Alfa Bank voice assistant identity and sound design

Voice assistants have evolved from a gimmick to an everyday tool. Alfa-Bank is developing a voice assistant named Alf for its app. It is designed to make it as easy as possible to use banking services and to maintain a natural conversation with a pleasant voice. Alf’s visual and sound design was completed in the studio.

Meet Alf.

Identity

The bank’s clients are serious people, so there’s no need to present the assistant as a cat or a talking coin. Alf is a bodyless electronic being and anyone can have their own idea of what it looks like. What’s important is that Alf is always ready to communicate, it’s lively, warm and discreet. That’s why the design was based on the metaphor of the sun aura. Its movements not only migrate between the two-dimensional space and the three-dimensional one, they also exhibit electronic expressions developed in the studio that show how well Alf understood you and what it is thinking about.

Alf’s style is effective but simple. It doesn’t conflict with the app design and doesn’t distract from using its functions.

Sound

The sound design is based on the note A. The soft sounds built on synthetic tones with fast attack draw attention but do not become tiresome when heard often. These frequencies also sound great coming from smartphone speakers.

The short signals combine perfectly with the linear glow structure, while the tonal reverb tail emphasizes the metaphor of the shining sun that is at the core of the identity.