In this weeks lesson, we were introduced to our brief for the semester, which is to create or redesign a banking app.
Our project for the semester is to create our own branding for a banking app, with the target audience being the ages of 16-25.
We were given the task to conduct research on banks. Such as conducting surveys on what people find useful and things that they think could be improved about their current bank. I worked in a group for this particular task and we decided to ask fellow university students about their banking experience.
After this, we decided to go into the city centre and take a look at the different branches of banks available. We noticed that there weren’t many people in these branches, and that the people that were in the branches were middle-aged. This could be due to the fact that online banking is so prominent in today’s modern society and younger people don’t feel the need to go into the branches to do their banking. Whereas someone of an older demographic may not feel comfortable with the idea of online banking and that it’s easier for them to stick with what they know. There could also be a lack of trust with sharing their personal details through a screen as it feels impersonal.
Following this, we researched banking apps and their reviews. We noticed that most of the traditional branches banking apps weren’t rated highly at all. We also observed how most of these banking apps colour schemes were predominantly blue. I think this is due to the fact that blue is a colour that’s known as trustworthy in colour psychology. I think that this is a calculated strategy for these companies rather than a genuine design choice.
I was curious about my own bank, Bank of Ireland, and I noticed that when I went into the App Store that there were two separate apps for the same bank. I then remembered my own experience of when I first made an account at this bank, and how there was confusion over the app. I downloaded the wrong app, I assumed that the app that was the first option would be the reasonable option. However, that wasn’t the case and I had to find another app altogether. For me personally, this was a frustrating experience and I honestly don’t see the need for two apps for the one bank. Another thing I found really interesting was that the two apps are polar opposites in the way it’s perceived by the public. The bank of Ireland Uk app is highly recommended and the regular Bank of Ireland app is rated very poorly. The two apps aren’t even the same when it comes to its function. The Uk version includes Face ID as a security log in and the other version is a code that you have to enter. I personally don’t mind using a code to access the app but I can understand how it’s frustrating for others as there are so many advancements in technology that can make their user experience easier and a code can be easily forgotten which makes the app more difficult for people to use.