Case study: Bank of England
The Old Lady
Context
The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Government’s banker and debt manager, it is the world’s second oldest central bank. Its mission is to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability.
Challenges
→ Refresh the brand identity to be digital-first
→ Update the visual identity to be accessible and relevant
→ Update the website user interface (UI) to be WCAG (AA) compliant
→ Ideate launch campaigns for the £50 and £20 banknotes
Refresh
Symbol
We wanted Britannia to reflect the Bank’s current mission and values. Chris Mitchell at Epic Icons was tasked with making the symbol more welcoming and inclusive, with better legibility at a small size. The ostentatious pile of coins were removed (the Bank doesn’t issue coins) and the shield was adjusted to include union flag.
Logotype
The simplified logotype reflects the Bank’s mission to be more approachable, plain (talking) and humble. We dropped previous use of capitals letters in favour of upper and lowercase. We tasked Monotype with adapting an existing font to be more accessible and dyslexia friendly in-line with guidance from the RNIB and the British Dyslexia Association.
Colour
The palette has been designed to be more vibrant and relevant. Inspiration comes from the £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes, gold bars, and BOE building. Apart from looking distinctive and memorable, each colour has been selected to be highly accessible making sure the minimum AA rating for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is achieved.
Photography
We tasked photographer Lee Funnell to apply her mantra ~ make the ubiquitous interesting and the ordinary beautiful ~ to the £5, £10, £20, £50 banknotes.
Credits
Project team: BOE Content team, Peter McCabe, Matteo Ruisi
Collaborators: British Dyslexia Association, Lee Funnell, Epic Icons, Monotype, RNIB
My role: Art director, Creative director, Designer, Illustrator
Accolades
Winner → The Best Brand Awards
Winner → DNA Design Award
Silver → A’Design Award: Visual Communication
Bronze → A’Design Award: Photography
Andrew Bailey
Governor, Bank of England
“The Bank of England has been around for hundreds of years. But we have just embraced the digital technology of the 21st century. This new era has brought many benefits. One is that it brings us closer to the public we serve. We know this means we better explain what we do and why. How we communicate is part of how we carry out our mission. We intend to keep trying to make our communications more inclusive and accessible for everyone.”
Peter McCabe
Brand design & creative direction