About Kakao Friends
Kakao Friends began as an emoticon sheet inside KakaoTalk and grew into a retail empire. Ryan, added in 2016, is its lead: a maneless lion in loess ochre, two dot eyes, a white muzzle and a tulip-shaped belly patch, drawn flat with no outline.
The system is a white page, the regulated Kakao yellow, and speech bubbles that hold the actual content. Cells are equal, gestures are single, Hangul and Latin are set at matched size, and nothing sparkles.
- Origin
- Seoul, South Korea
- Era
- KakaoTalk launched 2010; Kakao Friends emoticons from 2012; Ryan debuts 2016; flagship-store visual ~2016–2024
- Key figures
- Kim Beom-su · Kakao IX
- Movements
- Korean character IP and licensed merchandise · Messenger sticker culture · Flat vector mascot design
Kakao Friends design spec
Colors
Background
Surface
Primary
Secondary
Accent
Text
Typography
Gothic A1Headings
Noto Sans KRBody
Nanum Gothic CodingMono
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