Visuals are the new buzzword of today, it’s everywhere. Whether you’re designing a digital product or just texting your friend, we use visuals (emojis; which are basically just tiny illustrations) to express ourselves more accurately with the proper tone of voice, delivering a more personalised experience. This is why the recipe of success for any product is a design that communicates well with the user.
One of the earliest tools of communication is art, from prehistoric cave paintings to our daily lives; it has evidently evolved and shaped into many forms. Symbols and icons date back to prehistoric times, which were primarily used to communicate. But, later on those symbols evolved into scenic drawings used to tell stories and share experiences. This is why, for developing a good product design one should understand the importance of using Illustrations and iconography.
With the rapidly evolving consumer needs, people look for something highly effective as well as easy to understand. Their attention span is limited to a few seconds, this is why using visual elements to your products can boost user engagement. In most digital products, illustrations are being used to a much greater extent as it makes your product more accessible and user-friendly. They are the basic element for conveying complex ideas in a calm and exerting manner within mere seconds.
Importance of Illustration
We don't need to add illustrations to our product for the sole purpose of making it look more appealing to the user, it is in fact one of the reasons for adding it but not just that alone. Focusing more on the purpose and functionality of the illustration is more important. A successful illustration is better than a beautiful illustration, it should provide clarity and add value to your product. Conveying a message that a user might find difficult to understand or following a set of instructions with no visuals can be extremely confusing and tiring for the human eye.
While designing a product one should understand the user, their experience and state of mind. Visuals affect emotions and emotions impact the user’s choice, so using the right illustrations ultimately results in the advantage of your product. When Illustrations are used in product design it enhances the actions and directs the user towards what's important so they don't get distracted; something words alone can’t do.
When and how to use Illustrations in Product design?
By making the user journey easier and more attractive, digital Illustrations are used for indulgence and attention of the user with the product. It is ideal to use Illustrations when accompanied by complicated text for the user to understand the message. It should also be used to indicate what to do next, often users are found confused or distracted when they interact with a new product. With clear and well explained illustrations a good user experience is guaranteed. Say you just downloaded a new online payment app, and as soon as you’ve opened it you come across colourful elements, cute or goofy characters that guide you through every step from logging-in to making a transaction. This puts the user at ease while ensuring that they come back after every good experience.
A product designer should use illustrations that mirror the mental state of their user. Figure out the user’s emotional state of mind, why is the user here? How will they react when they find out they’ve failed? Connect to them on a human level and join in on every new level, on personalised announcements such as congratulating the user on reaching a goal, as well as on bad news and important events. as you excel in reading the user's moods and opinions, you can design a much better and interesting experience.
Most designers use illustrations to fill empty spaces, but that too should be done only if it's needed. Illustrations must be subtle and purposeful, they shouldn’t necessarily match your words, but they should match your ideas. A good technique to implement this is by imagining that the user cannot read or don't speak the language. Is your illustration capable of conveying the message to them? On top of that pictorial communication not only communicates with the user but it also subconsciously leaves a mark on them. This is where icons come into the picture.
Importance of Iconography
Icons are a form of tiny illustrations which metaphorizes or symbolises the core idea and intent of the product. This is why iconography is the most fundamental element of product design. It is used to comprehend a specific action or object within seconds by using symbols or objects that everyone is familiar with, for the same reason we also use outdated items for icons to represent something too, because it is deeply engraved in the human memory and people are more familiar with it. For example the floppy disk is still used as an icon, though it's long gone like the dinosaurs.
While using a digital product, icons help users in recognising different actions and tools as well as navigating through it. They speed up the user experience and draw attention to important content. When used correctly, icons can enhance the usability and functionality of the product. They help the user to do what they need to do without any additional effort. Moreover, a good technique of using them efficiently is to add text or tooltips along with your icons to give a clarity and understanding to its purpose. Because the key responsibility of an icon is to deliver the message, it should be designed so that the user does not waste time figuring out what it means and directs to. This is why they are said to be language agnostic; easily interpreted by anyone.
Most designers make the common mistake of using icon sets from the internet to save time which can lead to difficulty in understanding and confusion. But, for developing a valuable product your icons must be customised according to the nature of the product and its users. That’s what makes them unique and actually look like a component of the interface.
Final Words
All in all, icons have become a requisite identity of product design and illustrations have greased the wheels for meta-modern products and trends, they are the best tools for communication. While icons are an important resource for digital products, illustrations have great potential too. Prioritising illustrations is important since it humanises the product. They are not just visually attractive, but they also convince the users to utilise the product, that too in the most simplified and fun manner. Combining text and visuals creatively will help you achieve the most advanced and well functioning digital products.
