HOW ILLUSTRATIONS CAN ENHANCE YOUR BRAND
Here are some reasons why using illustrations can be a valuable choice for forming a visual identity:
1. Uniqueness and Differentiation
By providing a distinctive and unique visual style, custom illustration helps a brand to stand out from its competitors A professional illustrator can effectively translate your brand's concepts and messages into visual elements––conveying complex ideas and narratives in oftentimes playful, witty and engaging ways.
2. VERSATILITY and CONSISTENCY
Illustrations can maintain their visual consistency and quality across different contexts, making them versatile assets for a brand's identity. Unlike photographs, which can be limited by real-world constraints, anything can happen in the world of illustration. Drawings, paintings and collage can represent scenarios that aren’t possible in reality. In terms of branding, this flexibility can be particularly useful for brands in tech, finance, or other abstract industries. If you work with people a lot and want your business to have a human touch, it could be a good idea to include illustrations within your overarching brand identity too.
3. Emotional Connection
Illustrations evoke emotions and create a sense of connection with the audience. Depending on the style and content of the illustrations, they can generate feelings of warmth, nostalgia, excitement, or trust. Because of this, well-crafted illustrations can encourage engagement. They can also make content more shareable on socials and encourage users to spend more time interacting with the brand's content. They transcend language barriers making them an effective tool for brands with a global presence.
WORKING WITH AN ILLUSTRATOR
Always carefully consider which style you are after before you search the internet for an illustrator to work with. Once you have found someone, create a moodboard of styles that you like and share as much as you can on your brand with the artist; it’s much easier to understand what you are after if you meet with the professional fully prepared. For example, when it came to creating a visual language for TIPL, we understood what our client needed, and wanted to make it easy for her to choose a good system for her brand so we commissioned three illustrators to create different visual styles for our client to choose from–––from hand-drawn realistic depictions of fruits, herbs and coffee beans, to geometric representations that refined the ingredient illustrations, transforming them into clean Bauhaus–inspired shapes which could then be stacked on the can designs.
The process of developing illustrations involves feedback loops to ensure that the style, tone, and content align with the brand's goals. Always ensure that the chosen illustration style is scalable and can adapt to various sizes and fromats; consider how illustrations will adapt to different devices to maintain a consistent user experience––test them with a smaller audience or focus groups to gather feedback and make any necessary adjustments.
While illustrations can offer advantages and enhance your brand narrative, the choice to use them should align with your brand's values, target audience, and overall message. It's crucial to maintain consistency in the illustration style throughout the brand's visual identity to avoid confusing the audience. We would advise not to go for stock illustrations as the point of creating a suite of images is to make your brand instantly recognisable, and add to the uniqueness of your brand.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Take a look at our packages to see how we can include illustration as part of a brand ID.
Learn about how we can help you with our professional skills and expertise in illustration with Alexandra.
