You know when you see a product on the shelf that has that ‘X’ factor, or a package arrives in the mail and the unboxing process creates that little tummy flutter - like you have just given yourself a gift? Well I’m guessing that there’s a wee bit of illustration taking a hand in creating that experience.
How illustration can enhance your users experience
I was once in a meeting with a client trying to uncover what it was about a website layout concept that she was drawn to, and it turned out it was the style of photography. As a designer I see it everyday, most people don’t realise the key differences between the power of design, photography, copy-writing and illustration as separate entities each with equal value. The often most overlooked being copywriting which most people think they can do themselves.
Below are the 3x top features of adding illustration to your branding. At CIP Design Studio these elements are a part of your Brand Package so you have everything you need to create great marketing assets from launch day.
1. Create Brand Personality
So how does illustration in itself up your branding game? There are many different styles of illustration and the power of an illustrated graphic is the authenticity, recognisability and unique style they can add to your logo. For example if you have quite a minimal logo design and you are looking to create social media graphics, collateral, signage, or packaging bringing illustration in gives these things personality and presence. Stand out from the competition with a pattern, graphic, illustration or background that shows off the personality of your product or service, expressing a look and feel for your brand that you can build upon. eg "there's that chick with the beautiful flower graphics on her car"
2. Cost-effectively up your existing branding game
Adding an illustration add-on to your brand doesn’t need to be expensive, you can get anything from a pattern, a series of abstract shapes, a few characters or a full custom painting. Some of the most cost effective options are digital and these can also be purchased from sites such as Creative Market for under $10 ( although be aware these can then be purchased by others so may not give you that authentic look if they become a trend). You can start small and build up your brand portfolio as your budget allows and illustrations can be seasonal or rolled out and refreshed each year or as you see fit.
3. Draw attention
You can express a wide range of ideas and communicate what your product is or your service does through illustration. For example I have a client in the communications industry and instead of using cheesy stock photos that everyone recognises are not authentic now, we created a world of interacting characters in a utopian world that utilised the brands colour palette so that we had a recognisable style for the brand and we communicated the nature of the business at first glance.
So if you are thinking about how you can up level your brand portfolio (logos, submarkets, icons, colour palette, type library, illustrations and graphics) then take a minute to research a style on Pinterest you think is in keeping with your brand and expresses your brand values (as worked out in your brand strategy) and then find an illustrator or designer that can create these for you. There are many styles so it pays to find a designer/illustrator working in the style you like already.
If you're interested in a custom illustration please get in touch for a custom quotation for your project.
Cheers Zoe