Your online visual presence is more important now than it has ever been.
We all know that great imagery is an essential part of effective communication. It solves the problem of how to say what can’t be said in a few words. It can sum up your brand, mission statement, and mood at a glance. You don’t have to sell it; a compelling illustration immediately gives you a voice, and rewards the viewer for sticking around to learn more.
Perhaps most importantly great imagery helps establish an emotional connection, which is essential for someone to better understand your brand and value, and will help entice someone to follow your call to action. This is where custom illustrations really add their value and can return a positive return on investment, unlike clip art and stock photos. (And to answer the question we know you are thinking right now – custom illustration is more affordable than you might think.) Why settle for generic imagery that holds no connection to your brand, and little emotional interest for the viewer? Custom images are created specifically for you, your brand, and your voice.
Mindfulness is a concept that requires custom illustration to truly showcase what it is. It would seem that the idea of mindfulness is simple and straightforward, but the truth is it can be complicated to explain and challenging to practice. Mindfulness teachers like jamgd client Harriet Stein are in high demand, and her biggest challenge is to explain the idea of Mindfulness in a clear and effective way (and via communications that convey the idea of the practice to someone in about 5 seconds. Easier said than done).
Our challenge was to distill Harriet’s ideas into an image that captures attention, communicates the essence of Mindfulness, and encourages curiosity so a viewer will delve deeper into Harriet’s offerings and ultimately reach out and connect with her.
We talked with Harriet and learned about her mindfulness programs for businesses. In addition to her online classes and presentations, she writes and shares her life experiences. Custom images work great on print materials as well as on her website and blog.
Imagery is essential to an online presence.
A survey of marketers indicated that visuals are the most important content on social media, over video and blogging. What kind of visuals work best to capture attention?
A poll of online marketers revealed that original graphics, like illustrations and infographics, performed best—significantly better than video and stock photos. Why? People want authentic—not generic—content.
Illustration is customizable to your brand, your ad campaign, your voice.
Custom art can reinforce your brand’s look and feel while presenting fresh new imagery and making lasting impressions.
It can breathe life and personality into a new marketing campaign, and can evolve with use in a variety of media, transforming into icons, animations, and video.
And it gives freedom to portray anything, anywhere, to tell the story you want told.
Many national brands have taken advantage of this powerful marketing tool. Duluth Trading Company, Mailchimp, and Headspace are great examples of companies that have integrated custom imagery into their web presence and print materials. It is an exciting time for illustration, as more and more design trends indicate.
And one of the beautiful things about custom illustration, as we mentioned before, is it is more affordable than most business people think. While stock image sites limit usage and charge royalty fees, any original artwork we create for you is yours to keep, to do with what you like. We’d love to have a conversation with you about your marketing objectives, your questions, and your ideas. We partner with our clients—much like we did with Harriet—to develop marketing materials that truly connect your business with your audience.
