Brand guide · Version 1
Brand guide · Version 1
01 · Who we are
TumaPlug connects people who need something done with verified local people who can do it: shop at the market, stand in a queue, deliver a parcel, find something rare. The customer stays in control of every shilling.
Whatever needs doing, there’s a Plug for that.
Tagline: Need something done? Get plugged in.
Trust is built into how it works, not printed on a poster. Prices come from the counter. Nothing is bought without the customer’s yes. The customer pays the vendor directly, and every step leaves a record.
We do what we say, and we say what we do. Never promise what the platform does not enforce.
We know Gikomba, matatu stages and M-Pesa. We sound like Nairobi, not a bank.
Short sentences, plain words, real numbers. No jargon, no hype.
We are on the customer’s side and the Plug’s side. We never blame, and we always say what happens next.
02 · The name
Tuma is Swahili for “send”. A Plug is the person who can get you anything. Together: send someone who can get it done.
TumaPlug
One word. Capital T, capital P. Always the same, in every sentence, headline and file name people will see.
03 · Logo
The symbol is a T and a P, with a plug living inside the P. The logo is white and gold, and is made to sit on a dark ground.
Symbol above the wordmark. Splash screens, footers, share images, merchandise.
Website and app headers, email signatures, anywhere wide and slim.
App icon, favicon, social avatars, stickers, rider jackets.
Leave empty space around the logo at least as wide as the gold plug inside the P. Nothing (text, edges, other logos) comes inside it.
Wordmark: 96 px wide on screen, 25 mm in print. Symbol: 24 px on screen, 8 mm in print. Below that, the plug detail is lost.
Yes Brand black
Yes Charcoal
Yes Dark, calm photo
No Sand or white: “Tuma” disappears
brand/.04 · Colour
Gold is the jewellery, not the wallpaper. It marks the one thing to do on a screen, a highlighted word, an active state. Large areas of gold are a mistake.
Rough share of any page, poster or screen.
These are for the product only, never for decoration or marketing.
Used for small badges and the active tab, so people always know which hat they are wearing. Never for the main button, which is always gold.
05 · Typography
One typeface for everything, from the app to posters. Open, friendly and very readable on a phone in bright sunlight. Free from Google Fonts.
Back-up when it cannot be loaded: the phone’s own system font. Never a script or decorative font.
KES 1,250: “KES”, a space, commas for thousands, no “.00” unless cents matter. Never “Ksh”, “Kshs” or “/=”.
Sentence case for everything: “Request an errand”, not “Request An Errand”. Capitals only for KES, M-Pesa, ID and codes like TP-261015-0007.
06 · Voice
Like a reliable friend who knows the city: calm, clear and straight about money. Write for someone reading a phone in a busy market, with one hand.
“We don’t have any available Plugs near Githurai Market at the moment. Try again, or cancel this errand.”
“No assistants matched your request. Error: dispatch exhausted.”
“Josephine took it at the KES 300 you offered for the running, and is getting started.”
“Your order has been successfully assigned to a service provider!”
“Prices come from the counter. Nothing above what you agreed is bought without your say-so.”
“Best prices guaranteed! 100% safe and secure!!”
“TumaPlug support cancelled this errand.”
“Errand status changed to CANCELLED by SUPER_ADMIN.”
Swahili and Sheng are welcome in marketing (“Tuma Plug, ipate leo”) but keep app messages in plain English until the app offers a language choice, so every message reads the same for everyone.
07 · Our words
These words are fixed. Using the same word for the same thing everywhere (app, website, WhatsApp, posters) is a big part of being trusted.
| We say | It means | We never say |
|---|---|---|
| errand | The job a customer asks for | order, request, task, gig, job (to customers) |
| Plug | The verified person who runs the errand | assistant, agent, worker, runner |
| Rider | The person who carries a delivery | driver, boda guy, courier |
| vendor · stall | The shop or trader the goods come from | merchant, supplier (to customers) |
| customer | The person who asks for the errand | client, user |
| activation fee | The one-time fee a Plug pays to start taking paid work | bond, deposit, registration fee |
| M-Pesa | Safaricom’s mobile money | Mpesa, MPESA, mpesa |
| Moment | Label |
|---|---|
| Start button | Request an errand |
| Creating one | New errand (the kind goes underneath, like “Shop for me”) |
| The list | My errands |
| One errand | Errand details |
| Searching | Finding your Plug |
| Taken | Your Plug has accepted your errand |
| Nobody near | No Plugs available |
| Stopping it | Cancel errand |
| Done | Errand completed |
Use these names wherever the services are listed. A seventh needs the owner’s approval.
08 · Icons
One set, drawn on a 24-point grid with a 1.75 rounded line. Icons take the colour of the text next to them. Emoji are never used in the product.
09 · Buttons and shapes
A rounded gold button with black text is the most repeated thing in the brand. There is only one on any screen or poster: the thing we want people to do.
On light: gold for the main action, black for the second, outline for the rest.
On dark: gold, plus a light outline button.
Buttons are fully round. Cards 14–18 px, sheets 22 px. Nothing sharp-cornered.
The app is used outdoors in sunlight, so screens are light. Black is for headers, footers and the sign-in screen.
Buttons are at least 48–50 px tall. People use TumaPlug while walking.
10 · Photography
Kenyan markets, stages, offices and streets, in natural light. People in the middle of doing something, not posing for a camera.
11 · In use
Three common pieces, done the TumaPlug way.
Social post. Black ground, one line, gold on the key words, one button.
My errands
App screen. Light, calm, one gold action.
App icon and avatar. The symbol on brand black, always.
12 · To decide
Five things found while putting this together. Each needs a decision from you.