About the business
The role of big data in banking is evolving and has led to a revolution of the finance markets.
The Sparkassen group offers all it’s open banking solutions and API services underneath a central platform named wallis, formerly known as the Sparkassen Developer Portal. This platform enables the collaborative development of innovative services and new business models for Sparkassen, alliance partners, FinTechs und InsurTechs.

Challenge
When we started the branding process, there were several independent product brands without any relation to the Sparkassen developer portal.
This was due to the fact that the Sparkassen Developer Portal reflected the old, conservative world of banking and had pretty much less to do with the new digital world of data and tech. The entire brand experience lacked identity and visibility because the look and feel was pretty dated and stiff, which is already reflected within the descriptive name „Sparkassen Developer Portal“.
Accordingly single products started to set themselves apart to reach their users in the aspired tech industry.
It was about time to start off new with a strong brand, that unites all the different product services and feels relevant to the desired target groups in the tech industry.

Strategy
We wanted to create a brand that feels a lot more agile, dynamic and approachable than the status quo.
The first step to do so was to set up a new endorsed brand architecture which enabled us to reposition the brand and make it independent from the corporate Sparkassen group branding. Next we developed a new brand character that feels less like Sparkasse and more authentic to the start-up mentality of that particular business unit.

Naming and Brand idea
Storytelling was an important means to bring the new brand to life and should be reflected in the new name. 
John Wallis, who lends his name to our brand, is famously known for inventing the infinity symbol. A simple sign to express an abstract construct of sheer complexity. We chose „Wallis“ because that is exactly what the platform has to offer: it provides access to unlimited data and is a key to master this complexity through simplification, all in one service. In addition to that, „Wallis“ feels familiar like a personal advisor. It has a sense of humanity which stays true to the Sparkassen group‘s customer focus and differentiates to the competition.
It's a simple, memorable name that tells a strong story which is relevant to the users of the platform.

Brand Design
We created a very dynamic brand experience that is easy to implement and speaks the language of it’s users: developers, fintechs and tech companies.
The design system reflects a playful concept of unlimited data streams and goes hand in hand with the easy-going, lightweight color system and illustration style.
The logo serves the strong brand narrative because it's a symbol for the simplification of complexity. The infinity-w-glyph is also a distinct character for all responsive applications such as mobile or social media icons.
In addition to that, the „powered by“ endorsement communicates trust by referring to the Sparkassen umbrella brand.
Last but not least Typography has a very approachable, personal character to it and is strongly differentiating in the conservative world of banking.