As you probably know, illustration is a big trend now. We see them every where from fashion design, print media to web design. Here is a nice collection of over 30 sites that demonstrated excellent use of vector illustration. This set of site has proven that illustration is suitable for all type of sites — from personal blogs, to designer showcases, and even professional or corporate sites. Not only illustration can set the mood and characteristic of the site, but it can also establish an icon (branding) of your corporate image. Here are some good examples…
You should recognize her by now. Veerle has been using the same illustration and design for quite a bit of time, but it still looks so refreshing.
What is the best way to describe your team and personality? Obviously, illustrate it!
Who said a hosting site must be filled with computer and server rack photos? Joyent developed a very friendly (yet professional) corporate image by using simple illustrations.
See how a single-page site can be so attractive?
Although there is only one illustration throughout entire site, but that character with a wine bottle is stamped in my head — simple and memorable.
Joel Laumans
Vector art is definitely gaining popularity.
I love the roll over expanding images, nice touch
(congrats on the new site btw, great design)
Bárbara
Talented people always make nice³ works with Illustrator.
Thanks for share this ;)
ismael rac
You always give us good site’s to check out thanks. Nick
Bobbi-lee
I love going to sites and seeing vector illustrations, they are always so inspiring. I always use a vector illustration in my layouts.
Darren
I love vector illustrations. I like simple yet bright designs and vectors allow that instantly. The soft curves and bright colours always put a smile on my face.
Planet
Yeap, even simple vector illustration gives so much “vitality” to the design but also “closes the door” – there are not many web developers who can bring that stuff to their sites, because they are “workers”, not artist. However, that’s good, because vector art still will be that unique.
Shortshire
Vector arts are definitely popular. I like the expression they can hold and you can always tell the mood of website when you see the vector images. I need to learn how to create vector images. Great thread but you left out E-Surance which their whole campaign is ran on vector images.
Kai
Hi Nick, thanks for mentioning globalzoo.de. I”m honored! Love your blog and all your other projects. Keep up the good work! Greetz from Germany
Joelle
We love us some vector. Almost every client we get requests some kind of illustration or character. Lots of great sites here. Great to see EllisLab in the mix!
Marko
That is a nice collection of sites with outstanding illustrations. Not only vector based illustrations, but all kinds of drawings are popping out around the internet. And quite a few illustrators have been around for some time now…
jharr
I think it’s important not to get too caught up in calling these out as ‘vector’ graphics. It’s less about the method that these were created with than the style, color and detail. Raster vs. vector doesn’t matter as much as good vs bad, this is a great set of good designs.
kol
I really like the “Realistic” ones, but the other cartoony characters look retarded. I can’t stand those Freelance switch neckless little shits. I’ve had to Block those images Opera just so i can visit the site. Bleh.
Rikas
Great! Thanks! :)
SigChat
Vector art just looks a lot better. It’s pretty difficult to do for facial images or characters.
tenmonkey
Just want to say THANK YOU for your post! I enjoy it and your site very much!
tenmonkey from China :)
Justin
I find that Vector Art is one of the best ways and forms of advertising. 1 you get what you want, 2, it’s clear, vibrant. The mood it sets is one-of-a-kind. Good capture on vector!
Cheers!
MellieMel
Nice post. Im trying to understand the whole vector thing. Good inspiration on this one :)
Corinne
I’m always amazed at what people (other than myself) can do. Gorgeous stuff.
sturdy
Fantastic!
Carlos Eduardo
Very good examples of what we can do with simple illustrations on Web…
Eric
I’ve been using vector drawings on my site for quite a while too. http://www.expansionbroadcast.com
kemie
I actually think microstock sites such as istock are playing a big part in making vectors available to designers. Before illustrations were either expensive stock illustrations or cheesy clipart and not much in the middle. Outlets like istock make it possible for designers to find, licence and use high quality, up to date vector illustrations. About 1/3 of the designs posted here feature illustrators on istock.
Web Designer
Good guide … agree with comment above re istock … know of several “designers” who can cut and paste vectors from stock with the best of em :)
Malene Hald
A very good selection of sites. Like that you mentioned Veerle first – she must’ve been one of the first designers to use this style.
A qyestion: How do you make your images grow larger, on mouse over?
elysa
This is a great collection of sites. I am planning on using illustration in my upcoming redesign. When I took history of graphic design in college we studied about how much easier it is for people to relate to an illustrated person than a photograph. There is a natural tendency to look at a photo and think “I am not that skinny/tall,etc” but with an illustration of a person its easier to relate rather than compare.
cedric boisseau
I love Stoodéo’s design! Very clean! Good job
Peacock, Carter & Associates
I particularly like the jek2k design – simple, clean but striking!
Ilaria
Great selection. I really like Stoodeo’s header, so catchy!
Lawrence
Very inspirational collection of vector art!
Filosof
And whatabout foodex.cz? :-)
Naomi
It’s not totally vector, but I’d really like to add my partner’s illustration that he did for our site: intuitivedesigns.net. I really like what he did for the site and it always amazes me what he can come up with.
Sven
Hi,
yes, vectors are very popular. And if you are an illustrator you can make quite some money on the big stockphoto and -image sites. I have written an article with some information on getting your vectors and photos listed on istockphoto.com
Check out my blog for details.
Sven
ganex a.k.a ganesh
Brilliant websites, Excellent artwork and inspiration content. I will sure use some those ideas in my upcoming venture.
Love,
Ganesh
ganex a.k.a ganesh
Brilliant websites, Excellent artwork and Inspirational content. I will surely use, some those ideas in my upcoming venture.
Love,
Ganesh
Search Scripts
WOW! This is a very nice collection of vector illustrated headers on websites. You have done a very nice work of bringing them on one platform for all of us to see.
Gino
I use vector illustrations on my site as well!
http://www.youthedesigner.com
yurievi
what about http://www.popwhore.com
Blythe Claire
It is great to see Jek2k in the list, he/they designed our publication!!! She Thinks Geek, She Unlimited I love the list, great picks!!!
prisca
hi :)
great collection of links and very inspirational ;) THANKS :)
though I was hoping to find some along the line of your wonderful ornate background graphics as well as all those nice character illustrations…
(just to throw in mine as well: http://www.graphiceyedea.info)
dan
This looks dated through my UK based eyes – it’s not a trend that’s happening here right now… maybe 4/5 years ago.
xie han
just simply like your web style!it is so special!….hehe……
i am a chinese girl and want to be a fashion designer..so i searched it on the internet..and then ..your web site is recommended by GOOGLE..i watched from ndesigner-studion to your new opened “wall”…..
nobody will miss suh a fascinating and modern-minded web!
i hope you will go on !
喜欢这个地方的花纹
爱这里一见如故的感觉
Christina
Check out NoDoubt.com too, ‘vector’ illustration with flash :)
Robet
Hi. You’re site rocks;)
And since in this post we talked about sites with vector illustration on them – here’s another one (mine own:) – http://blackmoondev.com
Matthew James Taylor
I have been drawing vector illustrations for years but I have only just noticed that their popularity was on the rise. I think this is a great thing because there is a lot of really great illustrators out there producing beautiful work that we all should see!
Juli
Check out my digital illustration of Angelina Jolie! It’s traced from a photograph:
http://www.imsmrtpro.com/index.php/portfolio/digital-illustrations/angelina-jolie/
What do you think?
Mai Văn Vũ
i very like all……is pro !
Smarmy
Great post.
@dan: this looks dated? 4/5 years ago!? Are you Rip Van Winkle or what? 5 years ago everything was made in tables and animated GIFs. No one has any idea what you’re talking about.
Mr.Tran
i very like all……is pro !
EYE CATCHY PICS
Nice collection i have ever seen, superb work
chk plz also this!
http://www.eyecatchypics.com
Aquil Akhter
Nice work! keep it up
TOTALFUNWORLD.COM
Great work by them and the great collection as well.
Jack
http://www.profilepicasso.com lets you upload a picture and they’ll create a vector portrait for your Facebook/MySpace/LinkedIn/etc profile
Joefrey Mahusay
Great Collection!
Brett
Great article. Here’s another example of this trend.
http://www.startupstudents.com
Fergus O'Donoghue
There are some lovely vector graphics sites…good collection.
Have a look at http://www.metalfrog.co.uk for some excellent vector artwork…
Webmaster Direcotry
very nice collection and having too much artistic work
but i think it is not easy job too much professional work
Sara Susan
Well its really nice collection i have ever seen….
I got a also nice links i m doing share with u all
http://www.eyecatchypics.com
Mark Saint
Vector illustration is merely a tool for creating an image and I think to label it as a “trend” is foolish. The examples are certainly in a very particular style but that style doesn’t necessarily mean that they had to be vectored at all. They could have been drawn, scanned whatever.
My point is, that with the presented examples here, you are not pointing out a trend of vector usage, more a trend of cartoon style illustration, that happens to have been created in vector form because many styles can be achieved through using vector tools.
Vector is not a trend, cartoon graphics is the trend.
Joshua Gutteridge
Excellent websites displayed above for inspiration! Bright and colorful…this is the way forward!
Joshua Gutteridge
http://www.SkyteMedia.com
künstliche fingernägel
Great staff, this is exactly the information I was looking for. Keep the great work up!!
Thanks
Darlington Weddings
I also use a nice illustration of a Bride on my homepage – I aim to add more illustration to the site to supprt this…
http://www.darlingtonweddings.co.uk
Günstiger Rechtsschutz
Beautyful design and a very nice collection on webdesignerwall.com.
Nageldesign
Nice page . I love it.
lucien
personal site that has some of the same trends. LucienFrelin.com
Adrienne Henry
Very cool web! Nice!!
Flash Developer
Right!
Now latest trend moves to vector graphics, me too using flash based vector graphics for all of my web 2.0 projects.
web designer
This vector’s are great!
krem Botoks
güzel site…
People Search Dude
Funny thing is…I notice free-hand illustration being the “in thing” now. I betcha they’ll be a post on WDW in the future about the top free-hand illustrated sites.
boy uzatma
The site Graphic super and design.
Stephanie
This is interesting, I’ve been a vector artist for a long time.
The amount you see in web-design is much different from what a vector artist would consider to be true vector art.
I enjoy it none the less.
sıcak video
çok manyak tasarlamışlar :)
arkadas
wordpress altyapısıyla kurulmuş güzel bir site, grafiklerde süper.
Abhijith S Dev
oooooooooooo tats just tooo much..veri nice..
naran_ho
Nice, great collection.
Busby
Very inspiring designs!
Denise
I just blew out an old site, and reconfigured it with a vector graphic, to give it a fresh new feel. After seeing these, I need to go back to the drawing board!
Süper Bilişim
very very nice collections.Thank you so much.
http://www.superbilisim.com.tr
Travesti Vitrini
ooooo very good collections.very interesting and very nice.Thanks.
http://www.travestivitrini.com
Özlem Kuaför
this graphic is very good.
http://www.ozlemkuafor.net
gay
http://www.sevimligay.com
travesti
This is interesting, I’ve been a vector artist for a long time.
The amount you see in web-design is much different from what a vector artist would consider to be true vector art.
I enjoy it none the less.
travesti
travesti,viptravesti
travesti
thansk babam canam
Carlos Hermoso
I just love vector illustration trends. Have a look at my site for another sample of it:
http://carloshermoso.com/
Sunt Tantimekaboot
This Trend’s my work style!! I love it so much… if u wanna see my works, http://sumhint.wordpress.com (it’s my portfolio)
BloggerTinker
Wow! I love your collections! But I love your layout more.hehe How I wish I could design web templates like you.hehe color-combination is my problem -_-
Nice! ^_^
prefabrik
teşekkürler güzel paylaşım.
prefabrik ev
güzel paylaşım tebrikler.
kabin
tesekkurler guzel paylasım …
cennet
Thanks Thanks What’s the problem here? Google could bury the meager profit number from even the biggest media conglomerates.
cennetevi
these are awesome!
thanks for putting in the effort to get this list together http://www.cennet.gen.tr
Aoobi
They are cool. But how can I make one, if I don’t know how to draw.
bagsin
I just love vector illustration trends. great here.
Cyrus
Great , Vector Illustration Trend
Great article. CSS saved web design
Cyrus
Visit http://www.psdtoxhtmlcoder.com
Alex De
Wow..As a professional stock illustrations artist it was pleasant to find and read this article. Its good to see the list of website using illustrations in creative and promising way. I take interests in developing illustrations especially for websites and this seems to be a real promotion for all the web illustration community out there. You can take a look at my work here http://www.pixelgenio.com/main/illustration.html , http://www.pixelgenio.com/ongoingprojects/Amit/SampleSlide.jpg . Thanks for writing… :)
Mike
Thanks Thanks What’s the problem here? Google could bury the meager profit number from even the biggest media conglomerates.
crowdsourcing website
Its great informative article and as a graphic designer myself its very useful. I was looking for a trends article like this. Good one.
denizli web tasarım
çok manyak tasarlamışlar
Freelancing career
Cool collections, nice article ,whole things are really awesome.
Thanks for all.
php dersleri
thank you :D
güvenlik
Thank you for themes
FP
Does anyone know of a good list of illustrators they recommend?
chiho
your site always help me… thanks…
Reaper
I jus wanna say this is a freaking awesome website. the graphics on this page are so vibrant and fresh. Nice
Michelle Santos
Interested in Web Site Information–Please call
903-571-8916
willsons
When you do article marketing, your intention is to increase the number of visitors to your website. It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices. I have look for such a article for a long time, thanks a lot. http://www.uggsclassicboot.com/
Henry Peise
white iphone 4 is so charming and chic. As the icon of latest fashion, how can you miss it!
Juno Mindoes
Looking for the latest white iphone 4 Conversion Kit? I am just looking for a web to satisfy all my need. Come and take it home!
technolyze
i like the freelance switch design, very funny, but have deep meaning on those cartoons.
Ben
This blog definitely has some information on topic that I just wasnt aware of. Thanks for bringing this stuff to light.
Cygnismedia
Thanks for your good website and for sharing your experiences.
Facebook Applications Development
thanks
tütüne son
When you do article marketing, your intention is to increase the number of visitors to your website.
altın çilek
When you do article marketing, your intention is to increase the number of visitors to your website. It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices. I have look for such a article for a long time, thanks a lot.
altın çilek
thanks thats great website
altın çilek
i like the freelance switch design, very funny, but have deep meaning on those cartoons.
شات صوتي
thnks
goooooooooooooood
min:(
Pet
Cool website, and Nice!! graphics, they are so insipiring
si vector logo
Nice info. Thanks
perde modelleri
çok yararlı….
Steven Marshal
The construction of a well-crafted, content-rich website requires clearly defined goals and objectives. The website should be targeted to the audience your company is trying to reach…
complex 41
These are really stunning, there are even some sites that are new to me. All the colour schemes complex 41are definatly brave but I really think they work to make the sites eye catching and engaging.
bio merhem
The construction of a well-crafted, content-rich website requires clearly defined goals and objectives. The website should be targeted to the audience your company is trying to reach…
complex 41
And then he handed you the thirty-five 55
complex41
And then he handed you the thirty-five 45
allsaints, allsaints clothing
Tremendous things here. I am very glad to look your article. Thanks a lot and I’m looking forward to touch you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?
zayıflama
These are very nice samples of designs. Your designs are very neat, clean and attractive. Great job done.
çizgi film
nice sharing.. thanks..