Percapita

Creating an inclusive financial service brand for the underbanked

Brand Strategy, Verbal Identity, Visual Identity

Background

Traditional financial institutions have left many out – with millions in America going unbanked or underbanked. Percapita has set out to change this by establishing basic financial services that are affordable and accessible for all.

The challenge

New upstarts were beginning to offer similar services as Percapita. Yet, these institutions lacked Percapita’s vision of truly tackling inequity and distrust in banking. Percapita’s brand had the opportunity to help them cut through the crowd and show the historically underbanked that they were there for them.

The opportunity

Percapita sets itself apart from other financial institutions by collaborating with their members – viewing them as competent individuals, not as a market opportunity. Percapita’s brand is built on this unique humanity, compassion and reciprocity.

Designed for each person

Percapita’s visual identity is rooted in individuality and community. Dots are used to represent each person that together, make up a whole community. Each dot is distinct – acknowledging the uniqueness and importance of lived personal experience and Percapita’s commitment to listen to that experience and support people in their own vision of financial wellness.

A pointed identity

This identity is inspired from post-impressionist art, pointillism, ceramic mosaics, and the cosmos —all visuals that hold the macro and the micro in equal balance and suggest the limitless and iterative possibility that true financial wellness can bring.

A dynamic logo

Percapita’s logomark builds on this micro and macro idea. Five of the circles are in the process of growing, increasing in size from right to left, ultimately creating the letterform “P” within the grid of dots.This movement suggests the gathering of many into one—individuals into community with one another. The four remaining circles reduce in size—suggesting a focus on the individual and the personal. In totality—the Percapita icon captures the dynamic and essential relationship of the individual to the community, the part to the whole.

A sense of motion

When the dots are in motion, they have the ability to grow and converge—building visual density in a way that mirrors how individuals build power and support—together.

Cohesive iconography

In designing Percapita's iconography, the emphasis on simplicity and clarity led to minimalist icons with consistent "holding shapes" and uniform negative space. Using a standard artboard size and the Tenon Sans typeface for any text elements ensured that the icons were both cohesive and web-ready, providing a seamless user experience across the platform.