Client
Hartley Pensions
Headquarters
London
Industry
- FinTech
- Pensions
Company Size
- 51-200 Employees
Services
- Branding
- Graphic Design
- Web Design
The client
Hartley Pensions have provided pension products to clients for over 35 years. They offer a wide range of products that are tailored to the individual requirements of high net worth individuals. In their words – they are here to make the complex world of pensions simple.
The challenge
We've worked with Hartley Pensions for a number of years to elevate their branding and positioning by creating brand guidelines, brochures, forms, website and offline collateral. As part of the ongoing relationship, we were asked to create an online portal for them to allow clients to log in and view their pension information in real-time as well as make investment decisions and changes to their pension plans. It was a fascinating challenge, to take complex financial arrangements like SIPPs and ISAs, with the myriad of investment options and features and bring that together in an online portal that works in real-time, is intuitive to use and easy to understand.
The solution
The project comprised 3 stages, an architecture phase, a design phase and a build phase. The architecture involved several workshops where we (along with development partners NewIcon) would meet with key stakeholders from Hartley in order to identify key pieces of functionality and map out the process. From there we were able to wireframe the pages and create a clickable prototype to map out the screens required. In the design phase, we began to add the Hartley branding, colours, fonts and graphical style to begin to bring the project to life and we presented a working clickable prototype, linking all of the screens together, enabling you to visualise the pathway of any chosen action within the portal. This prototype would then act as the framework for the development team to know exactly what was to be coded. After 18 months of design, UX and patient build and integration with several other pieces of software, Hartley Pensions now have a SIPP portal that provides functionality that simply can’t be rivalled by its competitors, with a functional, modernised interface that is also seamlessly responsive for desktop, tablet and mobile. Our work with Harley has also led to us being commissioned by parent company the Wilton Group
Crafting the brand and marketing collateral
In order to enable their staff to apply the branding in a consistent manner, we produced an 80-page brand guidelines book to explain how the brand should be applied. The document specifies typefaces and colours and provides examples of proper and improper usage. It details how to use the brand in various items of stationery and literature and provides advice on photography styles, social media use and brand assets that are available to use. We also created a product information pack featuring a variety of information sheets on the various Pension and ISA products available from Hartley. As it needed to be positioned to appeal to high net worth individuals who form the main basis of clients for the parent company Wilton, the pack had to feel luxurious and to achieve this we used foils, duplexed boards and metallic finishes to deliver an item with real polish and understated quality.
A new website
Hartley didn't have much of a web presence when we first met them and after we'd worked with them to tighten up their branding they asked us to create a new website for them to reflect the brand and positioning we'd worked so hard to craft for them. The site acts as a vehicle for Hartley to showcase the Pension and ISA products they offer. It also has an informative blog that covers a wide gamut of financial news and useful information along with client and IFA zones and access to the Portal.
Office design and fit-out
As they were impressed with the work we'd done on the branding, we were asked to get involved in bringing some of that and look and feel of the literature into the new office in Bristol. We created 3-Dimensional perspex signage for the reception area, branded frosting to add some privacy to the meeting rooms while still allowing natural light in along with large stretched fabric graphics to cover entire walls and large canvas prints to emphasise the key messages of the business. Coupled with some excellent furniture choices, the resulting office space looks spot on.
"We’re really pleased with the website and marketing materials you’ve produced for Hartley which have really resonated with clients both old and new, helping us to secure new clients and contracts. We’re keen to expand the style into marketing material for the group as a whole to develop a consistent style."
Head of Wilton Group (Parent Company)