Illustrations aren't just drawings. They can be representations of your brand and express who you are. You can use them to communicate your intent, goals and vision to your audience. This article will give you ideas on how and where to use illustrations for your brand.
Audiences love illustrations. This is mainly because they're personal, relatable and creative. Of course, they also have more visual appeal compared to written content.
Illustrations can easily tell a story or an idea by combining visual elements with fine art. They can create scenes with relatable characters at their center. Illustrations are also great at reflecting the mood and emotion of a character or scene. Tied together, these all keep the audience engaged.
Why should you consider using illustrations for your brand?
Investing in brand illustrations can make a positive impression on your target customers. Providing them with the best visual materials will create a lasting impression. This is amplified when illustrations are consistent and show a brand's personality. It allows you to express your brand in a creative way, drawing the attention of more customers.
Visual devices can help communicate your brand message more effectively and organically. This includes customizable graphics, illustrations, and other visual materials.
They also add creativity and style to any platform where it exists. Illustrations will help persuade, inform, and influence the audience. A combination of graphics and illustrations helps you express the message better. This helps your customers relate to your brand.
With illustrations, the language we speak isn't so much of a limitation. The message an illustration gives off can still often be well understood by the audience.
They will help you to convey unspoken messages and amplify messages you've put across. When executed well, they will also build brand awareness. That's not always easy for graphic design to achieve alone.
10 effective ways to use illustrations for your brand
Illustrations are powerful and versatile. Nothing beats them at making complex messages much simpler. Here are effective ways to add illustrations to your branding:
1. Use for creative brand storytelling.
Brand stories strengthen the emotional connection of audiences to your brand. With this, the use of illustrations can be remarkably versatile. Custom illustrations are great for supplementing a fantastic brand story or marketing campaign.
Unlike a plain design, you can use illustrations to exaggerate the emotions of a story. You can also use them to tap into the audience's imagination. This helps to create the emotion you want them to feel when they see your brand.
There's no real boundaries to using illustrations. This means you can use them to reinforce the message behind every piece of visual marketing.
2. As Hero Images for Your Website.
A hero image gives audiences a glimpse of your brand and what your company offers. It's in a prominent place, so getting the message right is essential. It needs to convey your brand message to your visitors.
Whilst it's tempting for hero banners to have lots of text on them, lengthy captions can be boring. High-spirited visuals, such as illustrations, are more effective at creating an instant connection. It is important that you are able to capture the interest of the audience as soon as they land on your website. So high-quality imagery on top of the site will do that. It creates the positive impression that makes the audience want to stay and explore.
3. Use To Design More Engaging Infographics
There's a strategy behind using infographics. Executed well, they should display your data in an honest and transparent way. The outcome is forging trust with your brand. However, a chart or table can easily get too complicated to understand.
Using illustrations alongside infographics is worth considering. It can inject some fun and often make the graphic more understandable.
4. As Images for Blog Articles
Blogs are meant to make the audience retain detailed information about your brand. However, a wall of text can be boring to most of us. We can only expect audiences to skim through text unless it's visually interesting.
Using images will help “dress up” the article. But a custom illustration will add more character to it. It should be something that is both relevant to the content and engaging. Together, they can help engage your readers, improving their understanding of your topic.
5. Use for Email Newsletters
It can be challenging to make the receiver actually read your brand’s newsletter. There's probably already too many in their inbox. So, playful custom illustrations will show how different your brand is. Here, you can use illustrations as a storytelling tool. It can have some influence on how the customer engages with the email, leading them to discover more.
6. For Onboarding Screens
Launching an app or a service? Presenting a walkthrough with limited visual appeal can be dull. It's also the first time users are engaging with your app. With that, these screens should be engaging where possible.
Customers are more likely to get into the process if they see something fun in the design. Illustrations make the onboarding process far more welcoming and simple.
7. For Creative Social Media Posts
Social media marketing can be effective, but only when you are able to do it right. People who browse social media expect something light to digest. Doing this well is important to help them understand your brand over time. Adding illustrations stops you from being too heavy on the text content. It also means the images can help your audience to resonate with your brand. It's the perfect way to introduce the brand without trying too hard.
8. For Ad Banners and Posters
Compelling illustrations can amplify any message. Ad banners and posters, however, are somewhat limited by their size. So, it's essential that you can present a visual that gets people to click. This is where the versatility of illustrations comes in. You can use them to deliver humorous, whimsical, or interesting material.
9. To Make Avatars
Avatars aren't just fun profile pictures to entertain the audience. They're also effective at presenting the tone of your message and your brand. For example, most of them suggest your playful side as a brand. As they're graphic representations of your persona, it's important to avoid being generic. You can create something more stylish and impressive with illustrations. There's a variety of designs that will draw the attention of the visitor to your avatar.
10. For Product Packaging
A strong packaging design is a key part of maintaining your brand message. Any great brand story considers the details. Your product packaging is another opportunity to keep telling that story. Adding illustrations related to your brand’s narratives can bolster your identity. This often results in a better recall of your brand.
To create illustrations that are relevant and effective, you have to be clear about what you are doing. You have to work on researching different illustration styles to complement your brand strategy.
Boost Your Brand With Creative Illustrations
Brand illustrations can make complex messages simple. They can also add character and feeling to a company's brand. They also help you to communicate your intent, goals and vision to your audiences better.
Illustrations improve your brand’s quality. They create an instant appeal, and develop emotional rapport with your audience. You can use illustrations to approach your branding in a unique way. The aim is to engage the audience and make their experience memorable.
Using custom illustrations also keeps your messaging more consistent. Used alongside graphics and content, your messaging will often be more impactful. They can be used equally across websites and and other marketing channels. This will all help to display your distinct personality as a brand.
Work Hand in Hand with Graphic Design and Illustrations
Graphic design and illustration involves a lot of the same tools and skills. However, they do have their differences.
Graphic design focuses on putting graphic elements together and is commonly used commercially. Illustrations are often more concerned with storytelling. They portray freedom in the use of strokes, lines, colors, and other elements of art to tell that story.
Applying both graphic design and illustrations in your brand campaigns helps you tell a richer story. It can also be more easily remembered by your customers. People are visually oriented. So, being able to offer both can make your campaigns more effective.
The use of both does not need to be complicated. The aim is to create engagement. Using illustrations helps you to be more human and less robotic. This isn't always easy when marketing your brand, but happens often! You need to show the emotion behind all of your marketing material so that the audience can relate.
Whilst it can be challenging to see when they overlap, using illustrations with graphic design poses an advantage. Make the most out of graphic design and illustration and you will have campaigns that are more meaningful. This will also lay out the best experience for your customers.
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