Overall Summary Of Barclays Financial Wellness
What went well:
This project was lead heavily by feedback and trial & error, which meant we made decisions based on facts and not just what we thought worked. We had evidence to justify ourselves.
I had not used the laser cutter for a project before, even though I roughly learnt how to use it during the degree show. It was a new skill that I learnt and once I understood how to use the machine and software to ‘Print’ I was away. I also plan to use this in future projects some way.
It was also nice to create the logo for a change as Rosie usually does the graphic elements and I enjoyed doing it. Which meant it was great to mix up the roles within the team. So we could all develop skills that we may not necessarily had or not practised in a while.
The campaign worked well as it was eye catching and clean as well as the card prototype.
I was also glad that I suggested to prototype the cards as they client really liked them and remembered us for it. They were also fighting over them as we left the pitch.
What would I do differently:
If we had more time, I would have made a stop motion animation, with better lights and equipment. I wanted to create an entire scene by wallpapering the walls and using block coloured props and hire actors. However we realised this was not feasible in the time frame we had as well as working around our part time jobs. As it required further planning. We also spent a lot longer on perfecting the app and how this would function and look. We realised the lights we hired out were yellow and were not the best for shooting. I had to do a lot of editing to correct the white balance and contrast of the shots.
Some people we spoke to said that the idea had a lot going on and I kind of agreed. I don’t think we needed the the Lifestyle element not the app. I think the strategy and card were a strong enough idea in themselves and the added comparison kind of made the idea cluttered. Which might be why the client suggest that the idea became diluted, as it possibly became more of a product instead of a service.
During the pitch we gave a suggestion to how we would develop the app so it would cater a wider audience. We said we could make a section within the app where people could book appointments or have a FaceTime conversation with a financial adviser to bring the human element to a very scary process where most students feel they turn to their parents for help.
Overall,
I think we worked collaboratively and efficiently, we all believed in the idea we were selling the client, which made a difference as we were giving our all in the pitch. Even if we were ill we were there and when we could not make it into uni we would Skype call and FaceTime so we could put as much input into the project. We learnt a lot from focus groups and constant feedback asking questions about our product and how we could improve it to make it believable.
I also believe we achieved the brief in hand for financial wellness as our concept created structure and organisation to spending, with the added benefit of keeping to a budget buy showing you where you can go to restaurants and bars as a cheaper alternative. It also took the stress out of having to find discounts as they were all in one place. It would benefit every day needs such as cheaper grocery shops, gas and electric. And that it achieves what the brief asked for. A product or service that helps students with their mental health and wellbeing as it helps with grocery shops that are healthier and the worry is taken away from having to organise and pay bills.