SNB Retail App - Marc López

Project information

Goal

Redesign the SNB retail banking app to provide a clear, consistent user experience tailored to the Saudi Arabian market.

Rol

Product Designer and Design System Designer

Duration

Approximately 7 months.

Design team

4 product designers + 1 design system designer

Methodology and work process

The project started from an existing app and some concepts previously created by another agency. At the beginning, user interviews were challenging due to language barriers and the bank’s reluctance to acknowledge the value of research. Therefore, in addition to analyzing the old app, we researched local, regional, and European competitors to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. Gradually, we introduced more structured research practices: we defined user personas and traveled to Saudi Arabia to collaborate directly with stakeholders, understand the cultural context, and enrich the design with real insights. With all this information, we established the design direction and worked in two-week iterations, presenting progress at the middle and end of each sprint to both stakeholders and the development team.

Project challenges

Local financial products

Saudi financial products were very different from European ones, requiring a process of understanding and adaptation.

Through interviews and workshops with local stakeholders and experts, we aligned flows and screens with market needs.

Bilingual design (RTL and LTR)

Most users used the app in Arabic, although it also had to be available in English. The challenge was to design interfaces that worked in both directions (LTR and RTL) without losing consistency or usability.

To achieve this, we developed modular components and used a plugin that connected Figma with Google Sheets: external collaborators could input Arabic text, and it was automatically updated in the designs.

International coordination

The project involved more than 30 developers distributed across several countries.

To ensure consistency, we documented each component and its behavior in detail (from form validations to screen transitions) and prepared interactive prototypes that showed not only static screens but also how the app should respond in each scenario.