Illustration

Illustration can show what photography cannot: the invisible, the abstract, the imagined, the simplified. A diagram of an idea, a character for a brand, a metaphor made visible — these are illustration's home ground.

Illustration also carries voice. A loose pencil line feels different from a flat vector shape, and that difference is a design decision. When you commission an illustrator, you are choosing a tone of voice as much as a picture.

Even if you never draw professionally, learning to sketch fast and clearly will make you a better designer — thumbnails and roughs are how ideas get tested before they get polished.