Could your business benefit from custom illustration? (+ how to use it!)
Our cell phone photography is lackluster, AI is boiling Texas, stock photos are too generic, and we can’t afford a professional photographer.
What to do?
Luckily, we’re not helpless to create good, unique imagery for our businesses!
I’m here to encourage you to harness the power of custom illustration as a cost-effective and highly impactful branding tool.
Custom artwork can help personalize your business, making it more memorable, engaging, and visually distinct from competitors. It’s also often more affordable than you might think.
This article will explore how custom illustration can elevate your brand, attract attention, and build a stronger connection with your audience, all while staying within a manageable budget.
It’s a great investment
I encourage you to think of custom illustration as an investment in your brand. And it’s one that really pays off over time.
Unlike photography, which often requires new shoots, equipment, or location changes for each marketing campaign, an illustration can be used time and time again across various platforms and materials - tweaked, repurposed, remixed or re-cropped to suit current needs.
Illustration kits, or packs of custom illustrations on transparent backgrounds extend this functionality even further, giving you remixable elements you can combine over and over into new compositions.
Illustration kits can be made for Canva or any other program that you use, allowing you to create your own social posts or Powerpoint presentations in seconds, each one unique.
2. Banish the “bad photography blues”
One of the biggest advantages of custom illustrations is their ability to reflect the unique personality of your business, in a way that photos just… might not always capture. If you’ve ever tried to photograph products or clients and found that issues with lighting, focus, or cluttered backgrounds detract from the final result, illustrations are a refreshing solution.
Artists can transform your photos into clean, vibrant, and stylized images that maintain accuracy, without technical hiccups. This is especially valuable for small businesses with limited resources. No expensive photoshoots.
Plus, if you don’t have photos of your clients or products, or you aren’t able to photograph real clients for confidentiality reasons, custom illustrations allow you to still convey a sense of personality, warmth, and relatability. They’re human. They’re warm.
Stock photos could never.
3. Custom art brings the personality, big time.
Illustration also excels in making your brand stand out and feel special. Not everyone has custom art- in fact, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, most small businesses don’t.
And that’s exactly why it injects so much juice into your branding. It’s special. It says something about you — and people will remember.
The personalized, handcrafted look of custom illustrations can transform a basic box or label into something unique, loveable — something to keep for years. The result is brand loyalty and trust, especially for local, homegrown businesses.
The best part is that you can collaborate with an artist whose style aligns perfectly with your brand’s vibe—whether you’re after something minimalist and modern, or bold and playful. Realistic and colorful, or a loose line-art sketch - it’s all up to you.
This helps your small business feel not just polished, but also authentically personal. It’s a major factor in building lasting relationships with customers.
Need a custom illustration for your business? Visit my Illustration and Painting portfolio.
How can your business use custom illustration? Here are a few ideas.
Create a brand mascot, like Downtown Charcuterie (left). Try surveying your customers to learn about their favorite animal and base your mascot on the winner, or let your customers name your mascot, giving you high-engagement social posts!
Create a free custom promotional sticker (that people actually love and use!)
Serve both kids and adults? Create materials specifically for kids, helping them interact with your brand through illustration.
Create illustrated infographics, roadmaps, and other guides to help prospective clients understand your process.
Make your website less text-heavy.
Commission an illustration kit of illustrations on transparent backgrounds that you can move around and reposition in Canva, giving you endless possibilities for creating social media posts and a cohesive social presence.
Create an eye-catching van wrap or car decal.
Food photography is notoriously difficult, but food illustration is perfect for menus, and always looks delicious.
Add custom art to your packaging and make it memorable.
Make promotional t-shirts.
Create a custom wall decal to personalize your interior space and spread your branding throughout your physical location.
