Buddy

Branding
2023

Recycling, Scrap Metal, Character Design

Pile of scrap metal with the word "BUDDY" in bold white letters against a sunset sky.
Collage featuring a phone screen with Buddy app icon, a dog illustration, "Scrap the status quo" text, a hoodie with geometric patterns and "BUDDY" text, and an orange cap with "BUDDY" text.
Collage featuring the branding of 'Buddy' with logos, shipping containers, and a billboard. Includes text 'Home to all scrappies' and 'Trade scrap, not time.'

For scrappies, by scrappies

Buddy was born from the vision of a lifelong ‘scrappie’ and his wife, who saw the scrap metal industry being left behind in the digital age. They created an online marketplace to connect scrappies with vetted buyers, making scrap trading faster and more convenient.

We started with a custom wordmark that balanced strong, playful typography, capturing Buddy’s personality. Inspired by oxidised metals, we developed a fresh and colourful identity and introduced a mascot—a scrappy underdog made from the literal ‘scraps’ of the wordmark. Buddy’s expressiveness adds energy and approachability to the brand and app experience.

  • Shannon Davis: Creative Direction

    Jason Tuohy: Strategy

    William Rech: Design

    David Hillier: Animation

    *This work was completed while working at Nicework

Illustration showing branding elements including text "BUDDY" with breakdown of visual components and logo variations on a green background.

1. mascot made from letterforms, 2. patterning made from letterforms, 3. dog door holding shape from ‘D’, 4. icon, 5. custom ‘Y’

Grid of six color swatches with hex codes: 1. bright orange (#FF5B19), 2. dark teal (#005950), 3. bright green (#25B17A), 4. light blue (#ADD4DE), 5. light beige (#FFEFE4), 6. dark brown (#0A0000).
Image showing two typography sections on a teal background. Section 1: 'Aa' in Bold, ExtraBold, Bunch fonts with text 'A marketplace for scrappies, by scrappies.' Section 2: 'Aa' in Regular, Semibold, Nunito Sans fonts with the text 'Simplify your end-to-end trading experience' and additional information about metal recycling industry tools.

1, 2. primary colours, 3, 4. secondary colours, 5, 6. tertiary colours

1. primary typeface Bunch, 2. secondary typeface Nunito Sans

Orange construction helmet with partial text "BUILD" on a green background.
Collage of pet-themed images for "tradebuddy.io," including a water bottle, dog bowl labeled "Buddy," pet tag, and smartphone interface with a cartoon dog design, centered around "Trade scrap, not time" text.
Green cartoon dog character with a shovel and bone, text says 'Loading...' and 'Searching...' on a dark green background.
ID badge with lanyard on orange background.
Green T-shirt with a graphic of a cartoon dog and the text 'Scrap the status quo'.
Two orange safety vests with yellow reflective stripes, branding, and text "Trade scrap, not time" and "BUDDY" on the back.
Graphic of green cartoon dogs with various expressions and actions. The top row shows a happy dog with a tongue out, one with an exclamation mark, and one with a question mark. The bottom row has a dog with sleepy eyes, a sleeping dog with 'zzz' above, and a dog peeing.
Collage of images featuring branding for "Buddy". "Sniff out the best deals" text on blue, "Buddy" in orange on beige with "tradebuddy.io", cartoon character with text "Home to all scrappies" on orange, "Trade with confidence" with geometric background, and a photo of a construction worker labeled "James Russel" with "Top rated seller", "Limitless Metals", and review rating."}
Collage featuring a phone app interface with "Buddy" branding, showing profiles and trade offers, and a smiling woman against an orange background with the text "Make better trades."