Finding the right name for my bank was vital, as it is the first thing people would see, so I want to make sure it encompasses the main values and personality I want my brand to have. I thought of names of companies I liked, and the common feature was that they were all short and snappy. I also liked how some names played with letters, swapping them with similar sounding ones or taking letters out. This would help make it memorable, especially if it isn’t a usual word like Monzo or Pleo.
I also quickly looked into what makes a good business name and the main thing was that it is unique and distinctive which in turn will help it become memorable. So I created a mind map and placed words around which linked back to my brand values as a starting point. I even considered trying to create a word from my values.
From this, I singled out a few possibilities that I liked the most and looked into them further. I thought about what the meaning behind each one would be and if it would be most suitable for my style of bank brand. I found that some of them were giving off a serious tone, which I didn’t really want, so I’m leaning towards the more positive sounding names like Duo and Yellow.
I’m still quite undecided about which name to go for, so I’m going to try using Figma and experimenting with different fonts on each one to see which one I prefer.
I found this process helpful as I found some of the names didn’t suit any fonts so it wouldn’t be a suitable name for my brand. At this point I was still stuck between duo and yello, but I feel that ‘yello’ is a more unique name and can be explored more than the other.
A mission statement will provide a brand with an ideal vision for how it wants to direct its growth and the brands future. It doesn’t only act as a compass, but also would encourage employees to think about how their actions could impact how successful the brand is and will encourage a positive culture within the company.
In terms of my own brand, the mission statement will focus on what I want my brand to provide for the target market, which is a positive and friendly environment. This will give me guidance when it comes to the other aspects of the branding process from design to writing the guidelines. I played about with how I would word the statement, but kept the main focus as the positive environment.
I decided to use this one as my final mission statement as I feel it speaks as the target audience would, not full of big and fancy words, so they will understand easily. This also reflects my brand, as I want it to be a new way of banking for the target market where they’re not confused but over complication. I paired my brand values of team work and positive together for my mission statement as I feel they are the two main values and the ones I want my brand to provide the most to the audience.
Along with my mission statement, I wanted to have a short tagline/catchphrase which I could use across the brand that the audience would soon recognise as a part of my brand. I brainstormed a few ideas and wanted to include some current cultural references which the age group I am targeting would understand and relate to. It was during my processing of creating a logo mark with the two exclamation mark and viewing the name, ‘yello’, as a way of greeting someone, I thought of what would end up being my final and main tagline of, ‘Something to shout about!!’. I saw an opportunity to include the logo mark in this also, which I feel will help add consistency across my brand.
It was when I was getting feedback on my brand name that someone pointed out that it looks like ‘yeo!’, a phrase used a lot by the target age group. I took this on board and decided to create a secondary tagline, which wouldn’t be used as often, but still recognisable with the brand. I will also be able to incorporate the logo mark into this tagline as well.
After carrying out these parts of building my brand, I revisited my values again and created a couple of sentences which describes what my brand will do and aims to provide to the audience, including the five values I chose.
“Yello aims to bring a positive attitude to those entering the banking world for the first time. A bank of complete integrity, Yello works to build and maintain trust with customers through excellent service. With a focus on teamwork, so everyone knows their finances are safe and secure.”