Merchant App
Visual Refresh
The PhonePe Business app needed a visual upgrade.
I redesigned the in-app color palette and creative templates, tailored to Tier 2–4 merchants. The result: higher CTRs, better visual clarity, and a scalable system built on real user behavior.
Role: Senior Brand Designer
Timeline: 1.5 months
Team: Offline Business, UX, Creative
Company: PhonePe (Fintech)
Problem Statement
The PhonePe Business app - used by merchants across India - relied on a two-color visual palette and repetitive collateral templates.
This led to:
-
Creative fatigue for users
-
Collaterals blending into the background (visual blind spots)
-
Reduced engagement with offersand key communications
How might we design a fresh, engaging, and psychologically resonant visual system - tailored to India’s diverse merchant base?
Users
Mid-sized merchants using the PhonePe
for Business app - primarily across Tier 2 to
Tier 4 cities, many with limited tech fluency
but strong business instincts. Their expectations and behavior differ greatly from B2C users.
Goal
Redesign the color palette & creative templates used in in-app collaterals to:
-
Improve clarity and visibility
-
Increase emotional engagement
-
Drive higher conversion on
merchant-facing CTAs
My Role
-
Led visual system rethink
across colors and layout -
Conducted stakeholder
research with Offline Biz & UX teams -
Translated behavioral insights into
usable, scalable templates
Process
1. User Understanding
Discovered that:
-
Merchants often engage with quick, bold visual cues
-
Too much repetition = automatic skip behavior
-
Certain color groups created subconscious trust or urgency
-
Collaborated with the Offline Sales team to gather on-ground merchant feedback
-
Worked with the UX team to map behavioral patterns unique to merchant users
Competitors:
Competitors Creatives:
User Persona:
-
Age: 25-55 years old
-
Gender: Mostly male (but women-run shops
are emergingin urban/semi-urban areas) -
Education: Limited formal education,
experience comes mostly by running business -
Location: Tier 2-6 cities, towns, and villages
Traits:
-
Many use smartphones but are
hesitant with advanced technology -
Focus Increasing business
and customer satisfaction -
Maintaining good customer
relationships to retain loyalty
Goals & Aspirations:
-
Be seen as modern and tech-savvy by offering seamless digital payment options
-
Manage finances more efficiently and save time
-
Ensuring secure and hassle-free payment modes
2. System Redesign
Developed a new color palette designed to:
-
Reduce fatigue
-
Enhance attention span
-
Create variation for
recurring promotions
Designed new collateral templates optimized for:
-
Bold messaging
-
Fast visual scanning
-
Device and resolution constraints
Concept note:
-
Based on our persona analysis,we concluded that merchants prefer communication that is direct, concise, and focused on business relevance. Keeping this insight in mind, we developed a
creative route that is straightforward, showing emotions through real imagery and to the point. Our approach captures the emotions and narratives that resonate with merchants, showcasing how
using our product has effectively helped merchants scale their businesses.
In-App Banner Mocks:
3. Design Execution
-
Shared explorations with cross-functional teams
-
Collected feedback from field teams on real-world usability
-
Refined components and documentation for easy scale
Design Output
-
A refreshed, modular color palette for merchant-facing visuals
-
A library of collateral templates used across promos, feature launches, and education
-
Visual system guidelines for future scalability
Outcome
-
New visual system launched across all merchant in-app collateral
-
Resulted in improved CTR and engagement on merchant campaigns
-
Gained internal adoption across creative and offline pods for future use