ABA Banking Journal - August 2008 - (Page 38) BRANCH DESIGN Two banks make two distinct statements. Provident Bank, left, incorporates interesting ceiling lighting and clean modern furnishings to support its “dialogue branch,” de-emphasizing transactions. Wachovia uses its signature blue to promote a green agenda, with materials that meet LEED standards. mon wisdom”) in its unboxy, breezy branch look and feel, but expanded the brand definition to connect to the broader cause of environmental stewardship. Brand is critical In a conference call with two other executives from his team, Eduardo Alvarez, executive vice-president strategy and design, BrandPartners Group, Rochester, N.H., explains that the creative process hangs on the hooks of specific attributes: “Before we put a pen to paper, we do a complete analysis of the business—including key customer segments and core corporate values,” he says. “We need to tease out the particulars of brand and the specific experience that the bank is looking to create.” Alvarez says that while the banking industry is in a good place on the continuum from blasé to fantastic, he thinks it has fallen too much in love with fads— the coffee bar concept, for instance. “I see too many spaces that look similar,” says Alvarez. “It’s as if everyone is out there promising to be and offer the same thing, which is exactly what a financial services firm does not want to do. We still have to get our clients thinking very carefully about who they are and how to best project a distinct identity.” William Bily, director of design, DEI Corp., Cincinnati, agrees that distinction is important. He says that corporate values count in finding the unique in a company, as does something he refers to as the corporate personality (the culture of the company, which, he says, can be projected in design terms impacting everything from colors chosen to how the floor plan is organized). Also key is being appropriate for a given community and fitting in with the region of the country. “We come from the design process not so much from a purely architectural point of view but from a very client-centric point of view, where we are also thinking very strongly about branding. We also value a sense of place. All of these traits add up to a very particular vision for that deployment,” says Bily. “Where that client operates, along with brand and key customer segments served should be factored into the design.” Setting a stage for bonding Part of the slickness that first emerged about a decade ago has simply been about commanding the implements of looking terrific. It has entailed using a broader color palette of once “noncorporate” colors, smarter looking fixtures, more flattering lighting, and stronger merchandising. This has resulted in a broad aesthetic shift that most of us are aware of when we shop. But the artifice aims to do more than look good, whether we as shoppers realize it overtly or not. The goal is about setting a stage where an experience of Who says real men can’t wear pink—or real banks can’t have a sense of humor? Here, in day and evening, National City Bank uses its big window space to big advantage. A campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness aligns nicely with National City’s general support of urban renewal and the customers it serves. 38 AUGUST 2008/ABA BANKING JOURNAL Subscribe at www.ababj.com BRANDPARTNERS GROUP CALLISON ARCHITECTURE, INC. DEI CORP. http://www.dei-corp.com http://www.brandpartners.com http://www.dei-corp.com http://www.ababj.com
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