Live session: Designing brand illustrations

In our fourth design meetup, our community manager, Medet, and our incredibly talented guest designer, Maddy, are taking us on a journey into the fascinating world of "illustration systems."

What are illustration systems?

In the first part of our session, Maddy gives us the lowdown on what illustration systems are all about. She explains how companies use them to maintain consistency and effectively convey their brand identity across different platforms. Maddy shows us examples from industry giants like Spotify, Bold, and Mailchimp.

But these illustration systems aren't just about visuals; they're about personality too. Maddy highlights how they reflect the brand's personality, convey a message, and adapt to various contexts, whether it's on a website, social media, or even as eye-catching Instagram content.

Industry best practices

Before diving into the demo, Maddy shares some pearls of wisdom from the industry. She showcases brands that not only nail their illustration systems but also set trends in the field. This time, the examples come from Slack, Notion, and Headspace.

Demo session in Linearity Curve

Lastly, Maddy walks us through creating our very own illustration system. She covers all the essentials, like following brand guidelines, selecting the right color palette, and picking an art style that matches the brand's personality and message.

In the demo session, Maddy used Linearity Curve (formerly Vectornator) to illustrate a character, and you got to see the magic in action. She shows you the ropes with tools like the Pen , Node , and Shape Tool, making it super easy to create various elements, from hairstyles to clothing. Plus, she shares some fantastic tips on keeping your layers organized and answered all your burning questions about stroke styles and layer naming.

To top it all off, Maddy shows us how to save our design elements in a well-organized library and use them efficiently with templates. It's all about streamlining your workflow and making your design projects a breeze.

So there you have it—an event packed with knowledge, creativity, and plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. We were delighted to have you here, and we hope you enjoyed the session!