How Illustrations Can Boost Your Small Business Marketing

Arielle Kimbarovsky — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 16:34:43 +0000

Smart businesses leverage custom illustrations in their marketing strategy. Illustrations can persuade, inform and influence your customers and prospects. They can enhance your brand messaging and can help your business express emotion. Let's take a look at ways that smart businesses use illustration to boost their marketing.

6 Companies Using Illustration to Create a More Personal Brand

Amanda Bowman — Wed, 03 May 2017 15:08:58 +0000

In one photo, two hands shake firmly, assuring you that a deal has been made. In another, a group of business people stand assembled in varying poses of authority, all wearing similarly satisfied smiles on their faces. Finally, we move on to a photo of a professional-looking young woman wearing a headset. She smiles warmly at you. It’s hard for stock photographs to look unique, especially when so many of the photos come from the same stock photography websites. Part of what makes a successful brand is its ability to differentiate itself from its competitors. When companies want to stand out, they often turn to illustration. Why illustration? Draw me a picture One of the biggest strengths of using illustration is that it is based on ideas and not reality, as photographs tend to be. They can be crafted to communicate exactly what you want to convey and can often make complex ideas easier to understand. It’s also easier to create a very individual style and feel using illustration than it is with photography. There is a lot of interesting, effective illustration being used by companies in varying industries. Here are just a few of them. Want a free brand review?Answer 5 short questions and we will send a custom report with actionable insights and specific actions you can take to build a stronger brand. We just emailed the info to you. Email Address Shopify Canadian e-commerce powerhouse Shopify uses illustration throughout their service because, in their words, “Illustration is a communication tool with three super powers. It can add clarity to a complex idea. It can link concepts to the words we’ve assigned them within our respective products (aka on-boarding). And, it can capture the values and traits of a brand in a single voice, shift the tone depending on the situation, and speak directly to the user.” They have a delightfully detailed (and copiously illustrated, of course) look at how they recently rethought their “visual voice” that’s very much worth your time. In the article, Shopify’s Meg Robichaud talked about why Shopify uses illustration in their product design: “It’s obvious why it is becoming more popular in recent years; straight up: illustration is likeable. You have a greater willingness to try new things when you like them. You are more understanding when things go wrong if you like them.” Google Google is possibly the only company famous for dramatically changing their logo on a regular basis. We are, of course, talking about the now-famous Google “Doodles,” where their logo is transformed via illustrations (sometimes animated or interactive) to celebrate a particular event. Google’s first doodle went live in 1998 to indicate founder Sergey Brin and Larry Page’s attendance at the Burning Man Festival, and their craft and creativity have become more elaborate and impressive ever since. Another place Google uses illustration is in Google Calendar. When they added Goals as a new feature, they turned to illustration to both inform and inspire. Alessandro Suraci wrote, “Imagery acts as a..