Welcome to the first instalment of follow up posts themed around ‘The Trouble with Illustration’
About a 7 minute read - Grab yourself a cuppa, and maybe a biscuit…
The initial article The Trouble With Illustration served to identify the key barriers that might stop you using bespoke illustration for your brand’s marketing or communications materials - does this sound familiar? - Read the initial article here
Following on from that, I’m going to look at the identified potential issues for ‘would-be illustration commissioners’ and try to offer some solutions which could make choosing a bespoke illustration route a more viable option for your organisation. If this sounds like it would be useful for you - Read On!
First up - and it's a BIG one - Cost!
Whilst it is true that bespoke illustration does have an inherent cost, the main thing to consider is whether this is good (and lasting) value for money. And whether it offers the means of communicating something in an effective way for your brand.
Something that would have a lasting value might be, for example, a part of your brand’s visual identity or an illustration which explains a key part of your process/product - essentially something that would be likely to have prolonged use, rather than a more limited life.
Assuming you’d like to get the most out of any illustrations you commission then this previous post is a good place to start > 7 Insider Tips to Help You Squeeze the Most Value from Commissioning Illustration
Squeeze the most value from commissioning illustration…
Illustration can often be thought of as an expensive option, but it isn’t always… It really depends on the project. A main consideration should be simply whether it’s the right approach for you, at a particular time.
Sea & Stream: Brand Illustration
A comment from a previous client…
“ As a small business, a concern was the cost involved going down the illustration route. However, I am delighted we did as it makes our brand really stand out from our competitors and gives us great foundations to work from with our branding in the future… I now have a unique and beautiful illustration which people in the outdoor swimming community recognise. We also have illustrated icons which enhance our website and have been able to use them in social media and magazine publications. The branding stands out & has loads of potential to be developed as our company grows.”
- Lou Jones, Founder of Sea & Stream
Sea & Stream: Values Icons
Once an illustration style is set, this is something that can be built on over time, or the approach may evolve. If the illustrations you have commissioned work well for you, and you can see the value in helping to bring a return, whether that’s financial or gaining traction/following, then surely the cost is a worthwhile part of your operating process?
This brings us on to the cost of maintaining a style over time
Ok, so you need more illustrations. Yes, it’s fair to assume that will cost you more
BUT, there may be ways to cut corners…
1. Perhaps a kit of parts could work for you?
Could you re-use smaller elements from an initial/larger illustration piece as individual spot illustrations? You may be able to get away with commissioning fewer illustration pieces if some of the elements can be re-used for other things too?
If this approach sounds good to you, it’s important you speak to the illustrator to make sure they supply the artwork as you’ll need and that everything is covered in terms of the licence you have agreed with them. It may also be useful to have some kind of ‘Illustration Guide’ as an extra - think along the lines of a Brand Guidelines document, but specifically relating to the use of your illustrations - This would help you to ensure the illustrations are used as intended, and there is consistency as to how they are applied across your brand/platforms
2. Prioritise key illustrations
Secondary or smaller illustrations could be simpler (& less expensive), as long as they tie in. If the same general style and colour palette is used, they should all still sit together well.
3.Spread the cost
Not strictly a solution to keeping costs down overall, but spreading the cost can sometimes be helpful. Do you need all the illustrations in one go, or could they be created over a period of time? If so, you could discuss how best to break things up into stages with your illustrator.
4. Be Clear about what you’ll need in the future
If you know you will want more images created over time, make sure that the direction taken with the illustrations is sustainable for you and the illustrator.
Is what you’re asking for highly complex or detailed? If so, in order to keep costs down, it may make sense to try and simplify what you’re trying to achieve, to avoid being tied into an approach that is prohibitively expensive.
Also, if you know you will want future illustrations, this could be discussed at the initial quoting stage. Sometimes, there may be more scope for negotiation if there is likely to be additional future work.
Other thoughts…
Budgets
It’s always important with costs to be clear about your budget - if you have one.
If you do have a figure in mind when approaching an illustrator, it’s really helpful to share that with them. It can basically save a lot of time all round, and if they know your budget it might help them suggest what would be possible to fit within that.
Negotiate
An illustrator’s costs aren’t generally set in stone. Depending on your project, there may be scope for some negotiation. Not simply that the illustrator will do the same work for a lower fee, but they may be able to suggest a slightly different approach, offer some flexibility in the licensing or perhaps a way that the work can be streamlined to bring the costs down for you.
Simplify the content?
I touched on this above, but also to say… Whilst illustration fees aren’t wholly based on the time it takes to create the work (Usage also plays a key role - more about that here) - if the illustrations aren’t overly complex (in terms of content and/or style) your illustrator may be more willing to negotiate the fee.
The ‘S’ Word
If you’re set on an illustrative approach, aside from commissioning something bespoke, there is always the option of using Stock illustration.
The cost of bespoke illustration is usually justifiably greater than that of stock illustration, and that can sometimes be a deciding factor in choosing the latter option.
Stock illustration can provide an ‘off the peg’ solution which, if it’s a good fit, is a perfectly acceptable way to go. It will work best if your content is fairly standard or generic, and if you’re not bothered if the same illustration is used elsewhere by someone else.
However, where the content is more specific and an illustration would need to be tailored to fit your particular specifications, or if you’d like to have some ownership of the images and know that no-one else will be using them, it’s much less likely that stock illustration will do the job so well. ‘One size doesn’t fit all…’
And finally...
Please don’t choose an illustrator based solely on the cost
I recall this quote I saw a while back on the @thechrisdo ChrisDo-IG Business Marketing Instagram feed. It was from a guest post by @thejamiebrindle, titled Freelancer’s Field Guide to Client Requests.
It is a bit flippant, but a valid point I think.
Costs are a key factor in most things, and choosing an illustrator is perhaps no different, but I would say it’s important to balance affordable costs with finding the right illustrator for the job.
From my perspective the primary focus should be to find an illustrator who is a good fit for you, and who will deliver illustrations that align well with your brand, your audience and what you’re trying to communicate. If you’ve found the right person, hopefully the costs will work themselves out through discussing the project options and negotiation.
If not, there may be other suitable illustrators who would do the work for a lower fee, it’s just a case of spending time to search them out.
OR
It could be that bespoke illustration isn’t the right option for you at this time…And that’s OK!
To Take Away…
Key points to consider in trying to keep a handle on illustration costs, particularly when looking to maintain an illustration style over time
Think about the illustrations you’d like, now and potentially in the future
If you need more than 1 illustration, are there key pieces that could be prioritised and others that could be simpler assets
Be realistic about your budget, and ongoing budget if you’d like to maintain a set style, with new illustrations over time
Be open to negotiation, but don’t necessarily expect the same work for a lower fee. Allow the illustrator to suggest possible/alternative options, and what could be done to fit with your budget
Ask a number of illustrators to quote for the work, and take into account their estimates along with who you feel would be the best fit for you
I hope you've found this article helpful and relevant for you.
Obviously, the nature of bespoke illustration projects means that the challenges will vary, depending on what you’d like to do, but the points I’ve laid out should offer some starting points in potentially making illustration a more workable proposition, if it hasn’t been in the past
If you have any questions or comments relating to this article, please do feel free to email me. I’m always happy to help if I can.
Equally, if you have any other specific reasons why you may have decided not to go with an illustration route in the past, I’d be really interested to hear them. It could be something I can help with, but also highly likely to be useful for me in putting together my future posts in this series. Email me
NEXT UP…
The Flexibility of Illustration (or lack of !) - I’ll be exploring another issue that cropped up in my research around possible barriers to commissioning illustrations…
I hope to be able to share some insights and ways that illustration could be made more flexible for you - If that sounds of interest, sign up to my newsletter to be kept in the loop.
EDIT: Read the post >>>
Some other previous posts that may be of interest for you…
Exploring the reasons why you might decide NOT to commission bespoke illustration and offering solutions to make it a more viable option in the future