How Art & Illustration Can Elevate a Brand

Photo courtesy of Micheal Burrows on Pexels

When creating a campaign for a client, you’re doing more than designing a brochure or a press release. You have to combine different studies such as public relations, business, marketing, communications, advertising, and design all into one cohesive strategy. Effective campaigns don’t separate these areas, but they overlap them with creativity at its core. Account strategists build the foundation of a campaign. They identify the audience and define the message. Visual creatives then bring that strategy to life in a way that people can connect with and remember.  

Today, more and more brands are incorporating illustration to add a level of personality that photography alone often can’t achieve. In modern social media and traditional ads filled with realistic templates, the trend of custom artwork stands out. Human artwork is intentional and distinctive. 

Illustration as Identity

Custom artwork gives brands a unique vision. Instead of relying on stock or AI-generated images, illustrations allow companies to build intentional and expressive stories that feel hand-made rather than reused. Art is a visual language that audiences can recognize and remember. 

A strong example is the collaboration between Monkiddo and Converse. In this collaboration, Malaysian-based artist Jayee Lim uses bold, playful illustration to transform Converse’s “Year of the Dragon” shoe into something rich with personality. Colorful monsters and dragons interact with the shoe, turning a traditional silhouette into a narrative piece. 

This artwork communicates energy, culture, and imagination to the product. The shoe becomes more than something to buy, but a visual story that consumers want to interact with. 

Photo courtesy of Monkiddo on Behance

Where Strategy Meets Creativity

Art for aesthetics alone is decoration. But when it's guided by research and strategy, it becomes branding. When illustration aligns with public relations and goal-based messaging, it plays a key part in differentiating a brand from its competitors and strengthens its identity across platforms.  

Adding art to a campaign can create an emotional connection, spark a call to action, and increase recall, whether through social media graphics or print ads. And in a campaign, memorability is everything.