KUDOS Illustration System

This is an illustration system designed for a financial budgeting app

KUDOS Illustration System hero — Jamal and Jamila celebrating in a pink wedding car on a purple road, confetti filling the air

Overview

Role

Illustration Designer

Timeline

Mar 2026

Deliverables

Illustration Design, Visual Design

Summary

KUDOS is a smart budgeting app built specifically for freelancers and gig workers. Unlike traditional banking apps that were designed for people with steady monthly salaries. Kudos was built for people whose income comes in unpredictably (sometimes a lot, sometimes very little).

Kudos is the future of finance, it is an emotional experience that deals with decentralized access,breaking barriers and giving invisible economies a digital footprint.

Goals

KUDOS goals signpost — Make Financial Anxiety feel seen, Show that Change is Possible, Replace Financial Shame with Pride, Inspire Freelancers to take Control

Characters

KUDOS characters — Meet Jamal (Black man in green hoodie), Meet Jamila (woman with red hair in yellow top and purple pants), And Jero the cat (orange tabby)
Meet Jamal — Black man in green hoodie with arms crossed

Meet Jamal

Meet Jamila — woman with red hair in yellow top and purple pants

Meet Jamila

Jero the cat — orange tabby cat sitting

And Jero the cat

Illustration System

Scene One: The Financial Weight — Jamal sits on his couch holding his phone showing a harsh red banking screen. Overdue bills, subscription charges and rent notices surround him. His body language tells the whole story. He is completely paralyzed by financial anxiety.

Jamal sits on his couch holding his phone showing a harsh red banking screen. Overdue bills, subscription charges and rent notices surround him. His body language tells the whole story. He is completely paralyzed by financial anxiety.

Scene Two: Behavioural Analysis — KUDOS maps Jamal's patterns without judgment. For the first time something intelligent is paying attention. The closed vault on screen is quietly building his buffer.

KUDOS maps Jamal's patterns without judgment. For the first time something intelligent is paying attention. The closed vault on screen is quietly building his buffer.

Scene Three: The Quiet Intervention — KUDOS steps in. Everything has changed. The vault is now open. KUDOS has stepped in silently — rent is covered, subscriptions are paused and a calm green notification has arrived. Jamal is no longer stressed. He can breathe again.

KUDOS steps in. Everything has changed. The vault is now open. KUDOS has stepped in silently — rent is covered, subscriptions are paused and a calm green notification has arrived. Jamal is no longer stressed. He can breathe again.

Scene Four: The Shift in Action — Jamal is back at his desk. The burden is gone. KUDOS is his silent protective partner.

Jamal is back at his desk. The burden is gone. KUDOS is his silent protective partner.

Scene Five: Growth Realization — Months later. A house under construction. Micro-investments made real. This is what micro savings quietly grew into over time.

Months later. A house under construction. Micro-investments made real. This is what micro savings quietly grew into over time.

Scene Six: Long-term Stability — Jamal and Jamila having a picnic in their garden. The finished home behind them. This is the life KUDOS helps to build.

Jamal and Jamila having a picnic in their garden. The finished home behind them. This is the life KUDOS helps to build.

Spot Illustrations

KUDOS spot illustrations — a 3×4 grid of objects from Jamal's world: hand holding phone, framed artwork, pencil cup, desk lamp, flower vase, computer monitor, table lamp, sleeping cat, vault safe, picnic basket, bulldozer, and a drink cup

Mobile UI

KUDOS mobile UI light mode — two phone screens showing the onboarding illustrations: 'We know lean week hits hard' and 'Your rent is covered. Breathe easy' with blue CTA buttons
KUDOS mobile UI dark mode — same two screens with dark black backgrounds and the same illustrations showing warm emotional contrast
KUDOS social media billboard — 'Download Kudos app today to manage your budget' street billboard featuring Jamal relaxed in an armchair

Style Guide

Logo Design

KUDOS logo design — a handshake illustration paired with the KUDOS wordmark in bold bubbly purple lettering. Brand message: We see you, we respect you and we are in this together.
KUDOS color palette — twelve swatches arranged in three rows: neutrals (grey, maroon, black, forest green), brand colors (purple, coral, yellow, orange), and skin/accent tones (peach, brown, soft pink, lavender)

Reflections

This project challenged me to communicate emotions through illustrations not through words alone. Keeping Jamal's environments consistent across the scenes was one of the most deliberate decisions I made. The same living room in Scene 1 and Scene 4 creates a powerful visual contrast — same space, completely different emotional atmosphere. Color played a huge role in this too.

What I am most proud of is the emotional distance between Scene 1 and Scene 6. When you see where Jamal started and where he ended up. That feeling was the entire goal of this illustration system.

KUDOS is not just a budgeting app. It is proof that the right support can give someone their life back. This project was my attempt to show what that looks like. 💜