Saving New Zealand’s Savings
Wedge is a high-interest, digital-only savings account with no fees, no fluff, and a customer experience designed to help Kiwis reach their savings goals faster. Their mission? To ‘Save New Zealand’s Savings’ – from the big banks raking in record profits, to the lazy money sitting in low-interest bank savings accounts and term deposits..
Founders Andy and Dave McLeish came to us with the name and brand strategy, but needed a visual identity to bring it to life.
As a market disruptor, we wanted Wedge to feel distinctive from the usual banking crowd. Brand archetype, tone of voice, and personality were all critical in landing the right look and feel—something edgy yet trustworthy. We often described it as the underdog, or black sheep, of the banking family.
Through competitor analysis, we identified purple as an ownable colour. Paired with dark plums and blue-black tones, it created a palette that felt opulent, royal, and rich. As a core asset, a starry night sky with purple glows – generated via Midjourney – elevated the premium feel.
A wedge symbol was created to build long-term brand attribution and memorability. Rendered in a purple glass prism material, it feels like a precious gem. We also developed alternate wedge variations to give the brand future flexibility.
The logo and typography were designed to contrast each other. A bold, simple wordmark features a customised ‘W’ that mirrors the wedge angle. The headline serif typeface is humanist yet trustworthy, grounding the edgy visual language.
Website homepage concepts and brand guidelines were developed and handed over to Edition Studios, who did an amazing job both front and back end in executing the brand look and feel across the website and app.
For the launch, AO studios was engaged for the launch campaign, with Brand Matter leading creative , art direction and design. The brief and campaign strategy from client was centred on the single-minded benefit – people save faster with Wedge. We brought this to life through the sharp comparison between the big Aussie banks – slow, bloated, and profit-hungry – and Wedge: fast, nimble, and built especially for Saving New Zealand’s Savings.
Brand Identity
Client – Wedge Money (Andy and Dave McLeish)
Brand Strategy – Andy McLeish
Creative Director – Brent Courtney
Designer – Brent Courtney
3D Artist – Shaun Madgwick @ Made by Madge
Website
Development and design – Edition Studio
Scott Kennedy, Jodie Kennedy, Roman Beliaev and team.
Paid Marketing Launch Comms
Creative Directors – Brent Courtney & Thomas Darlow
Art Director and Designer – Brent Courtney
Production Agency – Paul Courtney at AO Studios
Producers – Scott Chapman, Suzi Ferenth, Ash Brown at AO Studios