Role: Design Director
Team: James Maclean (Creative Director), Jake Dearlove (Head of Copy), internal creative team, freelancers
Industry: Fintech / B2B
Outcome: Now the UK’s largest in-store payments company
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The Challenge
Paymentsense, a fintech company serving startups and small businesses, had commissioned a new logo externally but was left unsure of how to evolve the brand beyond that. With no clear creative direction in place and an internal team of mid to junior-level designers, the company needed leadership and vision to bring the brand to life across all platforms.
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Our Approach
James Maclean was brought in as Creative Director and myself as Design Director to lead a full-scale rebrand of the company. Although the new logo was off-limits, we used it as a springboard to define the visual identity—building a flexible, cohesive brand system around its colour palette and shape language.
With fintech’s reputation often leaning toward the cold and corporate, our goal was to create a brand that felt accessible, transparent, and startup-friendly—qualities that resonated with Paymentsense’s target audience of entrepreneurs and small business owners.
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Creative Strategy
We developed a concept called “The Blueprint”—a visual metaphor representing the early stages of growth for small businesses. This creative baseline guided everything from the tone of voice to visual elements across digital and print.
We expanded the internal team by bringing in:
• Jake Dearlove as Head of Copy to define a consistent, conversational brand voice
• Two additional creative teams
• Project managers and freelancers to scale production and delivery
Together, we redesigned the brand’s presence across:
• Website and digital platforms
• Print collateral and signage
• Internal communications and sales materials
• Marketing campaigns
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The Impact
The rebrand repositioned Paymentsense as a friendly, customer-centric alternative in the payments industry. The new identity helped unify internal teams and clarify the company’s external messaging.
Since the rebrand, Paymentsense has grown exponentially and is now the largest in-store payments provider in the UK.
