← DictionaryIllustration Style
also called illustration direction
The defined drawing approach a brand uses when it illustrates rather than photographs.
How your drawn graphics look, consistently.
What It Is
In the BWH map, Illustration Style lives under Brand — Identity. Stated plainly: the defined drawing approach a brand uses when it illustrates rather than photographs.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. Keep it that plain and it will still be true in twelve months.
How It's Used
In practice, Illustration Style shows up in positioning conversations, identity decisions and the language a business commits to. It normally appears alongside Visual Language, Art Direction and Brand Consistency. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Illustration Style is one of those items that only becomes visible when it is missing. When it is unclear, every later choice about message, design and channel is made on sand. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a word everyone in the room has agreed to use the same way. How your drawn graphics look, consistently.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Illustration Style carries the narrow meaning: the defined drawing approach a brand uses when it illustrates rather than photographs.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Illustration Style is how your drawn graphics look, consistently.
The Bottom Line
Keep Illustration Style plain: how your drawn graphics look, consistently. That is the version that holds up in a real project.