← Selected work ◈  Cassbana — Character universe

The Cassbana Universe

Cassbana — a Cairo fintech backed by DisrupTech — is on a mission to give Egypt’s unbanked a financial identity. To design for a market no bank could see, we gave it a face: a scientifically‑built character, with a behavioural profile, a novel, a script, a storyboard and a full design bible.

Client
ScopeCharacter universe · Behavioural profiling · Story & script · Character design
ClientCassbana — Cairo, est. 2020
BackingDisrupTech‑backed
RecognitionInclusive Fintech 50
CategoryBehavioural‑AI lending

01The brief

Cassbana lends micro‑retailers their inventory and turns every on‑time repayment into a credit score — building a financial identity where banks saw nothing. Founded by a former Careem director and backed by DisrupTech, it set out to serve a market no institution could see. First came one harder question: who, exactly, is that market?

110Mpeople in the market Cassbana set out to serve
26governorates — each with its own culture, cash and code
0credit histories to start from — an invisible customer

02The idea — give the market a face

Instead of another slide‑deck persona, we did something harder: we turned the company itself into a fully‑realised human being — a face, a history, a temper, a motive. Understand him, and you understand the business he stands for. It became the blueprint for a bigger idea — personify a market to finally understand it from the inside out.

03Built on behavioural science

He didn’t start with a pencil — he started with a behavioural profile. A full psychometric study defined how he thinks, speaks and reacts under pressure, so every later choice — the eyes, the posture, the dialogue — traced back to real psychology, not guesswork.

Character profile · behavioural blueprint

Cassbana — the visionary, age 40

Forward‑looking, decisive and relentless. A high risk‑taker — as long as it moves him toward his vision. You only ever know what he wants you to know.

VisionaryDecisiveRisk‑takerResults‑drivenRestlessMagneticDirectImpatient

How he speaks

  • Strong, clear, fast‑paced
  • Direct eye contact
  • Says little — but exact

What drives him

  • Outstanding results
  • Changing people’s lives
  • Breaking records

Never do this

  • Interrupt him
  • Be vague or unprepared
  • Say “it can’t be done”

04From psychology to a face

Only then did the drawing begin — and every feature carried meaning: a slimmer face to read younger, heavier brows for a sharper reaction, a curved shoulder to signal durability. Then he was rendered in stages, on Cassbana’s own brand palette.

Cassbana character rendered in stages across the brand palette

Flat colour → value study → final render, on the brand palette

Annotated character-design decisions for Cassbana
Design decisions — annotated
Cassbana character form and silhouette study
Form & silhouette study
Cassbana character before and after refinement
Refinement — before & after

05The character bible

Everything documented end to end — anatomy, facial studies, skin tone, a brand colour guide, and the props and accessories that make him real.

Cassbana Art and Character Design cover
Art — Character Design
Cassbana character facial-hair studies
Facial‑hair studies
Cassbana character skin tone and colour guide
Skin tone & colour guide
Cassbana character bible spread
Character bible — spread
Cassbana character bible spread
Character bible — spread
Cassbana character bible spread
Character bible — spread
Cassbana character accessories and props
Accessories & props

06From bible to screen

The profile fed a whole story world — a novel, a film script, and a storyboard of a single day in his life. The character didn’t just sit in a guideline; he could act.

Cassbana storyboard — a day in his life
Storyboard — a day in his life
Cassbana storyboard — the garage scene
Storyboard — the garage scene
Cassbana storyboard frame
Storyboard — on the road
Cassbana storyboard frame
Storyboard — the meeting

07Built to scale

One hero was only the beginning. The method was designed to grow — from a single company, to the merchants it serves, to entire cities rendered as characters.

Phase 01Delivered

Meet the hero

The company as one character — behavioural profile, novel, script, storyboard and design.

Phase 02Roadmap

The merchants

Real merchants studied and rebuilt as characters — the people Cassbana actually serves.

Phase 03The vision

The tale of two cities

Whole cities captured as characters — temper, dress, language and all.

Not a mascot — a market, given a face you can’t forget.

What this included
  • 01Behavioural & psychometric profile
  • 02Character design & bible
  • 03Novel, script & storyboard
  • 04Character‑universe roadmap
In their words
I had an outstanding experience working with Monzology! A very creative team, and their commitment to delivering on time is truly commendable. Not only did they always exceed my expectations in terms of creativity, but they also managed to keep the project within budget. I couldn't be happier with the results. Monzology is the go-to team for anyone seeking top-notch creative work in the field of digital art, creative ideas, campaigns and animation.
Ahmed Gheith Ahmed GheithHead of Digital Marketing · Cassbana

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