Creative Designer

Company Description

Yala is building the trade desk for Africancommerce. We Make trade happen across Africa and with the rest of the world. On Yala, manufacturers and distributors can find each other, manage orders, collect payments, finance inventory, verify suppliers and grow their businesses.

We're building the infrastructure that makes trading with Africa as easy as trading anywhere else, not another Fintech.

Role Description

Help define the visual language of African trade.

We're building the Trade Desk for African commerce. We need someone to help define how that story looks. Not just on our website. Everywhere.

You'll help create the visual language for one of Africa's most ambitious trade companies.

That means creating a brand people recognise before they even see the logo.

What we're trying to build

We don't want to look like another fintech. We want our users to feel the simplicity of a fintech but built specifically for traders. Imagine if Bloomberg Terminal, Business Insider documentaries and Stripe had a child focused entirely on global trade.

Our visual world should celebrate:

• manufacturers
• products
• factories
• warehouses
• ports
• documents
• invoices
• supply chains
• cargo
• distributor relationships

Trade should feel exciting. Products should feel like heroes.

How people should feel

When someone encounters Yala they should feel:

• We can trust these people.
• They understand trade.
• They're approachable.
• They're knowledgeable without being intimidating.
• They can solve almost any trade problem we have.
• They're large enough for enterprise manufacturers.
• They're accessible enough for everyday distributors.

Our philosophy

We believe Africa shouldn't be presented as a problem. It should be presented as one of the world's greatest commercial opportunities considering the explosion in population. Everything we create should reinforce that. Manufacturers should leave believing We need to be selling into Africa and Distributors should leave believing Yala can help me grow my business.

Creative principles

Documentary over advertising

We want our work to feel more like journalism than marketing.

References include:

• Bloomberg
• Business Insider
• BBC Africa
• DW
• Vox
• TED-Ed

Products tell stories

Every product has a journey. Every shipment has history. Every warehouse has people behind it.
We want to tell those stories visually.

Editorial over decorative

Illustrations shouldn't simply decorate a page. They should explain. Teach. Reveal.

Build a recognisable world

Our goal isn't a beautiful website. It's a visual identity people instantly recognise and a global manufacturer in Dortmund, Germany or a distributor of wines in Lagos, Nigeria, you can instantly connect with.

What you'll create

Initially:

• Refine our existing brand identity
• Extend our illustration system
• Improve our website visuals
• Design our investor deck
• Design sales collateral
• Create founder social templates
• Create LinkedIn graphics
• Create market report templates
• Design trade story visuals

Over time:

• Animated explainers
• Launch videos
• Motion system
• Brand guidelines
• Design system
• Conference assets
• Merchandise
• Marketing campaigns

The kind of content we'll make

Imagine creating visuals for stories like:

• Why does Nigeria import so much dairy from the Netherlands?

• How did St Louis Sugar expand across Nigeria?

• Why do manufacturers in India struggle to reach African distributors?

• Why it costs more to ship between two African countries than from China.

We want to become the best storytellers in African trade.

Style references

We like the warmth and accessibility of Noah. The editorial storytelling of Business Insider.
The documentary feel of BBC Africa and DW. The educational storytelling of TED-Ed and Vox.

We want something that feels modern, approachable and unmistakably Yala.

We'd love if you can

• Illustrate
• Design brands
• Build design systems
• Think strategically
• Tell stories visually

Bonus if you can:

• Animate
• Create motion graphics
• Work in After Effects or Rive
• Storyboard videos
• Edit simple videos

Who we're looking for

Someone curious. Someone who loves learning. Someone excited by manufacturing, trade and history. Someone who wants to build a body of work they're proud of. We don't expect you to know everything about African trade. We expect you to be excited to learn it.

What You'll Design

• Brand identity and design system
• Marketing website visuals
• Editorial illustrations
• Sales and investor decks
• Social media graphics and founder post visuals
• Market reports and case studies
• Brand launch campaign assets

Bonus (not required):

• Motion graphics and animated explainers

Success

In a year's time we'd love people to say:

> "That looks like Yala."

Before they even see our logo.

We want to become the most recognisable visual brand in African commerce.