Illustrations

In my introductory post in January, I touched on the topic of illustrations in web design. This is a trend that has been around for some time and it seems like this fun and engaging design tool is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

barrelny.com

The appeal of using illustration is understandable. A well chosen illustration is immediately captivating. It captures the imagination, and can, with simplicity and clarity, deal with themes and subject matter that may be more difficult to explore with photography. A case could be made for illustrators being well suited to craft images that are more emotionally evocative as well.

wekeeptheotherbadmenfromthedoor.com

 The option of using a more restricted colour palette also brings the possibility of high quality images with smaller file sizes, which translates to a big impact with shorter load times. Tapping into custom art styles also brings great potential for developing brand recognition.

majorsavage.com

Resources

For large projects where the importance of owning a specific look and feel is reflected in the budget, hiring an illustrator is the best option. This would allow a great deal of control over the images that would make it onto the website. However, there are a number of resources available online for smaller projects.

unDraw.co

unDraw.co is a website that hosts hundreds of illustrations, with customizable colours, that are completely free to use.

Openpeeps.com

Openpeeps.com has a large library of illustration elements that can be combined to make the perfect image for any project, and best of all it’s open source and free to use.

For more illustration resources, visit Bashooka’s 26 Awesome Free Illustration Websites, and dribbble’s 7 Best Illustration Resources to Use in Your Web Design Projects.