Owned by Abkbank (one of Turkey’s most established and largest banks) the Wings card is aimed at wealthy customers with affluent lifestyles.
Pentagram was working on several projects for Akbank, and was approached to create an aspirational, lifestyle-orientated brand for Wings to help it move into a more premium space.
Wings aimed to achieve this shift with offers that inject a touch of the exceptional into everyday activities, partnering with new and innovative brands, delivering a wide choice of perks and partnerships and offering greater flexibility in how these perks can be used.
Wings’ existing branding felt tired and generic, and no longer representative of the customer it wanted to appeal to. The new brand needed to feel progressive and dynamic, and most of all stand out in the crowded financial services marketplace.
The new brand needed a brand identity refresh to position Wings as a more aspirational and more individual brand. It needed to differentiate itself from Axess (another Akbank credit card), but remain very much part of the Akbank family.
Based on the team’s brand concept of ‘The Insider Edge’ (reflecting the competitive advantage that being a Wings cardholder ensures), the new identity centres around the Wings symbol. The ‘Insider Edge’ concept is echoed in the unique form of the ‘W’ and ‘I’, with the negative space within the ‘W’ mirroring the inside edge of the letterform itself. The forward angle offers a sense of empowerment and positivity to the mark and brand language. The letter-spaced capital letters and light weighting of the font position the brand in a luxury, premium market.
As part of the brand language, a series of dynamic repeated lines echo the logo and create a unique instantly recognisable visual asset for Wings. A graphic device is formed from the repeated angle in the Wings logo, and is comprised of thick and thin lines and angle blocks of tone that can be used in a flexible way across visual applications.
The new colour palette of dark turquoise, steel and ivory is unique within the financial services sector, helping set Wings apart and positioning it within the premium brand space.
Sophisticated photography reflects the new brand positioning, adding to the premium feel and showcasing the exciting experiences and premium lifestyle that Wings can offer its customers.
Pentagram’s new brand identity for Wings takes it from a generic-looking financial services brand to a premium offer which is perfectly placed to appeal to Akbank’s high net-worth customers, while standing out in the crowded financial services marketplace.
