Illustration Vs Photos for Marketing
Illustrations and photography have been used extensively in marketing and sales for eons, and whilst one or the other have tended to dominate the commercial design world at times (in the 50′s for example, the use of illustration was profilic compared to today), both remain popular methods of visually communicating a brand message via advertising and marketing.
I would say that for some time now photography has dominated the commercial design world a considerable amount more than illustrative works do, however of recent years we have seen a delightful blend of the two art forms – a great example of a master of this is Brand Nu.
Whilst illustration use has declined in general, it’s use remains extensive in areas such as;
- fashion
- music
- interiors (wallpaper patterns for instance; that is illustration)
- film
- animation
- and more….
These are other ‘arts forms’ in my opinion and I suppose you could say – which means we have art representing art, and this is perhaps appropriate and the reason for the popularity of illustration in these areas still.
The Design Observer blog speculates that illustration is being used less by corporates and in my opinion especially business to business service providers because graphical design and typography (written words) is seen as a way of getting an explicit message across, and that conversely illustration is perceived as too arty and vague.
Illustrate For Sales, Not For Art
I disagree that illustration is always arty and vague, or that it can ‘only’ be this way. Illustration can be used to underline and bring to life an explicit sales message, or at least it should be when created for commercial advertising use.
When we need to develop is more commercially aware illustrators that understand how to design for business and not just for art. Not art for arts sake, but art for sales sake! When this happens, we will see an increase in the use of illustration in the commercial world.
The question is will ’3d or scultural’ art/design ever have a place in the commercial design world? 
One Response to “Illustration Vs Photos for Marketing”
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Recently stumbled across your blog and enjoy what you have to say! And while this is an outdated post, it covers something I’ve been wondering about lately.
Namely, whether the last decade’s improvement in photographic technology would end up increasing the demand for illustration? To explain: at one time it was relatively difficult to find good photographers. Now, there are so many photos being taken with good equipment, even non-professionals are “accidentally” producing quality work. I’m thinking of the stock image market here to some degree.
With so many faux-professional photos available, it would seem that their aggregate value should go down. If I’m a marketer trying to cut through the clutter, photos could be seen as an overused solution… leading to an increase in the demand for illustration.
We’ve already seen this surge in demand for some types of illustration work and I wonder if this is a larger, technology-driven trend? Surely, developing more business-oriented illustration work (as you suggest) would add fuel to the fire.