Design thinking in banking: Capital One case study

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When you think of design, you probably don't think of banking. But in recent years, banks have spent millions of dollars and hundreds of hours designing better consumer experiences and products.

One example is Capital One. They surprised the market in 2014 when they bought web design company Adaptive Path and mobile development company Monsoon. The goal behind the acquisitions was to create a better user experience through an improved banking app.

Their design thinking approach involved gathering user insights and assessing the current state of the app. They found that users wanted more features, better connections, and easier access to services.

In particular, young consumers wanted more from the bank in terms of ease of use and not having to visit physical locations.

With a strong design team in place, Capital One began generating innovative ideas and cio & cto email list bringing them to market, including a chatbot that offered friendly assistance using emojis.

In addition, they opened several cafes in major cities such as San Francisco to establish a relationship with consumers.

Design process: person showing chatbox on his phone

via Capital One Another user-centric solution was GPS-enabled transaction history, which allowed users to better see where and how they were spending their money when budgeting.

Their iterative process wasn’t limited to consumer products. They also invested heavily in design by building an Innovation Center and strengthening their internal team of developers and designers through their Capital One Lab.

When they want to gather feedback on products users want or test new products, they send that information to the design lab. There, the team shares storyboards and infographics with real customers to generate feedback and improve ideas or offerings.