When one considers the use of design, they might not often associate this with the banking industry. The banking industry has long been revered as an entity unto its own, which would answer to only regulators and not customers. However, in light of the financial collapse that forced a major recession, and with the crumbling of some major financial institutions around the world, customer service and the brand of banks became something to consider.

Barclays has been involved in the banking industry for more than 300 years and has been responsible for some of the most popular innovations in use today, such as the credit card and ATMs (they designed and put into use the first ATM).

Now Barclays is focused on design as an important component in the technological advancement of modern society. Their goal was to become to more cutting edge, technologically advanced bank with the delivery of their products to customers and clients across the world. As they note, the world is changing rapidly and being able to focus on the brand, and to incorporate that branding into its design, is the most effective and powerful way to reach customers on an emotional level, where loyalty is forged.

In order to achieve this, Barclays created a new position within their structure for a Chief Design Officer. This Chief Design Officer explained that the insights that they (the bank) receives is not done through focus groups, which are limited in their scope and capacity to deliver, but through customers’ behaviours. The manner in which customers regard modern businesses, including the design layout, can have a direct impact on whether they want to conduct business with that organization or business.

Design is about exploring the world around us, to determine what opportunities exist. With the explosion of the Internet, social media, and more sophisticated web design features and options, along with faster connection speeds, it has opened a door to many more opportunities for design that simply didn’t exist previously. Barclays is focused on taking advantage of these opportunities, wherever they exist, and they believe that it rests within design at this moment.

The most effective way to connect with customers, according the Barclays’ Group Design Director, is through an emotional connection. Through proper and effective design, businesses can provide goods and services to customers that didn’t even know they needed them.

One of the important, indelible factors that goes into an effective design strategy is leadership support. By having the proper support of leadership, even at the highest levels, the design aspects for any business can be much more effective than if left to the care of a design team. At Barclays, the support goes all the way to the top, to the CEO who, according to the Chief Design Officer, ‘embraces the entrepreneurial start-up approach’ to design.

The brand belongs to the marketing team, but design plays an integral role in creating products and services, as well as the overall experience that consumers have with the company.