Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San Marino will soon offer a debit card, commonly known as an ATM, with a new look. The design was created by a San Marino University student, who was selected through a competition involving staff and students in the Design degree program.
The new card, available to the bank's customers starting next year, was designed to meet three priorities: to be "immediately recognizable as a product" of Cassa di Risparmio, to maintain "a strong connection with its historical heritage," and to use "a contemporary and refined visual language."
This was the claim of the contest winner, Cristina Anzalone, born in Riccione in 2004 and now in her third year of design studies at the University of the Republic of San Marino. After completing a series of preliminary stages, including an analysis of existing proposals from major international banks, she proposed a graphic solution in which the profile of the First Tower is combined with four additional levels, one superimposed on the other, featuring the walls and other elements that characterize the historic center of San Marino, in increasingly intense colors.
White, light blue, and navy blue thus create a "color palette with fresh tones," Anzalone explains, which contributes to the overall "visual and conceptual climax." The card's image, he continues, is constructed through layering: multiple levels that intertwine and make sense only through their union, a metaphor for the relationship between territory, community, and customer, the bank's three cornerstones of values.
The competition unfolded in two main phases: the first involved the Design program staff, who, based on their portfolios and grades in specific subjects, asked a selection of students to develop proposals. The proposals were evaluated by a jury composed of Andrea Berardi, head of commercial planning at Cassa di Risparmio; Nicola Guerra, head of sales at the bank; Massimo Brignoni, director of the Master's Degree in Interaction & Experience Design at the University of San Marino; and Sara Massi, communications officer for the Design programs.
The selected project, created by Anzalone, was presented today along with those by Giulia Bracciale and Luca Daidone at the university campus in the Ancient Monastery of Santa Chiara, just steps from the main offices of the Cassa di Risparmio. The ceremony was attended by the jury members and Laura Gobbi, Director General of the University of San Marino.
"Days like this," Gobbi explains, "instill energy, satisfaction, and optimism in us. The projects submitted by the students are beautiful, effective, and innovative. The collaboration with Cassa di Risparmio, which is truly stimulating, has involved students and staff of the Design degree program, resulting in results that make us proud."
For the University of San Marino, this is further confirmation of its commitment to the country's main institutional, cultural, and economic institutions, following its recent contribution to initiatives such as the Osaka Expo.
Cassa di Risparmio, founded in 1882 and a key player in the country's multi-faceted development, through this initiative demonstrates its commitment to young people and their ideas. It offers the University of San Marino's talented young people an opportunity to express themselves and see one of their projects realized. The high quality of all the proposals submitted confirms the bank's decision to entrust the University with such a significant project.