Designing Affluent Experiences: A Workshop for Illimity Bank at Domus Academy

In early 2025, I had the pleasure of leading a workshop as Project Leader for the Masters in Interaction & Service Design at Domus Academy. The academic project was developed in collaboration with Illimity, the leading digital bank in Italy founded by Corrado Passera, and challenged students to rethink the relationship between banks and affluent customers.

On the faculty team was also, Stefania Berselli, Service and UX Director at Sketchin, who joined as Project Expert — guiding students and projects along the way leveraging invaluable industry experience.

This was not just a design workshop—it was a 5 weeks long exploration into the evolving nature of value, trust, and experience in a sector rapidly shifting beyond traditional financial services.

Rethinking the Role of Banks

Illimity stands out in the financial landscape as a digital-first bank, born outside the constraints of legacy systems. With a strong commitment to innovation and technology, the bank offers a diverse set of services: from credit for high-potential companies to investment advisory, and lifestyle-driven solutions for its retail clients.

The brief for the workshop was ambitious: “Design an innovative experience that will position Illimity as a relevant player for the affluent target.” This required students to move beyond UX and into the territory of  strategic experience design, blending behavioral insights, service touchpoints, branding and multiple design disciplines.

Out of six team projects developed during the workshop, the following three were selected to represent the breadth and depth of design directions explored by the students.

1. Illimity Inspires

by Sruangrat Harnsiriwattana, Dima Wehbe, Jaysmi Badole

‘Illimity Inspires’ is a new service targeting mass affluent and upper class customers who have dreams. It aims to grant a wish of achieving goals in every stage of life. By opening a savings account, users can unlock privileges that includes special services such as My Consultant, My Milestone, My Journal and My Circle which provide curated experiences such as luxury investments and niche activities. The service promises that each customised dream would be fulfilled stress-free with the heartfelt cares from expertise consultant in an integration with the help of AI technology.

2. Peace of Mind

by Chaya Chantharamethikun, Mahika Jain, Ekim Öztürk

Through features like the Peace of Mind Lounge, Beyond Branches, Virtual Manager, Personal Manager, and Lifestyle benefits, Illimity ensures a seamless and comfortable banking journey. By adding physical touchpoints and utilising the Peace of Mind application, clients can enjoy a mindful and stress-free banking experience. Illimity’s goal is to transform banking from a tedious task to a tranquil and enjoyable experience, instilling a sense of tranquility and trust in their affluent clientele.

3. Passion

by Mary Murphy, Kajal Ramrup, Sukhanya Narayanan

Passion introduces a platform for shared investment in personal interests, where Illimity customers can fund, follow, and co-create niche projects—from art residencies to ethical start-ups. The model reimagines affluent banking as an enabler of community, collaboration, and meaning, positioning Illimity as a cultural catalyst.

Each of these projects was developed through a deep and interdisciplinary design process: from trend research to persona development, experience mapping, prototyping, and storytelling. The workshop reflected the kind of collaboration that defines Domus Academy’s approach—where interaction design meets service innovation, and academic inquiry meets real-world transformation.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had the opportunity to guide such forward-looking educational experiences. In the past, I’ve led workshops for Domus Academy such as:

Reimagining the Brand Experience of Ostello Bello

Envisioning a New Normal, a speculative design sprint exploring new societal paradigms

These workshops are not only educational journeys but also platforms for applied innovation—where students design with purpose and companies receive fresh, strategic insights rooted in user experience and design envisioning.