10 inspiring illustration styles

Discover your product’s next artistic direction.

I have to confess… I’m an illustration junkie. Hours disappear when I’m swimming through the endless stream of talented artists that post online. The art form of illustration has become a mainstay of landing pages, getting more unique and colorful with each passing year. It provides customers a friendly introduction to brands and can become an essential component of all your customer-facing imagery. While there are now many repositories of free or low-cost illustrations available online, there is something to be said for the use of unique imagery that is designed to represent a single brand’s identity and message.

The stock photo styles of the 90’s have lost their appeal. Although we’re seeing a new era of stock image quality emerge on sites like Unsplash, it’s difficult for many brands to properly utilize those kinds of images to strong affect.

Illustrations are a perfect go between — able to provide the emotion and human connection of photos, while distilling the imagery to a neutral flavor which can be used in a much wider range of possibilities. As art becomes more intertwined with the brands and products we build, it’s important that we have a reference point when looking for an artist.

Here, I’ve curated a few of my favorite illustration styles, highlighting some particularly stellar examples of each. In the lack of specific stylistic definitions, I’m using my own categorizations to define each style.

I hope this list will serve as both a style reference and a directory of talent to contact when building your next great brand.

Thank you to all the artists who gave permission to share their incredible work.

#1 Flat

Flat is iconic and timeless, conveying incredible depth in just a few colors.

by Malika Favre

You’ve undoubtedly encountered Malika Favre’s work in The New Yorker, Sephora, and on a host of book covers. Her minimalistic style often features imagery of empowered women or emotional views into the female experience. I’m a huge fan.