Brands across industries are increasingly turning to custom illustration over traditional photography to tell their stories in 2025, creating bespoke visual worlds that capture audiences' imagination and communicate values with unprecedented clarity. From spectacular digital animations taking over major advertising displays to festival installations that become must-have experiences, forward-thinking companies are discovering that illustration offers unique storytelling possibilities that conventional marketing approaches cannot match.
This growing trend reflects brands' recognition that illustration can create entirely new worlds rather than simply documenting existing ones. Industry observers note that more illustrated work is appearing in advertising, packaging, and branding as companies seek authentic ways to cut through digital noise and forge genuine connections with their audiences.
Nissan's collaboration with illustrator Matt Saunders exemplifies this cinematic approach to brand storytelling. The Japanese automaker, facing uncertainty in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle market, moved beyond conventional advertising to create a spectacular 30-second infinity zoom animation. The piece takes viewers on a journey through futuristic worlds, from racetracks to cyberpunk Tokyo nights, demonstrating the technical possibilities when brands give illustrators ambitious briefs and proper execution time.
Saunders worked with production agency Grand Visual for four months, constructing each scene in three detailed sections: background, mid-plane, and foreground, all anchored around a single central point. Originally designed for online use, the results proved so compelling that Nissan booked Europe's largest advertising display—the 783.5-square-meter Piccadilly Lights screen—to showcase the work to global audiences.
In the experiential marketing space, Costa Coffee's partnership with illustrator Luke McConkey at the Boardmasters festival in Newquay, Cornwall, demonstrates how illustration can transform brand activations from corporate intrusions into spaces people actually want to inhabit. Rather than simply placing logos on merchandise, Costa commissioned McConkey to create vibrant artworks that became integral to their five-day festival presence, which combines major music events with surf, skate, and BMX competitions.
McConkey's approach was refreshingly organic, reflecting the festival atmosphere itself. "I just kind of let things start happening, much like when you're at a festival," he explains. "It's all just happening at once, and stuff happens because other stuff happened." The illustrator even included himself, his wife, and son in the festival scene, noting that "these people make their way into my work subconsciously." His detailed visuals adorned everything from the main installation to highly coveted reversible bucket hats, which became the festival's must-have accessory.
The fashion collaboration between Spanish sneaker brand HOFF and minimalist illustrator Malika Favre shows how the right artist can become a genuine creative collaborator rather than simply decorating products. Founded in 2016, HOFF has built a reputation for colorful, unique sneakers, with each design serving as an ode to a particular city, neighborhood, or destination, often incorporating landmarks or maps on the sole.
Favre, known for her instantly recognizable minimalist style and masterful use of light and shadow, proved the perfect match for HOFF's bold aesthetic. The Mexican Bauhaus collection features a striking sneaker in two vibrant colorways, plus a sweatshirt and tote bag, all sporting Favre's signature lips logo. Drawing inspiration from her favorite place, Mexico, the collection captures the country's iconic colors and architecture through reds, pinks, and oranges against light blue skies. "Color is incredibly important and I was instantly attracted to it," Favre explains, describing the collection as having "a minimalist, architectural vibe where colors and shapes bring the designs to life."
In retail storytelling, supermarket chain Tesco's Finest tea range demonstrates how illustration can transform mundane categories into premium experiences. Working with design agency Coley Porter Bell, illustrator Tom Haugomat created five destination illustrations that transported consumers to tea-growing regions around the world. Each illustration required both compositional strength and extractable elements that could work across different package surfaces, with Haugomat's cinematic quality and subtle textural imperfections conveying the "handmade, authentic quality" the brief demanded.
Public service organizations are also embracing illustration's emotional connection capabilities, as shown by Transport for London's 25th anniversary campaign, "Making Every Journey Matter for 25 Years." Charlie Davis created three initial artworks celebrating London landmarks and moments, from the 'Baby on Board' badge to the Night Tube. The campaign reimagined familiar transport icons while celebrating key London moments, including the 2012 Olympics and the introduction of cycleways. By using a London-based illustrator, TfL ensured the work felt authentically connected to the city it serves.
Premium gin brand Opihr's collaboration with paper artist Helen Musselwhite showcases how tactile mediums can make brand values feel both authentic and unforgettable in an increasingly digital world. Musselwhite created a key visual designed to act as a 'portal' into Opihr's world of flavor, constructed entirely from paper and combining arches, exotic flora and fauna, with the gin bottle at the center, as if glimpsed through a window onto the Spice Route. Each layer was carefully designed to add depth and texture, reflecting Opihr's tagline: "Let the taste take you there."
These case studies reveal several key trends shaping how brands use illustration in 2025. The most successful projects treat illustrators as creative partners rather than decorative service providers, with genuine collaboration producing more impactful results. Authenticity through personality emerges when illustrators' styles naturally align with brand values, while multi-touchpoint thinking ensures artwork works effectively across various applications.
Perhaps most significantly, the best contemporary campaigns use illustration to create experiences people want to engage with rather than traditional advertising formats. This shift from advertising as something to be endured to something to be enjoyed represents a fundamental change in how brands connect with their audiences, suggesting that commissioning the right illustrator isn't just about creating visually appealing images—it's about building genuine connections that run deep and last long after campaigns conclude.
