The Financial Academy (FA), formerly known as Institute of Bank (IOB) and Institute of Finance (IOF), is committed to developing the workforce in the Saudi financial sector in line with Vision 2030, the aspirations and objectives of the Financial Sector Development Program, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s strategy for banking and insurance, financing of companies and the CMA’s strategy for capital markets. The Financial Academy offers a variety of learning and development solutions that provide professionals, both beginners and experienced, with the relevant knowledge and skills in the banking and financial sector to improve performance and enhance capabilities.Read more
EBOX® had the honour to serve one of our most faithful clients, FA, who was a constant since 2005. EBOX® took pride in being a go-to agency for all their digital needs. The respect of their appreciative staff towards EBOX® has always made us feel like a part of their team.
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A Requirement Specification Document was written to gather requirements of the client for the website and shared with the client for approval. The website was to include several database-driven sections – Courses Catalogue to allow online registration, Careers, Online News, Frequently Asked Questions and Calendar; Conference Information with a link to the main IOB site, a Contact Us form, a Feedback Form and an Internal Search Engine. A project plan was created to determine the phases to be accomplished during the course of the project.
First, the homepage was designed, presented to the client and modified based on the client’s feedback. Once approved, the rest of the pages were designed based on the design of the homepage. The designs of pages were modified if needed and presented to the client for final approval before moving on to the Development phase.
The website was developed with ASP.NET back-end CMS to allow the administrator to make required updates to the site when needed.
EBOX® was pleased to announce the successful launch of the site. As a result, we were granted the maintenance of the site for a year.
A documentation for Online Registration System was written to enable clients to register for courses through the IOB website. The clients could register into the system for themselves or for their employees.
The requirements for the theme creation were captured through two questionnaires – a Media/Ad Profiler questionnaire for determining the requirements for the creative brief and a Client Questionnaire for Brochure to determine the requirements of the brochure. The client was requested for the logo, sample items to be designed and photographs of the items. Read more
The design concept was to reflect the conference objective, the country, IOB and SAMA as hosts and organizers of the event, its sponsors and participating countries. Dark green and golden colors were used for the concept.
The design concept was to reflect the conference objective, the country, IOB and SAMA as hosts and organizers of the event, its sponsors and participating countries. Dark green and golden colors were used for the concept.
Once the concept was approved, we moved on to design stationary for IOB – letterhead, envelopes of two sizes and business cards.
Following the same design concept, two brochures were designed. These contained an overview of the conference itself, the agenda of the conference and a brief about the organizers.
Following the same design concept, two brochures were designed. These contained an overview of the conference itself, the agenda of the conference and a brief about the organizers.
Posters were designed to show left and right direction on the road and direction to the parking; others were designed to be placed in outside area, on the registration table, behind registration and behind the speakers. Posters were also designed for Business Center and for media.
Several other items were also designed – a Registration Form, a runner for Registration table, a newspaper ad, a table sticker, a CD cover, a CMA stand, a speaker board, badges, a writing pad (with cover), a calendar and invitation cards.
Once the designs were finalised, it was time to print and install the items for the conference. Every care had to be taken to ensure the accuracy of the design and content of the materials before they were printed.
It was crucial that the materials were delivered on time as this conference was an international event which was to be attended by representatives of the seven GCC countries – Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
The title screen and a sub-screen of an interactive multimedia presentation were designed. Upon approval, the implementation of the presentation followed. The presentation was delivered on a CD.
The homepage and a sub-page of the website were designed based on the design specifications as determined from the RSD and shared with the client for feedback. Once approved, webpages were developed in HTML, with sub-pages following the same layout.
Once again, our committed team did their utmost to deliver the website before the conference, just in time for registration for the conference.
The homepage and a sub-page of the website were designed based on the design specifications as determined from the RSD and shared with the client for feedback. Once approved, webpages were developed in HTML, with sub-pages following the same layout.
Once again, our committed team did their utmost to deliver the website before the conference, just in time for registration for the conference.
The outcome was successful where web development met design and theme creation. Creating design concepts for the themes and brochures to well-suit the occasion and the purpose, and at the same time taking the corporate identity of the client into consideration, was a real challenge but our dedicated team acted to deliver all projects in time for the grand events!
The catalogue needed to be designed in both English and Arabic languages, with a folder to hold the ten-part catalogue. Requirements, including the design specifications, of the training catalogue and folder were provided.
The client was asked to enter the content for the catalogue into a separate file and provide it to EBOX®.
The design of the previous version of the catalogue was taken into consideration to re-design the catalogue. Different sections of the catalogue were to be made distinguishable by a certain aspect, such as colour or page size.
Several concepts were designed for the page layout, with different colour schemes for different sections. First, the English pages were designed, to determine the design concept, and shared with the client for feedback. The layout was modified until approved by the client. Then the design for Arabic pages followed.
At this point, a new suggestion came up, which was to design the catalog as ten separate booklets for the ten sections. Content for each booklet was provided.
The design was implemented in ten booklets in English and ten in Arabic, based on course names, topics to be included and a number of pages provided by the client. Each booklet was given a different color scheme.
Design concepts were created for the covers for the English and Arabic catalogue. The colors and images were carefully selected based on the logo and the business background of the client.
What started with a search for a catalogue cover later turned into a search for a container design, an innovative approach to hold the catalogue rather than a traditional folder. However, our designers were undeterred by this change in requirements and strived to design the container for holding the booklets.
What started with a search for a catalogue cover later turned into a search for a container design, an innovative approach to hold the catalogue rather than a traditional folder. However, our designers were undeterred by this change in requirements and strived to design the container for holding the booklets.
Once all designs were finalized, we moved on to the final phase of the project, i.e. Printing. All ten parts of the catalogue, in English and Arabic languages, were printed. The design for the container was also printed and implemented.
With the catalogues already designed the previous year, a project plan was made to update the content alone. The existing content was edited and booklet designs updated with the new content. When needed, the colour scheme of booklets was changed to a different colour. The designs with updated content were reviewed by the client for any further changes. The updated booklets were printed after approval from the client. Another catalogue was printed for Women Courses.Read more
The previously designed “Women Courses” catalogue, both English and Arabic, was re-designed with a more feminine colour scheme keeping the layout same as the previously printed catalogues. Based on the feedback from client, the course material was restructured before printing.
A secondary website linked to the main IOB site was needed.
Data was analyzed and structured whereby several designs of the homepage were created, for the client to choose from. This homepage would lead to a landing page which provided an overview of the Almasrfi Program. Read more
An A4 size book cover was designed for Part One and Part Two of “General Securities Qualification Examination Preparation Material” in both English and Arabic languages.
Based on CMA’s logo and colour scheme, the covers and inside pages of two brochures, “Certification Agreement and Registration Form” and “Candidate Information Bulletin” were designed and options shared with the client for approval.
Requirements to design the theme for the Seminar were gathered. Stationary – a letterhead and an invitation card were to be designed, along with a poster and a brochure. All items were to be printed.
In order to design the theme, a design concept was needed based on the business backgrounds of two organizations – Institute of Finance and International Finance Corporation, as well as the image of the conference itself. Three different design concepts were created and the design concept with ovals was selected to represent the “Roundtable” in the “High-Level Round Table Discussion for Bank Directors and CEOs”. Two colour schemes were given to the selected concept – one grayscale and the other with shades of blue and green, taken from the logos of both organizations.
A letterhead and an invitation card were designed.
A brochure was designed that contained the agenda of the program.
Once approved, all stationary designs and marketing collateral were printed.
The links of the two current websites of IOB were shared with EBOX®. The design requirements of the new site of IOB were gathered – the site structure as well as the main menu and homepage links. A brief description was given about “News” and “Conferences and Seminars” sections of the homepage.Read more
Two different layouts of the homepage were designed for the client to choose from and a description of the features of each design was written.
After a layout for the homepage was selected, two different colour schemes were proposed. An inner page was designed based on the layout selected for the homepage and the selected colour scheme. The pages were modified until approved by the client.
The website was developed with ASP and jQuery for the database. Ajax techniques were used to increase interactivity and speed.
EBOX® was pleased to announce the successful launch of the site at the start of 2011. An SQL Server was used for the database, hosted at IOB.
Documentation was written for the setup, system and web.
By now, the company had aquired a new name for itself: Institute of Finance (IOF).
For an E-commerce solution to be added, a series of meetings were held. Requirements for the E-commerce website were generated based on the current database of training courses. Documentation explaining the registration process for the RBPFC exams was provided. Read more
As this project only consisted of the addition of E-commerce to an existing website, the focus was on the back-end. E-cart icons and screens were designed for both individual and corporate users. Three designs each were created for the E-cart and the Transaction History screens as options for the client to choose from; one was created for Payment Gateway and one for CME Exams’ Results. A workflow for Payment Structure was designed in detail with use-case diagrams for the payment gateway, the admin, individual and corporate users.
Several steps were taken to change the current website into an E-commerce website. The E-cart functionality for the front/back-end was added, along with database integration. SADAD and Telr payment gateways were integrated. The underlying technology and database were upgraded to the latest .NET framework and SQL server respectively.
Read moreA detailed testing was carried out for the design of Payment Pages – the Cart Icon, colour of buttons and consistency; implementation, integration of Telr gateway (Payment Button, Telr screen/link, Payment with Visa/Master and Sadad)and Transaction History for both private and corporate users and authorization.
Once again, EBOX® was much delighted to announce the upgraded website, hosted on the EBOX® sever.
Detailed documentation was written which explained the Profile Distribution and provided all the code for the Payment Process, Cart Control & Telr Payment Gateway.
A number of trainers and training coordinators were provided in this time period for a variety of courses for finance, marketing, business, insurance and Information Technology. These included Financial Accounting, Economics and Human Resources, Marketing Principles, Information Technology, Marketing and Insurance Products, Shariah-Compliant Financial Services, Management Techniques, Cars Insurance, Medical Insurance, Professional Customer Service, Financial Applications with Excel and General English.
We’re so happy to be working on another brand new project with The Financial Academy; Designing and producing the Competencies Manual for the Financial Academy!
The framework aims to define the main group of job families for the banking sector, which includes a detailed explanation of job roles and professional tracks, horizontally and vertically. And includes minimal technical and behavioral competencies, skills and knowledge abilities required at various levels of workmanship. We created about 1500 different design of page in both English and Arabic.
It is our honour to take part in the realization of The Financial Academy’s mission: to build and maintain an agile Academy operating model, responsive to sector needs and emerging trends, while fulfilling its various roles through an efficient and financially sustainable delivery model, and leveraging international alliances with top financial learning and development partners.
It was a pleasurable journey. We were honored to work for our valuable client on such extraordinary projects assigned to us. We served FA for two decades and await more projects with them in the time to come. Keep an eye on this page, the best is yet to come ! 🙂
The Financial Academy (FA) experience with EBOX®, was one of the successful stories. EBOX® has been involved in several projects with the FA, especially in web development. EBOX® was always on time and up to our expectations and always available for further support.
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