By: Rudo Botha


The problem is that all businesses are employing the same, or very similar, tactics to achieve maximum return on investment - they cut input costs, they raise product or service prices, they launch new products, they buy old businesses … In some rare cases, companies in the pursuit of ROI actually make a conscious decision to ‘innovate', but in most cases this only delivers a technological evolution.

The problem is, these tried and trusted methods are tapped out. There is simply only so much you can do on a rational level to decrease the one side of the equation and increase the other.

Smart businesses are fast realising that the rational pursuit of ROI is no longer enough. These companies are bringing emotion to the fore.

It's a revolutionary step change in business, which is traditionally heralded as a completely rational sphere. The emotional space, by contrast, is traditionally inhabited by artists, musicians, designers - stereotypically rich in inspiration but poor in business expertise. It's only on the very rare occasion that these two worlds meet. So divided are they that we even describe character based on the separation of the rational and emotional - right-brained people are considered logical, rational; while left-brained people are considered more arty, and emotional.

The reality, however, is that there is one discipline that has always combined the rational and the emotional: Design. And when used to its full capacity, it has proven time and again that it does better than deliver on Return on Investment. It delivers a Return on Inspiration®.

Take the new Apple iPhone for example. The fact that it is functionally a good product makes it sellable. That's rational. The fact that it has been designed with not only the functional in mind, but also the aesthetic, makes it unbeatable. That's emotional.

DESIGN is perhaps the only discipline that truly integrates the logic of the rational sphere with the conviction of the emotional sphere to create competitive advantage in business. Therein lies its genius.

Closer to home, FNB realized the value that design can contribute to business. In a bid to revolutionise its ATM channel, FNB ATM enlisted the services of design specialist Rex, a move which ultimately resulted in a seamless and comprehensive integration of state-of-the-art technology, customer-friendly design and brand-driven communication.

At the outset, Rex was brought on board to design the customer interface, as the back-end technology supporting the new ATM system had already been developed. Before long, however, the Rex designers were helping the FNB techies redesign the ATM virtually from scratch - resulting not only in a new and revolutionary customer interface, but also a smoother transaction flow, a quicker and easier process for consumers as well as the addition of useful services such as a traffic fine payment system, the ability to buy prepaid cellular phone contracts or pay Edgars accounts. Overall, an experience that is simply more in keeping with the FNB mantra “How can we help you?”.

Rex worked in partnership with the FNB ATM division, getting involved in fundamentals such as the language, tone of voice and iconography in the ATMs. The partnership also resulted in the creation of advertising space on the ATM, which is being used by the bank itself to improve communication with customers, but is also being sold externally to bolster the division's income.

Typically, changes of this ilk to technology that people use on a daily basis generates complaints in the thousands, simply because no one really likes change. Since the release of the new ATM systems in August this year, however, FNB has not received a single comeback relating to the change - proof that inspiration, when acted upon in a considered and thorough manner, really does deliver. The new FNB ATMs look better, but they also work better - for FNB itself and for its clients. That's competitive advantage. And that's a great Return on Inspiration®.

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Rex is a company of designers intent on delivering business solutions in the form of intelligent and inspirational design.- more....

[16 Nov 2007 12:16]

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