. CBA's shareholders received 53% of the combined group, which became Kenya's third-largest bank with about 40 million customers across five countries. The redesigned NCBA branches then gave customers the clearest evidence that the merger had created something new rather than joining two banks, and gave staff a shared workplace identity.

DTB in Kenya shows the same discipline at the point of transformation. The bank was moving to a contemporary, digitally enabled model and entering two new segments, lower income and private banking. We designed a completely new look for its retail branches. As digital channels took over routine transactions, the branch took on a more strategic role, building relationships and trust and giving expert financial guidance.

The Common Mistake

Many clients let operations decide everything about the interior. Operations are very important, because a branch has to work. But the customer experience matters even more, and it should shape both the operations and the interior.

When the layout follows the back office, the branch is built around how the bank runs, and the identity ends up as a few colours and some signs. When the customer experience comes first, the branch feels natural to walk through, the services that lead the brand sit where customers expect to find them, and the identity shows up in how the space works from the moment someone steps through the door.

The same mistake often happens after a merger or a rebrand: the name changes, the space stays the same, and customers just see a sign change rather than a new entity. For a successful rework, the customer needs to feel the difference.