KoraBrand guidelinesv1.5
Everyday banking that explains itself
- Version
- 1.5 · May 2026
- Discipline
- Banking applications
- Sector
- Retail banking
- Prepared by
- Berke Tok
Foundations
A retail banking app for the UAE: balance, spending and card controls in plain language, with every regulated step designed rather than bolted on.
1.1Purpose
A K drawn with a compass: one stem and two quarter circles that meet at its midpoint. Friendly enough for a first account, solid enough for a bank.
1.2Audience
Who it is for
People opening their first account in the UAE, and the ones who have had three and want one that explains itself.
Positioning
For people who want to know where their money went. Unlike banks that send statements, Kora explains each payment as it happens.
1.3Principles
- P1
A home screen that answers
Balance, this week's movement and recent activity sit above the fold. Everything else is one tap away.
- P2
Spending in categories
Monthly insights compare against the customer's own average rather than a generic budget.
- P3
Card controls up front
Freeze, limits and online payments are switches on the card itself, not settings three menus deep.
Voice
How Kora sounds in product, support and marketing. One voice; the tone moves with the moment, not the channel.
2.1Traits
Friendly
We use first names and plain verbs. Never “dear customer”.
Transparent
Fees are shown before the button, not after the payment.
Steady
Bad news is delivered with the next step in the same sentence.
2.2Say this, not that
- Say
Dining is 18% lower than September.
NotGreat job managing your finances!
- Say
This transfer costs AED 5. It arrives today.
NotFees may apply.
- Say
Card frozen. Unfreeze any time from Card.
NotYour card has been blocked for security reasons.
2.3House style
- 01AED 24,380.50 with decimals in a lighter weight
- 02Negative amounts with a true minus sign
- 03Merchant names as they appear on the till
Logo
One mark, one wordmark, one horizontal lockup. The mark is drawn on a 48-unit grid and is never redrawn, only scaled.
3.1Lockups
3.2Construction
Construction circles and the 4-unit grid the mark is drawn on.
- Grid
- 48 units, 4-unit subdivisions
- Construction
- 2 circles, radii 18 / 18
- Lockup
- Mark 132 : word 258 units wide
- Gap
- 48 units between mark and word
3.3Clear space and size
Shown at true size. Below these the mark fills in and the word loses its counters.
3.4Misuse
Do not stretch or squash
Do not rotate
Do not recolour
Do not outline
Do not add effects
Do not set on low contrast
Colour
Four colours with fixed roles. Values are the source of truth for screen; print is proofed against the CMYK starting points below.
4.1Palette
- PrimaryKora Red
- HEX
- #E5484D
- RGB
- 229 72 77
- HSL
- 358 75% 59%
- OKLCH
- 62.6% 0.193 23
- CMYK
- 0 69 66 10
- On it
- Paper
- GroundAubergine
- HEX
- #24122E
- RGB
- 36 18 46
- HSL
- 279 44% 13%
- OKLCH
- 22.2% 0.057 312
- CMYK
- 22 61 0 82
- On it
- Paper
- TintBlush
- HEX
- #FBE1E4
- RGB
- 251 225 228
- HSL
- 353 76% 93%
- OKLCH
- 93.2% 0.029 10
- CMYK
- 0 10 9 2
- On it
- Aubergine
- PaperPaper
- HEX
- #FFF8F8
- RGB
- 255 248 248
- HSL
- 0 100% 99%
- OKLCH
- 98.5% 0.007 17
- CMYK
- 0 3 3 0
- On it
- Aubergine
4.2Proportion
Share of a typical surface. Primary is an accent even where it leads.
4.3Tonal scale
Derived from Kora Red in linear light, for charts, states and illustration. Never for the mark.
- 50FCF0F0
- 100F9E5E5
- 200F4CCCD
- 300EFAEAF
- 400EA888A
- 500E5484D
- 600D24146
- 700BC3A3E
- 800A33034
- 900822528
4.4Contrast
WCAG 2.2 ratios. AA needs 4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for large text and icons.
- Aa16.68:1AAA
- Aa14.15:1AAA
- Aa4.47:1AA Large
- Aa1.18:1Fail
- Aa3.73:1AA Large
- Aa16.68:1AAA
- Aa3.73:1AA Large
- Aa3.17:1AA Large
- Aa4.47:1AA Large
Typography
Plus Jakarta Sans for everything, from display to captions. One family keeps the product and the marketing in the same voice.
5.1Typeface
Plus Jakarta Sans
Bold 680 · Regular 400
5.2Scale
Base 16 px, ratio 1.25. Line height tightens as size grows.
- Display49 / 1.08 / -3%Everyday banking that explains itself
- Heading 139 / 1.2 / -1.5%Everyday banking that explains itself
- Heading 231 / 1.2 / -1.5%Everyday banking that explains itself
- Heading 325 / 1.2 / -1.5%Everyday banking that explains itself
- Lead20 / 1.5 / 0%Everyday banking that explains itself
- Body16 / 1.5 / 0%A retail banking app for the UAE: balance, spending and card controls in plain language, with every regulated step designed rather than bolted on.
- Caption13 / 1.5 / 0%A retail banking app for the UAE: balance, spending and card controls in plain language, with every regulated step designed rather than bolted on.
5.3Setting
Sentence case
Headings, buttons and labels. Title case only for product names.
Tabular figures
Every amount, time and count, so columns line up and values do not jump.
60–75 characters
Running text measure. Short labels may run to the edge of their container.
Layout
Two grids and one spacing scale cover every screen. Print uses the same 12 columns on the A-series.
6.1Grid
6.2Spacing
A 4 px base. Components step on 4 and 8; sections on 48 and up.
- space-14 px
- space-28 px
- space-312 px
- space-416 px
- space-524 px
- space-632 px
- space-748 px
- space-864 px
- space-996 px
Interface
The identity carried into the product: tokens first, then the handful of components every screen is made from.
7.1Tokens
- radius.sm
- 8 px
- radius.md
- 16 px
- radius.lg
- 24 px
- focus
- 2 px #E5484D · 2 px offset
- elevation.1
- 0 1 2 / 8%
- elevation.2
- 0 12 32 / 14%
- motion.fast
- 160 ms · ease-out
- motion.base
- 240 ms · ease-out
- hit target
- 44 × 44 px
7.2Components
Live components, set in the brand typeface with the tokens above.
7.3In product
Applications
Where the rules meet the world. When something here is not covered, follow the checklist and keep the lockup clear.
8.1In context
8.2Checklist
Before anything ships.
- The lockup is at least 18 px tall on screen and 8 mm in print.
- Clear space around the lockup is at least half the mark’s height on every side.
- Body text is Aubergine on Paper: 16.7:1, AAA.
- Kora Red is not used for body text on Paper (3.7:1); keep it for fills, marks and large type.
- Headings use Plus Jakarta Sans; amounts use tabular figures.
- Copy follows the house style in 2.3, starting with “AED 24,380.50 with decimals in a lighter weight”.