From the ground up

Azlo started off as a generic small business app from BBVA. I was brought on to help craft a brand that would have a distinct point of view, an emotional core and allow for growth and application across any traditional or digital media.

The Challenge

Azlo was an actor without a script. The bare bones of a banking app had been created by other teams and a new CEO had been brought on. He wanted to find the Why behind the What or the How. Why should people care about another fintech? Why would anyone want to work with us? What did the world need that only we could provide?

The objective was to create an identity in the truest sense of the word, a way of distinguishing one amongst many, I unifying anchor for any new endeavors and something iconic and memorable. And like any other individuals identity, I had to start with the name.

The Process

I began by interviewing all of the current stakeholders to understand the challenges they were facing in coming to an agreement on the direction of the brand.

I coordinated several design thinking sessions that helped the founders tease out the real problem in the world that they wanted to solve, what pissed them off and what gave them hope.

I took the findings from the interviews and workshops and then started to create a story, before any names, sketches or even touching a computer. Could I write the script that would make people eager to continue the story?

Working with the founders to establish who they saw themselves as in the world, even though they had not launched the product.

Working with the founders to establish who they saw themselves as in the world, even though they had not launched the product.

Once we had agreed upon the image I broke down how their direction lead to values and promises to their future customers.

Once we had agreed upon the image I broke down how their direction lead to values and promises to their future customers.

The brand archetype was that of the helpful teacher, or Sage. We imagined the company as being that kind of leader or mentor that would not sugar coat hard realities, would not waste time or over-communicate and that would see you to your goal rega…

The brand archetype was that of the helpful teacher, or Sage. We imagined the company as being that kind of leader or mentor that would not sugar coat hard realities, would not waste time or over-communicate and that would see you to your goal regardless of the challenges .

Values became the inspiration for the naming exercise. Could the name embody the spirit of the company, the audience, the features of the product while also being own-able, searchable and memorable? It had to.

Values became the inspiration for the naming exercise. Could the name embody the spirit of the company, the audience, the features of the product while also being own-able, searchable and memorable? It had to.

 
 
The name Azlo was a contrived word that got its root from Spanish. Haz lo, is an imperative, compelling people to do it, start your company, fulfill your dreams and don’t wait!

The name Azlo was a contrived word that got its root from Spanish. Haz lo, is an imperative, compelling people to do it, start your company, fulfill your dreams and don’t wait!

The final symbol represented the exchange of products, knowledge and value between a small business owner and their customer as well as the connection with the brand and its representatives.

The final symbol represented the exchange of products, knowledge and value between a small business owner and their customer as well as the connection with the brand and its representatives.

The design of the debate card reflected the simplicity of the message and the ease-of-use of the product. We wanted out customers to be proud to pull out this card so we spent a lot of time finding the right color, material and even envelope to make…

The design of the debate card reflected the simplicity of the message and the ease-of-use of the product. We wanted out customers to be proud to pull out this card so we spent a lot of time finding the right color, material and even envelope to make the experience special.

 
 
By the time Azlo launched, it had a strong voice, a courageous goal and a clean and impactful aesthetic. We became the fastest growing neo-bank in the United States after 6 months of going live.

By the time Azlo launched, it had a strong voice, a courageous goal and a clean and impactful aesthetic. We became the fastest growing neo-bank in the United States after 6 months of going live.

We made a decision to strip away extraneous features, decoration, and useless language to help promote our idea of the simplest way to start your small business. The colors and design patterns were also intended to show a working environment that wa…

We made a decision to strip away extraneous features, decoration, and useless language to help promote our idea of the simplest way to start your small business. The colors and design patterns were also intended to show a working environment that wasn’t intimidating and was easy to track and get what you needed done.

Success and wellness

Due to complexity of new feature endeavors (Loans, Bookkeeping, Credit Card) and the demands on our development team, the design team were tasked with developing a new line of business that increased exposure for Azlo but took a unique look at helping entrepreneurs

Through ongoing research with our customers we discovered that there were challenges that pervaded all of their businesses that were not being addressed by any other financial institutions, their own personal success.

We discovered that a huge element contributing to the failure of businesses in their first two years was a lack of self-care, especially when concerining stress, time management and the focus on purpose. To that end we created a sub bran dunder the Azlo parent brand, WorkLife. This would be a service and a platform for entrepreneurs to share experiences, get access to coucelling and educational materials that were all focused on finding meaning and staying in good physical and mental shape.

At each event we had inspirational speakers who focused on the spirit and purpose that was necessary to be a small business owner. Joey Womak, founder and CEO of Goodie Nation was one of great speakers at WorkLife Atlanta.

We created a social presence and tone and manner about aggressively attacking problems with confidence, social awkwardness and the isolation that comes with owning your own business.