The shorter our attention spans become (and our audience's), the harder it’s getting as a small to medium-sized business to stand out and connect with our current and future customers. What with the constant bombardment of information, words and general noise thrown into our eyeballs, with the rapid scrolling through social media, targeted ads and never-ending notifications, it’s a lot.

But, did you know that 90% of the information processed by our brains is visual? Or that our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text? So, how can you use that to your advantage when it comes to your branding? Well... by including more images! And in this case, and not just because I'm an illustrator and slightly biased, but through brand illustrations. Custom, on-brand, personality-rich illustrations that are an extension of your brand, and that can hold as much significance as your brand colours and fonts can be seen to be.

So, here are my top five superpowers of branded illustrations, and why you should have them in your branding:

1. They're unique to your brand.
They're custom-made to suit your brand's style, colours and voice. They become an extension of your brand and a visual representation of it. Besides looking like they totally belong to your brand, you can also have very specific, and sometimes rather abstract concepts recreated into illustrations. E.g. an illustration that represents the importance of life insurance, as seen in a recent project for an international insurance client below. This was part of a set of illustrations that were created using the client’s brand colours, with a tone of relatability and personality-evoking. They helped add some fun and visual descriptions to otherwise heavy content.

2. They help your brand stand out.
By including custom illustrations you’re adding eye-catching visual interest that’ll engage your audience. Because, someone is more likely to take a double-look at something they haven't seen before or that catches their eye and interest, than something that uses all-too-familiar icons or stock images that could cheapen your look. Give people something fun to look at, while getting your message across - like our illustrations created for Bloo’s Buffet as explainer images for serving the treats to your dog. The style and colours are all within brand guidelines and extend the brand’s messaging of being playful, friendly and healthy (and all about doggos).

3. They become visual representations of your brand.
Think Red Bull - you don't need to be told who those belong to, you already associate that style with the famous energy drink. Or, perhaps you're familiar with delightful colourful character from the Headspace app? But one of my favourite local Australian examples, Botanika Blends with the mystical loveable wizard of plant-based food, as seen below is one of my favourite examples of brand illustrations done oh-so-right. I fell in love with this brand’s characters and messaging from the first time I came across them. The style and characters are used so well and ubiquitously that the product and the illustrations become synonymous with the other. Who is Botanika Blends without the illustrations?

4. They're personality-rich with the ability to connect with your audience.
People can often easily tell when they're being shown stock imagery, and can turn them off from your brand as it feels impersonal and less valuable. Branding is all about creating a particular perception in your customer's mind, by having character-filled illustrations that add to your specific brand personality helps to add another layer of value. Once again, I think that brands like Botanika Blends are such a great example of this. They give a reason for customers to love the brand for more than just its products.

5. They’re super versatile.
Brand illustrations work best when designed as cohesive sets, where individual items can be used together, or alone like across your website as icons, on social media for profile highlights or in posts, on products or printed stationery. Together they can be used as a pattern that makes great branded gift wrap (like the one we created for Bloo's Buffet, below) or website banners and more. Having a set of illustrations in your bag of brand goodies opens up so many opportunities to use them that once you have them, you’ll never look back! They’re like brand glitter, but without the mess.

Did you know that branded illustrations are included in my two full branding packages on offer? So if you choose to create your branding/rebrand with me, you'll be set with the super powers of illustrations custom created to suit your business' brand personality from the get go!

Book a free 15min call here, to start your brand journey now or to find out more.