2024October 29
Stop making wallets, start making finance
The first major change after fourteen years. The positioning shifted from an e-wallet to a financial assistant, and the identity system drew materials from banknotes to enhance credibility.
Change component(5)
- Positioning. The e-wallet transitions to a financial assistant with AI, that is artificial intelligence.
- Patterns. The structure and layout of paper money transformed into digital form, creating a four-layer layout of security, content, images, and background.
- Typefaces. Three distinct typefaces named MoMo Trust Display, Trust Sans, and MoMo Signature.
- Mas cot. Redraw it to be more compact, dynamic, and friendly, without replacing it with another image.
- Application system. A three-corner quick response code frame for safety marking, a character illustration system, and eight interfaces for users to choose from.
Read at the professional level(4)
- Borrowing the visual laws of banknotes is borrowing trust. The structure, anti-counterfeiting layers, and presentation are signs that Vietnamese people can read without needing explanations. This is the fastest way for a digital product to convey its seriousness about money.
- Four layers constitute a set of rules, not just a single image. Security, content, imagery, background. Dividing into layers means that every new screen in the future will have a designated place to fit in, rather than having to be designed from scratch each time.
- Three typefaces serve three roles. One set for titles, one set for body text, and one set for signatures. Having distinct typefaces for different roles is essential for a product that changes screens every week to maintain its tone.
- Keeping the mascot is keeping the part that customers recognize. It is redrawn more concisely rather than replaced with another image. In a rebranding, the mascot is often the easiest element to sacrifice because it is tied to the old tone. Retaining it means keeping familiar customers.
Why change(2)
- E-wallets sell convenience. Convenience means being fast and enjoyable, and MoMo has communicated in that tone effectively for fourteen years.
- Selling trust in finance. Trust cannot be declared in words; it must be borrowed from what people already believe in. MoMo borrows from banknotes, including the structure, anti-counterfeiting features, and presentation, with signs that Vietnamese people can read without needing any explanation.
Within the brand system(2)
- Eight interfaces for users to choose from represent a variable identity architecture. Any set that allows users to change interfaces must specify in advance which parts are immutable, here being the four layers and the three-cornered quick response code frame.
- The three-cornered quick response code frame for safety marking is a functional identification that goes beyond mere aesthetics. A shape that serves as both a sign and a safety indicator must be absolutely correct in all formats, as one mistake can lead to financial issues.
Trade-off(2)
- What needs to be paid is not the old identity, as both the colors and mascot remain. What needs to be paid is the operational complexity: a system of four layers plus three custom typefaces demands significantly higher discipline than the old set, on a product that changes screens every week.
- What you purchase is the right to stand alongside banks and financial institutions. For a company looking to work with dozens of banks, appearing like a financial institution is not just a matter of appearance.
Professional assessment(4)
- It can be closed. Separate the two parts that most combine into one: the part that states what you do, and the part that serves as a landmark in users' memory. Change the first part, keep the second part unchanged.
- Borrow instead of inventing. With something abstract like trust, borrowing the form of something people already believe in is the shortest path, much shorter than years of advertising.
- Still open-ended. The more variations there are, the more chances for slippage, and this is a set with eight interfaces running concurrently on a product that is continuously updated. The discipline at that point does not lie in the design anymore; it lies with the weekly overseer.
- Borrowing the shape of banknotes is borrowing the trust of something that is gradually diminishing in everyday life. The young customer segment, which is the core of e-wallets, is indeed the segment that uses cash the least, so how well this metaphor resonates with them remains unanswered.
Takeaway(1)
- MoMo demonstrates that when changing industries, you must also change your tone, and the new tone should be derived from the visual laws of the new industry rather than invented from scratch. More notably, they did not alter certain elements: the colors and mascot remain unchanged. Changing the professional aspect while keeping the customer recognition aspect is a way to change industries without losing familiar customers.
Similar case(2)
- Viettel 2021 While declaring they no longer engage in their old profession, Viettel completely removed old signs, while MoMo retained them.
- Biti's Hunter 2024 In 2024, stepping into another industry, but Hunter also changes its product range.