Since their launch in 2005, Gumtree has helped millions of people buy that dream ‘bakkie’ (pick-up truck) or sell your unused three leg potjie. We were approached by the creative team at Gumtree to help create a bespoke visual language for the redesign of their popular app.

We wanted to create an illustration style that was uniquely South African - an art style that spoke to the diverse audience of the app and the country as a whole. The illustration style also had to be tailored to the brand identity of Gumtree. It needed to compliment the app’s new design language as well as Gumtree’s core brand tenets.

Iconography Library

Along with the illustration library, an icon language also had to be developed. These small illustrations had to encapsulate big concepts in a small amount of space while still feeling cohesive with the larger illustration library.

Illustration Collection

The final illustrations focused on people-centric scenarios with culturally specific character design to add a feeling of relatability and trust. While some projects steer away from showcasing cultural differences, we wanted to focus on the diversity and inclusivity of South Africans, and also celebrate them.

Scenes were framed with some well known South African landmarks and a few cultural easter eggs, just to add-in some extra kwiza for the curious user.

Let us know what you think.

Full project on Behānce