With the research done I then started working on creating my own banking brand. The first step of this process was deciding on what the brand values would be.

Brand Values

For my brand values I wanted to ensure that they were well thought out. I started by writing down the values I would like my bank to have, and also researched what some other banks have as their brand values. I then picked the 5 that I thought best showcase what I was trying to represent as a brand, so I had to try and pick ones that would achieve this. It was very important to get these right as people really care about what brands they are using, and people always look at their brand values before they start using them, so I had to pick very carefully, and I think I done a good job at picking values that will be tailored toward a banking app for people aged 16-25.

My final 5 brand values are:

• Confidence - Young people should feel confident about their finance, and this comes from an understanding of how banking works and how they can get the most out of it. I want the brand to help young people feel confident about their money and spending.
• Simple - One of the most important features of digital banking is that it should be as simple as possible. I want to try and make the app easy to navigate for everyone, and also want to make banking easy to understand for young people who aren’t educated on how it works.
• Planning - Young people aren’t very good at planning, in specific knowing how to save money for the future and how to do it correctly. I want my brand to be able to guide young people to plan for the future of their finances.
• Accessible - Banking is an area that will be used by everyone at some point in their life. This means that it must be accessible to everyone to use. I want to ensure that my brand promotes this and offers everyone the opportunity to bank as simply as possible.
• Modern - Young people love modernity, so I want my brand to represent this to them, as it will make the experience for them more enjoyable, and will make them more likely to engage with the brand more.

Brand Name

I then had to try and create the name for my brand. I had to ensure that my brand name contained these qualities:

• Meaningful - The name of my brand had to relate to the values of the brand and create a personal relationship for the brand and the customer.
• Distinctive - The name has to stand out from other brands so that it will catch peoples attention and stick in their head.
• Positive - The name must portray positivity for people to want to use the bank. I must use words that will pull people in and not push people away.
• Protectable - I must ensure that the name that I will be giving my bank isn’t already taken by another brand.
• Attractive - I need to make sure that the brand name looks aesthetic when it comes to trying to think of designs for it.

I then created a spider diagram with my 5 core brand values, then tried to think of synonyms of them. I used a little bit of Google for this but most of them were my own words that I thought of.

I then had to figure out a name for my brand. This was something that I did struggle with as I found it difficult to come up with names that were catchy and also meaningful toward my brand values. I started brainstorming, trying to connect words together and shortening them, but this was something that didn’t come naturally to me. Eventually I was able to come up with the name ‘Able Banking’. I think this name works well because it uses one of brand core values and puts the message across that using this brand the customer will come out more able that when they started, and also conveys the idea that anyone is able to use the app, which is something I am going for also. I also tried some other names such as Sail Banking but I was most pleased with Able Banking. With my bank brand I want it to be easy. When I use my own banking app, I don’t necessarily care how fancy it is or how funny the name is, I just want to be able to complete my banking tasks as conveniently as possible, and this is what I want this brand to carry. I then checked to see if there was already banks with this name and it was available so that was good news.