“Your business needs to use illustration.”
“Hmm, I don’t know about that—why would you think that?”
“Because illustration, at its core, is the ability to create something out of nothing. That’s magic! And who doesn’t want their brand to feel like they’re the magical ones compared to their competitors who are floating in a sea of sameness.”
–Illustration as a visual medium is the ability to create something out of nothing. It can be expressed in any number of ways, from editorializing a blog post—to a technical rendering of a product—to your brand story posted on social media. It can be anything! And more importantly, it can be 100% customized to express what your company does so well and what it can do to build a better future.
So the big question is—why is illustration not as popular of a visual tool compared to options like photography, stock imagery or user generated content?
‘Illustration’ has a reputation that is often described as juvenile, cartoony or receives the oh-so-familiar reception of, “it’s just not part of our brand”. It can be! With a confluence of creativity and courage, it can be something much, much more than its historical reputation.
It’s time to broaden our understanding of how illustration can be applied to a brand in ways to accentuate its visual identity and extend its marketing reach to approach new audiences and users.
Together, we will look at how illustration-inspired design can influence how an organization can extend its brand to reach new heights—with an emphasis on global tech leaders that use illustration as a foundation to emphasize their vision and values.
We will also see how illustration can be used in a local context by reviewing cases of how it’s been utilized to help Nova Scotian businesses apply their mission in unique ways that are impactful and honest to their brand.
3 Key Takeaways
Meet your Presenter..
Greg Dubeau RGD is a registered graphic designer and illustrator who has lived, studied, and worked across Canada from coast to coast. He runs a small design studio in Halifax, where he collaborates with local and national agencies, organizations, and entrepreneurs to make their businesses look and work a little bit better than they did yesterday.Working with Greg is different—but in a good way. His multidimensional skill set places him apart from creative agencies because he independently integrates creative and strategic agility into every stage of the creative process. This reaps his clients such benefits as: accelerated timelines, competitive rates, operational transparency, and active collaboration on every phase of the project.Greg is also a Design Professor at NSCAD University where he teaches courses on UX and UI design, client relations, and grassroot community change through design.