Innovation Platform
Event Organization
Website
Role
Team
Time & Duration
7 Months, 2024
Client
Akbank Lab
Company / Product Background
Akbank LAB is the innovation unit of Akbank, one of Turkey’s leading and most influential banks. Since its establishment in 2016, the LAB has acted as a bridge between corporate banking and the startup ecosystem—cultivating innovation by experimenting with emerging technologies, running internal innovation challenges, and co-developing initiatives with fintech companies and entrepreneurs.
The LAB engages a wide range of collaborators, from Akbank employees to startup founders, designers, and developers. This facelift project aimed to deliver a unified platform where all these groups could register for events, apply to programs, and track their involvement more seamlessly. Although the former website had a visually compelling design, it lacked clarity in user experience and failed to provide tailored, goal-driven paths for its diverse audiences.
Project Overview – Challenge / Context
The previous Akbank LAB website struggled to effectively serve its well-defined yet diverse user base. Content and navigation were often skewed toward one type of user while leaving others without a clear path, leading to high bounce rates and missed engagement opportunities. While the platform served its purpose as a basic event announcement tool, it lacked the persuasive, audience-specific communication needed to attract new users—particularly those unfamiliar with the LAB’s value and processes.
Key information such as participation eligibility, program benefits, and application steps was either missing or buried, making it difficult for prospective users to understand why and how to get involved. Additionally, event and project applications were fragmented across multiple channels, requiring users to switch platforms, send large files via email, and manually track updates—creating friction across the experience.
On the backend, the Akbank team needed a more centralized way to view applications, send user-specific updates, and manage diverse file types and submission flows. Due to the complexity and variability of application requirements, a flexible CMS-backed structure was also necessary to accommodate different scenarios without compromising usability.
Project Overview – Solution
Our approach began with a full redesign of the platform’s architecture, supported by the introduction of several new features. We proposed creating persona-specific landing pages, each tailored to one of the LAB’s three primary audiences. These pages clearly outlined the relevant processes, benefits, and application flows, and were made easily accessible through both the homepage hero area and main navigation.
While introducing this structure, we also retained and enhanced one of the previous system’s most valued features: announcements. Knowing that a segment of the user base relied heavily on these updates, we introduced a sticky announcement widget that appears across key pages—maintaining visibility while reducing cognitive clutter.
To streamline operations and improve application handling, we designed a dedicated portal where users could submit, track, and manage their event or project applications. On the backend, the Akbank team was given CMS-driven control over submission forms, allowing them to dynamically adjust input fields and workflows based on the evolving needs of different programs.
Throughout the project, our guiding principle was inclusivity. Since the platform serves three equally important personas, every part of the user experience was intentionally designed to avoid alienating any one group. At the same time, we had to preserve Akbank’s strong and well-established visual identity. This constraint required our UX designs to be flexible and dynamic—providing functional clarity while maintaining the brand’s visual consistency.
Impact & Results
During internal testing, Akbank LAB team members noted that the new application flows were clear, logical, and easy to complete—providing a more seamless experience for both first-time and returning users. The ability to dynamically configure submission forms through the CMS also proved valuable, reducing the organization’s reliance on third-party form solutions and improving operational agility.
From a branding standpoint, Akbank’s core team acknowledged that the visual identity had been successfully carried into the new interface. The persona-based landing pages were particularly praised for reflecting Akbank’s tone of voice and communication style while remaining functional and relevant to each target audience.
