Elevate your digital presence with bespoke illustration
3 min read
We have seen an increase in demand for bespoke illustration and original iconography.
Particularly when it comes to businesses and brands that operate in the digital space, such as tech companies, digital-first products and SaaS platforms. Capturing individuality and personality and embodying subject matters and themes in ways that photography often can’t, bespoke illustration can unify a design and totally transform not only how it looks but its overall feel and mood, too.
However, it’s not just about how it looks; it’s important that we create something useful. Illustration should enhance and clarify the message and aid user understanding of the offering. Illustration allows a designer to (over)-exaggerate expression and encourages interpretation and imagination, clarifying and amplifying the brand's message and making it both more understandable and accessible to the user.
Illustration can be particularly useful for businesses working in traditionally ‘dry’ markets or with confusing, dull or upsetting services. Difficult subject matters and abstract themes or topics where specific visuals don't work well often lend themselves better to an illustrative treatment.
Illustration and iconography are also great for presenting complex information, demonstrating processes and conveying credentials, initiatives or services in an interesting, eye-catching and totally bespoke way.
The simple beauty of illustration is the fact that it can take so many different forms: cartoon and fantastical, abstract and conceptual, or realistic and literal. The versatility of illustration means it can be produced uniquely - there are no boundaries as to what kind of world you can create.
Due to the amount of different directions illustration can take, it is important that a brand carefully considers its values, ethos and audience before briefing an illustrator in order to ensure that the style selected reflects and reinforces the brand positioning and personality and helps to express what they are trying to say.
Once a style is developed, the illustrator will pair the style with key phrases and messaging to create a ‘bank’ of illustration assets. These assets can be used both independently and pieced together in ‘scenes’ / ’scenarios’ to give the digital design (and print design) team flexibility when creating designs.
Thanks to SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), which supports interactivity and animation, we can create dynamic interactive elements from our illustrations and incorporate them into our digital projects. This element of surprise and delight creates an additional layer to the user's overall experience and can elevate an otherwise simple site.
Illustration is a powerful and creative medium that can identify and communicate brand values and transmit ideas universally in a way that many other mediums can’t. At Abstrakt, we love working with illustration. We are experienced in producing unique, impactful, and engaging bespoke illustration and iconography, which, when layered on top of exceptional digital design, helps our clients stand out from the crowd in a highly distinctive and ownable way.
Jamie Robinson
A Creative Lead pushes boundaries by elevating digital identities and innovative technologies such as 3D motion and Lottie.
He has specialist knowledge in digital brands and animation.
Connect on LinkedIn.
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