The Art of Illustration in Branding

Illustration and branding can be complex skills to master, but they can also be incredibly FUN and are highly valuable! Here’s why—

Visual Storytelling

• When utilized effectively, illustration can unlock great potential for visual storytelling. Illustrations have the remarkable ability to evoke nostalgia and stir emotions, allowing you to engage your audience in unique and captivating ways.
• Illustration brings a sense of tangibility to a brand, appealing to our innate desire for something physical. Having solid illustrations in your branding plays a huge role in making your brand memorable. Top-tier brands like Nike, Tesla, Starbucks, McDonalds, and many others have taken the time to develop a visual strategy that tells a story and leaves a lasting impact. When you see those logos and visual assets, you know exactly what brand it represents. 

• Find an artist or illustrator who inspires you and try to recreate (NOT copy) their work. If you aren’t sure who inspires you, dedicate some time to examine what moves you, challenges you, and leaves you asking important questions. These are the things that inspire you to react, take action, and think outside of the box.
• When it comes to illustration and design, the team at Dyno Creative likes to reverse engineer the process we think an artist engaged in and analyze the steps it took to produce the end product. Then, we try to figure out how we can replicate those same steps but develop our own process and personal sense of style.

• Incorporating illustration into branding requires a systematic approach to ensure successful integration—and it all starts with RESEARCH. 
• Conducting solid research serves as the foundation for all the subsequent steps in the project. It informs the direction of the illustration. 
• Once the research phase is complete, you can then move on to designing initial concepts and exploring different creative directions.