On this page

The creative process behind our African Spirit-themed illustration style: We feel that this represents how we have our feet on the ground here - and it's a colourful, wild, warm, and vibrant world!

Before the design decisions were made for the new style of Yellow Card, we held a workshop to ideate on all elements - from our logo to the colour palette to our illustration style. We discussed the many different possibilities open to us and what is most important to our customers. Our design team unanimously voted to have a realistic illustration style with human characters set in real-world Africa. We feel that this represents how we have our feet on the ground here - and it’s a colourful, wild, warm and vibrant world!

Always on the lookout for thrills, Jazzy is just as likely to be found on the top of a skyscraper as he is on a dance floor. With his wide smile, he’s best known for his unique ability to put you at ease, even if you’ve only just met.

Creating a distinctive illustration style gives us the opportunity to surprise and delight customers within everyday interactions. Many of the illustrations are created as visual references and guides for an intuitive experience, but sometimes we sneak one in just to make you laugh :) By focusing on the humanness of our customers, our brand and team, we’ve chosen to create a variety of characters that express a few of the many facets of our lively community. Each character has a different mood and outlook, but together they are a band of friends, open to new ideas and encouraging each other’s success.

Ada is always laughing. Her open and curious nature means she makes friends easily, and she loves sharing new adventures.

From adventurous crypto explorers to driven business men and women, the overarching spirit of the characters is inspired by the personality of the Yellow Card team itself. After even a few interactions with the team, it’s easy to get a sense of how bright, diverse, fast-paced and fun this community is.

Rehane was born to lead. With her razor sharp mind, she’s determined to navigate her way to the top, and she’s passionate about being an example for others to do the same.

Although we will be introducing new characters regularly, we will be featuring the same characters in different illustrations to convey the sense of inclusivity, support and belonging that Yellow Card is all about.

Lupita loves to be in the know about what’s hot - whether it’s the latest style or opportune time to sell. She has a daring nature and a taste for bold moves.

Echoing our sun-infused African setting, our illustration palette emcompasses the three new brand colours - teal, purple and yellow, with a few bold accent colours added for focus and energy. We’ve really enjoyed experimenting with how these colours interact, and we’re continually impressed by the flexibility and versatility of the palette across all design disciplines.

As a high-stakes trader, Oduro lives fast, considering all aspects at once. His decisions are as clean-cut as his suit, and he’s always ready for that important meetup.

Africa has a rich legacy of patterns that we are keen to represent in our brand aesthetic. Researching how different cultures have loved and used patterns for generations has been really intriguing. Variations of patterns flow through different countries and link us all together. Using our new logomark, we’ve created a selection of brand patterns that add texture and depth to our product and marketing designs. In our illustrations, the characters' clothing features more intricate patterns that play with the logomark in rhythmic repeats, inspired by the beautiful prints found on textiles like Shweshwe and Ankara.

As his warm smile will tell you, Azuka tends to go with the flow of life. He can always spare a moment to show you the way, and as luck tends to be on his side, it’s worth listening to his advice.

As our design team is based in different African countries, working together to create the fresh brand aesthetic, characters and setting has been a great adventure, and a wonderful experience of sharing stories and broadening perspectives. As new creative hands and minds join our design team, we’re excited to keep exploring!

Melany Jane Hodgson

Digital Illustrator

Introducing: Our Distinctively Human Illustration Style