Overview
IDFC Bank is an Indian private sector bank with a strong focus on retail banking and digital-first financial services. With offerings spanning banking and insurance, the brand serves users with varying levels of financial literacy, which makes clarity and accessibility a key part of its digital experience.
The work was aimed at users encountering insurance products for the first time, many of whom were unfamiliar with policy language or terminology. The challenge was to guide users through complex insurance onboarding without overwhelming them, while still working within the constraints of an established banking brand.
I led the visual direction and development of an illustration-led onboarding system in collaboration with an agency team. I helped shape the core idea and built a scalable framework that could support both mobile and web experiences. The system was designed for long-term reuse and laid the foundation for future IDFC onboarding processes across new products and scenarios.
Turning Onboarding Into a Journey
The onboarding experience was framed around a Game of Life inspired board game. Progression and narrative were used to break down complex insurance concepts into smaller, more understandable moments.
Instead of presenting information as static explanations, the system guided users through decisions and milestones over time. This made onboarding feel less like a form to complete and more like a journey through familiar life events.
The work was developed in close collaboration with agency partners and client stakeholders, balancing concept, timelines, and brand requirements throughout the process.
Bringing Bugs to Life
At the center of the system was Bugs, a recurring character originally introduced as a live-action figure in IDFC’s television advertising. The illustrated version translated that existing brand character into a flexible visual system suitable for digital onboarding.
Bugs was supported by a family unit that could adapt and age across different stages of life. This allowed the same characters to remain relevant as users moved through different insurance needs.
The character system was designed to feel approachable and trustworthy, while remaining consistent enough to scale across scenarios without losing visual coherence.
Life Happens — Designing for Real Scenarios
The onboarding journey was built around common life events that typically trigger insurance needs, such as buying a car, renovating a home, or planning for family milestones.
Each scenario was illustrated to feel familiar and relatable. This helped users understand how insurance fits naturally into different phases of life. By focusing on universal situations, the system remained flexible enough to support both existing and future products without requiring a redesign of the visual language.
From Illustration to Interface
The illustration system was adapted across both mobile and web onboarding flows. Visual consistency was maintained while accounting for different screen sizes and interaction patterns.
Illustrations were designed to integrate smoothly with UI elements, support step-by-step progression, and remain legible at smaller scales. This allowed the system to function as part of the product rather than overpower it.
Designed to Grow
Although initially developed as a one-off project in 2022 and 2023, the onboarding system was revisited and expanded in 2024 to support new insurance products and scenarios.
Updates focused on refining tone, improving clarity, and extending the system to accommodate additional use cases. This reinforced the importance of building illustrations and characters that could evolve over time without losing consistency.
New Bike Loan
New Car Loan
New Home Loan
1st Childs Birth
2nd Childs Birth
Kids Birthday
Daughters Graduation
Family Function
Family Trip
Family Trip
Medical Emergency
Customer Disabled
Starting Investment
Loan Repayment
