How Studio Output 'put small business owners front and centre' in new Monzo designs

The designs had to appeal to an audience who may not be aware of the brand. So the agency first embarked on a series of design sprints to arrive at a solution "with the simplicity, and magic people love about Monzo, and the trust and reassurance businesses need from a bank," says Studio Output.

The team initially set about reviewing and extending Monzo's existing designs, as well as looking to find links between Monzo's features and its customers' stories. The designers used functional wireframes to show Monzo how existing components could be used and adapted.

The broad, overarching idea for the new designs was around putting "small business owners front and centre, and tell the story of Monzo Business from their perspective," says Studio Output.

Real customers were photographed by Hermione Hodgson to make them the star of the campaign, and drive forward the idea of showing how Monzo’s features help them to stay focused on their business. Testimonial videos were shot and created by ManyMakers.

These new assets had to connect with the existing Monzo brand, and Output looked to Monzo cards' signature "hot coral" edge, which was used to wrap around imagery and demonstrate that "a Monzo Business account has physical assets, while visually referencing the customer’s service."

The identity aims to be consistent across online platforms, stories, video content and static social templates; with the content recognisably Monzo through distinctive use of the design system and the extended brand colour palette – even without showing the brand's name or logo.

The new image assets and design strategy were brought together in a new website design for desktop and mobile, which the internal team at Monzo used to guide them in building the Monzo Business website.