Tala
Tala is a mission-driven fintech startup that provides loans, financial services, and education to underserved & unbanked communities in Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India. The team wanted to refresh their visual brand to better align with the company’s evolved mission, customer focus, and product.
Customer Story Video
Research
We started the rebrand project with competitor and design research to better understand the fintech landscape, customer & employee sentiment, and the visual environment of each market. Over the course of four months, I traveled to four countries to conduct visual, design & ethnographic customer research, held interviews with our internal teams, synthesized the learnings, and shared this knowledge with creative agency Pentagram.
Design Style Competitor Research
Look & Feel Competitor Research
Research Activities - Pics from Mexico Research
Ethnographic Customer Research in India
Mood Board Activities in the Philippines
Visual Ecosystem Research in Kenya
Working with Pentagram
Working together with world-renowned designer Paula Scher and her team, we evolved the Tala brand to be a modern, trustworthy, inclusive, friendly, and customer-first brand that was unique and could stand apart from our competitors. We remained true to the friendly yet trusted feeling of the old Tala brand while refreshing our look and being relevant in our current and future markets.
Selfie with Paula and the Tala team! We were so excited to work with her and the team at Pentagram.
Designs
Creative Direction: Paula Scher
Art Direction: Emily Atwood & Zarreen Ali-Khan
Design: Eunjin Shin, Zarreen Ali-Khan
Logo
Our new logo was based on the principle of diversity, a key guiding pillar at Tala, with two different A forms.
The counters of the diverse As formed the basis of our new visual identity, patterns, and iconography.
Conceptual Connections
Our new visual brand shapes aligned with our evolved company mission.
Friendly and familiar shapes connected with our customers’ landscapes.
App Screens
Google Play Store
Social Media
Environment
New office - town hall idea
New office - game room hallway idea
Brand Guidelines
Once we had all elements designed, approved, and ready to go, my team created a digital brand guidelines for vendors and employees to reference.