A unique visual element can make any design memorable and illustrations are versatile visuals that can help express a specific message. Aside from being visual representations, they can also serve as aesthetic elements of a website, making it more attractive to the audience.
If you find it difficult to make your website look interesting, the simplest solution is by using illustrations. This post will show you how you can make use of illustrations on your website.
When to Use Illustrations
When building a website, one of the first important decisions that you will have to make is adding visual elements that would make the pages look creative and at the same time help strengthen your branding style.
Probably one of the most common styles in doing this is by using photographs. The only problem is that photographs are limited when it comes to explaining a complicated subject. Using illustrations is a better approach since it can be used to depict expressions that will give life to any story or idea.
Brands are also expected to have a unique personality in order to make it easier for customers to differentiate from other brands. Illustrations make any brand look distinct since they can be customized in a number of ways.
Illustrations are also great to showcase creativity. They are widely used in the creative industry where designers entice prospective clients through powerful illustrations. As a brand, using illustrations would help in letting the audience know how exciting and innovative your brand is compared to others.
Illustration Application on Web Design and UI
There are numerous ways where you can use website illustration, including:
1. Hero Images/Website Sliders
What is a hero image for a website?
Also called a “hero header”, this image serves as an oversized banner to introduce your company. It is basically a background image that features prominent design elements in the foreground.
Why should you use a hero image on your website?
The most important benefit of a hero image is that it instantly captures attention. You can use it to create a positive response towards your website. It will serve as a glimpse of what you can offer on your website. Apart from information, a hero image strengthens the navigation of your site and it highlights the call-to-action button.
Why are illustrations perfect for the hero image?
Custom illustrations in various styles can effectively support a message that you want to be perceived by the audience. It adds to the aesthetics of the page and can set a solid foundation of originality. A website illustration makes communication more human-like and gives an emotional appeal through shapes, colors, and images. You can easily direct them to do specific actions that you want, such as making a purchase, once you are able to capture the attention and interest of your audience.
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2. Onboarding/Walkthrough Sections
What are Onboarding/Walkthrough Sections in a website?
The onboarding sections of a website help the users understand everything about your products and services. The onboarding process begins as soon as the users open the website and it will go on as long as they keep on using it.
Why should you use Onboarding/Walkthrough Sections on your website?
Having an onboarding section on your website ensures smooth site navigation in order to achieve the goal of promoting user activation and retention. This means that you are able to ensure that the users understand what your website is all about and how they can use its features. The user is able to form a significant motive to visit again with an effective onboarding flow.
Why are illustrations perfect for the Onboarding/Walkthrough Sections?
Essentially, you need a great UX for a perfect onboarding strategy. Illustrations are best to use for onboarding purposes because they can be customized to show exactly what you want the users to do. Unlike other types of visuals, illustrations are able to express complicated ideas thereby making it easier to create walkthroughs in the simplest and uncomplicated manner.
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3. Infographics
What are the infographics Sections in a website?
Visual communication is critical in the success of a website design. But at the risk of overloading the user of information, web designers are burdened with the task of simplifying complex information into something that is easier to digest by the users. Infographics is a design element that can be in the form of charts, icons, visuals, or short text excerpts. They are usually used to convey information fast.
Why should you use infographics on your website?
The digital age is fast-paced and everyone expects to see the gist of content in the shortest possible time. Using infographics is a popular and effective method to convey complex ideas. An infographic can serve as a visual cue to immediately tell the reader on what the content is all about.
Why are illustrations perfect for infographics?
As the purpose of an infographic is to quickly summarize an idea, this goal can be achieved a lot faster with illustrations. They are attractive visual representations that are perfect for creating infographics.
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4. Blog Featured Images
What is a Blog Feature Image in a website?
Also called the “primary image, a blog feature image represents the content as a whole, a theme, or mood of the page. It is the big picture that is usually placed on top of a blog post. A featured image is primarily associated with shared links. It is what most people would see once your website or a page gets shared on social media and other platforms.
Why should you use Blog Featured Image on your website?
Featured images are like magnets that draw interest and curiosity. They open up great posts and compel the reader to a particular page or blog post. According to several studies, Tweets that have images are more likely to get retweets by up to 150%. LinkedIn posts, on the other hand, get up to 98% more comments when having featured images. As for Facebook, an average of 37% more engagement can be generated when photos are added to posts. These stats show that paying attention to blog featured images will help get you more clicks.
Why are illustrations perfect for the Blog Featured Image?
While it is ideal to use featured images, a poorly designed one will never give the same outstanding results. An amazing-looking featured image should be in order and a website illustration would do the job well. Illustrations are very versatile and you can easily customize one so that it can absolutely depict the idea behind the blog post and set the mood perfectly.
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5. CTA/Opt-in/Popup Sections
What are CTA/Opt-in Sections in a website?
A CTA or Call-to-Action section of a website serves as the advertisement or part of the content where the audience is encouraged to do something. A CTA can convert a visitor into a lead for the sales team so that they can further convert into purchasing customers.
Why should you use CTA/Opt-in Sections on your website?
CTA sections are important because they motivate the readers to interact by clicking a button, aligning up, commenting, or purchasing. A CTA is like a strategy that helps you achieve your objectives.
Why are illustrations perfect for the CTA/Opt-in Sections?
A simple, text-only CTA is not enough to call a reader to take an action. Illustrations are attractive visuals that are appealing enough to drive conversions. The reason is that illustrations can be injected with emotions thereby letting you create powerful CTAs that can’t be ignored by the user.
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6. Website Ad Banners
What are Ad Banners on a website?
Ad banners are an advertising strategy that is embedded into a web page. It is used to attract traffic by adding a link to the advertiser’s website. They are widely used for marketing because they are affordable, measurable, and effective.
Why should you use Ad Banners on your website?
Ad banners are encouraged because they are able to deliver information, notify the audience of a new product or service, and even help increase brand awareness.
Why are illustrations perfect for the Ad Banners?
The purpose of ad banners is to attract attention and nothing can do that flawlessly than illustrations. Because they are highly customizable, illustrations can be created to feature a clear message accompanied by persuasive imagery. It will be easier to drive business performance through ad banner illustrations as they can be designed to look relevant and unique, which the audience usually loves.
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7. Maintenance or 404/Error Pages
What is a 404/Error Page on a website?
A 404 error page indicates that the website which the user is trying to open cannot be reached because of a couple of reasons, including website deletion or mistyped URL. It is an automatic response when you follow a dead link.
Why should you use 404/Error Pages on your website?
Creating a custom 404 error page can help in reducing customer frustration. It gives them something to blame whenever they cannot access the website for any reason. While its purpose is to inform, a 404 error page can also be used to strengthen your branding. It can be designed to help direct users to the right pages.
Why are illustrations perfect for the 404/Error Pages?
Although a 404 error page is an automatic response code, there is no reason why you cannot design it to be engaging. You can turn it up a notch by using it as part of your sales strategy where you can incorporate illustrations both to entertain and to give useful information. You can add illustrations to the usual error code and explanation why it happened. A 404 error page can be designed to have amusing illustrations that will pacify the users and help them get back on track.
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8. Landing Pages
What is a Landing Page?
A landing page is literally what it is, a standalone web page where a user lands on after following a link through an ad, email, or any other digital location. It is specifically created for marketing where the viewer is encouraged to continue browsing or do specific actions, such as signing up for the newsletter.
Why should you use Illustrations on your Landing Page?
Landing page illustrations support the information that you intend to deliver on the landing page. Illustrations are essential because they would help you achieve the goals you have for creating a landing page. Well-designed illustrations will not only leave a good impression but will also help you promote new products and services, generate leads and conversions, build credibility, and direct the user on what to do next on the website.
Why are illustrations perfect for the Landing Page?
A landing page is considered to be a highly targeted marketing strategy. Illustrations are effective for landing pages because they can be created to be alluring for a specific group of audience thereby providing a trustworthy identity. A creative landing page illustration will definitely catch the user’s eye and will be more willing to engage.
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How DesignStripe Helps Your Create Effective Website Illustrations
There are many ideas that you can tell through text. This storytelling style, however, is not as effective when you are trying to create a lasting impression on the reader. This is the foremost reason why images are usually added to accompany text content. Because humans are highly visual, adding imagery will help condense information and make it easier to absorb.
DesignStripe Custom illustrations are extremely beneficial, especially when it comes to web design. Relying solely on text does not work well if you are trying to portray complex ideas. It is also difficult to picture out a particular product or service without illustrations. The most common problem of marketers is making a mark through their branding designs. Illustrations serve as interesting elements that create a sense of distinction for the brand. On top of it all, incorporating a website illustration into web designs is what will make the whole site “click” in the minds of the viewers.
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