Lloyds TSB appoints JKR to redesign cashpoint cards

In an unusual move, Lloyds TSB has appointed fmcg brand packaging specialist Jones Knowles Ritchie to redesign its retail debit and cashpoint cards.

The group was selected after a four-way pitch against Bull Roger, Lambie-Nairn and The Team, and will develop the designs for roll-out by year end.

According to chief executive Andy Knowles, JKR’s discipline in fmcg design will inform the approach taken for the card’s design. It is the first time the consultancy has worked on financial services branding.

‘We are used to fitting identities into a very small amount of space on product packaging,’ says Knowles. ‘Most people have several cards and may make a split-second choice of which to use, which is the same as a purchase decision in a grocery store. We are always trying to help people get a sense of the difference between brands, and cards are now the physical manifestation of bank brands.’

Lloyds TSB debit and cashpoint cards have not been redesigned since the two banks merged in 1997, when Wolff Olins combined corporate identity and card designs.

‘There have been eight to ten years of evolution since the cards were last designed, but they haven’t moved on,’ says Lloyds TSB product manager Martin Bunn. ‘We looked at other cards in the marketplace and found that if you take the logos off, they are very similar. We are trying to create innovation without alienation.’