Be as a Bank
GBX Brasil
Optimising and scaling the design of a white-label banking structure.
White-label banking structure design.
Design
Client
2023 - 2024 (6 months)
Timeline
Vinicius Jardim Kohlmann and Julio Madalena
When I started on the project, Be as a Bank's design structure covered 6 applications. As the project progressed, this responsibility expanded to more than 30 applications.
Even with a team of just two designers, we managed to create a flexible and scalable structure while maintaining quality and consistency. It was a major challenge, which required constant organisation and alignment between the design and development teams.
Challenges
1
Design a white-labelled, flexible and scalable banking application to serve individuals and companies.
2
Maintaining the quality and consistency of the design, replicated in multiple applications, with a team of just 2 designers.
3
Creating and documenting the use of components, focusing on optimising design and delivery times.
4
Align expectations and maintain continuous communication between the teams involved in the project.
Overcoming the challenges
Flexibility and Scalability
While we were developing our product, we realised the need for a solution that would reconcile the flexibility of the design with the need to scale quickly. The answer came in the form of component standardisation.
To build our library, we audited all the flows and screens that existed, both in Figma and in production. In parallel, we conducted a market study to align our solutions with user expectations.
Maintaining consistency with a reduced team
With only two people on the design team, the risk of losing consistency was real. Every decision made would be reflected in multiple applications. So we took a strategic approach, always trying to document design decisions, as well as versioning flows and components. In addition, everything that could be standardised, we tried to standardise. This methodology allowed us to keep consistency, even with limited resources.
Optimising time by creating components
As I mentioned earlier, we understood that the success of the project depended on creating and organising a library of components. However, we couldn't simply design without purpose. Each component that was incorporated into the library was tested beforehand and carefully thought out for different contexts and scenarios.
These components were often developed in partnership with the programmers, especially when there was a demand for new functionality. This dialogue with the developers not only validated technical feasibility, but also allowed us to refine aesthetic and functional aspects.
Collaborative development
Building the trust of the development team and investors in relation to the design was a gradual and challenging process. To overcome this barrier, we tried to understand their perspective, seeking a common language to demonstrate the value of our work.
The results weren't immediate and often what we said was viewed with a certain amount of suspicion, but once the reduction in time and optimisation of resources became clear, they began to adopt and involve design more in the process. As a result, an MVP that used to take an average of 90 days to deliver was now delivered in 30 days.
Impacts of the project
Profitable partnership
The project attracted the interest of a major financial institution, resulting in a lucrative partnership for GBX.
From 6 to 30 apps
The white-label bank architecture, which initially covered 6 applications, was extended to cover more than 30 applications on iOS and Android, emphasising the flexibility and scalability of the design.
Base for other projects
The structure served as a basis for projects with different proposals, including asset tokenisation and cryptocurrency exchange applications.
Culture of alignment
It established a culture of alignment between designers and programmers, with a focus on optimising resources and reusing documented components.
Several functionalities delivered
Implementation of different functionalities, such as registration and onboarding, payment and collection management (Pix, boleto and TED), limit adjustment, statements, credit offers, creation and management of virtual cards, among others.
Reduction by 1/3 of the estimated time to deliver MVPs
The optimisation of the design process reduced the delivery time of MVPs for the entire team, not just the design team, from approximately 90 to 30 days.
Learnings
In the project for GBX, one of the major challenges faced was to design a structure that was easy to replicate and adapt, as well as devising solutions for a highly regulated sector such as finance.
During the process, I realised the importance of communicating design as a strategic tool to optimise the work of the whole team, not just the designers.
To overcome these challenges, it was essential to build an environment of collaboration and trust, where constant dialogue and negotiation were the basis for implementing the project.
Cases
Amparo is a donation platform created during IDEO.org's Introduction to Human-Centred Design (HCD) course in partnership with Acumen Academy.
Amparo
Hey Orange!
Mentoring platform developed for FCamara Group employees during the Hackathon - Season 03.
