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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)

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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 offers and 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 and 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

  • 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


       Discovered that:

  • Merchants often engage with quick, bold visual cues

  • Too much repetition = automatic skip behavior

  • Certain color groups created subconscious trust or urgency

Competitors:

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Competitors Creatives:

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  • 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

User Persona:

  • Many use smartphones but are hesitant with advanced technology

  • Focus Increasing business and customer satisfaction

  • Maintaining good customer relationships to retain loyalty

Traits:

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

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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

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.

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In-App Banner Mocks:

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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

Reflection

“This project challenged me to think beyond B2C design. I learned how merchant psychology — rooted in speed, trust, and utility — affects every visual decision. Designing for this space was like learning a new design dialect, and it deepened my systems and behavior-driven approach.”

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