Images of people have always been used in the company's communication materials. This made the brand more friendly and helped the product to be more empathetic. Before the big identity update, the illustration style was consistent only in general. People's images varied from case to case, with changes in anatomy and illustration style.
During the identity update process, we faced two tasks. First, we needed to create a new unique illustration style that would align with the company's fresh new style. Second, we needed to establish a character-building system to make it easier and faster to create new images in this new style.
We identified the most critical aspects that were missing in the old illustration style and built a new style based on these principles: openness, modernity, dynamics, energy and meaningfulness, unity and functionality. And fun.
The characters' anatomy is similar to that of humans, but it has been slightly modified, giving the style its uniqueness.
There are various restrictions, which simplify the process of creating new illustrations. For example, the number of colors and gradients is limited. Visible perspective is absent. The use of lines and strokes is restricted. Only front-facing or half-turn images of figures are allowed. There are only three body types and two genders. Etc.
The company aims to represent different communities and connect people across cultures and continents. This helps the audience identify themselves and better understand ideas. In order to be diverse and inclusive, the style of illustrations has a wide range of variability despite stylistic limitations.
All the rules are described in a massive guidelines. Each new character image is compiled into a library for reuse.
Thank you for your attention!