How Brand Illustrations Can Elevate Your Brand
It’s no secret—I love brand illustrations. I actually have a degree in Illustration and Communicative Arts from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Being formally trained in illustration, I understand how those extra visual elements can serve to improve your brand.
1 | Brand Recognition
Think about how many brands you can immediately recognize just by seeing their icon or illustrated elements free of any text. I’m sure it’s a lot, probably—think Target, for example. Having a specific illustrated element or number of elements can help your potential clients and customers immediately recognize your brand. And the more recognizable your brand is, the more successful it’s likely to be.
2 | Personality
Clients and customers love to be able to resonate with the people behind the brand. Sometimes a stark, lackluster brand can be offputting to a potential client or customer. When you’re able to infuse your personality in your brand through illustrations, your audience can immediately get a sense of who you are and what your brand stands for, which can build trust and the likelihood of them being interested in what you have to offer.
3 | Standing Out
Chances are you’re probably in an industry with a lot of competition, so it’s important that you stand out. Brand illustrations are an effective way to set yourself apart from your peers, especially if they’re custom and not sourced from a third party. Because no one wants to look like everyone else.
How to Use Brand Illustrations
It’s important to stay consistent and cohesive across anything your business touches. Utilizing your illustrations can add that little extra something to help your brand succeed.
1 | Logos
This one is a no-brainer. If you have illustrations, you should have at least one logo option that includes them. Illustrations are perfect for submarks and icons!
2 | Website
Adding illustrations to your website can make your website go from looking like a template to one-of-a-kind. They’re great to use to add layering in collages, patterned backgrounds, and descriptive icons.
3 | Marketing
Using illustrations in your marketing can make a difference in your engagement on social media and the likelihood of inquiries. In addition, if you’re a product-based business or you send any mail or gifts to your clients or customers, your packaging is a great place to use your brand illustrations.
Where to Get Your Brand Illustrations
We always recommend going the custom route and hiring an experienced illustrator to create something that will always be unique to you. And we’d love to help—click here for more information and here to see our portfolio.
But we also understand that you might just be starting out in your business and on a budget. If you think sourcing your illustrations from pre-made graphics is the best route for you, we’d highly recommend checking out Creative Market. And while you’re on the hunt, feel free to check out our Pinterest board for all the illustration inspo!
