Credit Suisse Private Banking Case Study

Process

Elegance and Simplicity

frog’s design analysts assessed the wide field of online banking, as well as the specific Credit Suisse web portal. We identified industry best practices and areas of concern, transforming user insights into basic guidelines and original design concepts. Financial services, as critical as they are, often prove confusing to customers; Credit Suisse needed to reassure its clients with a clear, comfortable navigational structure in which to make financial decisions. Customizing a section of the site would give users a greater sense of control over their money – particularly important for the elite, mobile clientele of Credit Suisse, a segment that demands real-time information within the context of highly specialized advice.

Intuitive Navigation

Credit Suisse possesses an invaluable asset – its encyclopedic information resources – but in a financial industry that increasingly promotes the personal banking experience, usability was key. frog fully re-envisioned the company’s portal, developing an intuitive, goal-oriented system of navigation that allows users to address their banking needs as efficiently as possible. When testing revealed that users wanted to navigate financial information by activity, rather than bank branch, frog restructured the site’s basic informational hierarchy to emphasize user actions. Task patterns were structured within a system of color-coding, modules, and containers. Tables and graphs imparting the site’s most relevant content were designed with special attention to legibility and ease of use. Marketing teasers were placed to gently draw the user’s eye towards information related to the content of the current page, tailoring the online experience to the concerns of each individual user. At every step, the site encourages users to customize personal pages and fulfill their individual banking needs.

The primary emotional element of the site – the imagery within the branding area – grows smaller as clients navigate deeper into the site, reflecting the increasing relevance of textual content and enhancing the sense of a personalized banking experience. Custom photography, produced under frog’s creative direction, communicates a precise, targeted brand message for Credit Suisse.

Every page inspires users to identify firmly with the Credit Suisse brand. The central page layout is dominated by the Swiss Cross, conveying “Swissness” and its emotional corollaries: safety, stability, quality. A subdued color palette connotes exclusivity and a standard of excellence, once more reassuring users that they are in good hands with Credit Suisse.

The Four-Star Treatment

The Credit Suisse brand was built on a model of unassuming elegance; its clients are served as if they were guests in a four-star restaurant. The experience of navigating the banking portal, and the website as a whole, now fully reflects that ethos.

frog undertook iterative testing throughout the design process, refining the new site design in accordance with user feedback in order to develop the best possible information architecture. The final design met with wide approval in testing before being implemented online.