ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL DESIGN

Illustration that stops the scroll.

★★★★★

4.9from brands who've commissioned illustration with us

A dedicated pod of illustrators takes your concept from rough sketch to finished artwork editorial, character, spot or full scenes built to hold a viewer's eye and carry your brand's point of view.

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Trusted by over 100+ brands, and 20 agencies

The track record

Cumulative · Across The Illustration Design Pod

2,600+

Illustrations Delivered

25+

Industries Served

Dedicated Illustrators

96%

Approved Within 3 Rounds

7–10d

Avg. Turnaround

The Basics

What is illustration design?

llustration design is original visual artwork made to communicate an idea rather than photograph one , a character, an editorial scene, an icon set, a spot image for a landing page or a full narrative spread. It's part concept work (what the image needs to say and how) and part craft (line, color, composition, and a style that's recognizably yours rather than a stock template.)

Unlike photography, illustration can show what doesn't exist, simplify what's complicated, and carry a tone of voice on its own , it's judged on whether it makes someone stop and look, on a page, a feed, or a package.

How We Work

How we design illustration

The same ten-stage route for every project, whether it's one spot image or a full character system.

STAGE 01

Understanding the brief

We start with your business, not a mood board audience, competitors, and what the mark needs to do that words can't.

STAGE 02

Research

A pass through your category and adjacent ones: what's overused, what's earned, and where there's real room to be distinct.

STAGE 03

Strategy

We turn the brief and research into a point of view , what the mark needs to say, to whom, and what it deliberately won't try to be.

STAGE 04

Understanding positioning

We map where you sit against competitors and adjacent brands, so the mark claims territory rather than blending into the category.

STAGE 05

Sketching

Pen-and-paper exploration, wide and fast , the goal is volume and range before anything touches a screen.

STAGE 06

Initial concepts

The strongest sketches get built out digitally into a handful of genuinely different directions, not variations on one idea.

STAGE 07

Selection

You and your creative lead narrow to the direction with the clearest fit against the strategy , not just the one that's prettiest in isolation.

STAGE 08

Finalization

The chosen mark is refined stroke by stroke , spacing, proportion, and how it holds up small, mono, and reversed.

STAGE 09

Making the presentation

The mark is placed in context , signage, packaging, screens , so it's judged the way your audience will actually see it.

STAGE 10

Presenting

We walk the work through live, talk through the reasoning stage by stage, and leave with sign-off and final files in hand.

Now imagine this creative power behind your next project

This is just one of many creative services, what you do with them is up to you. Let's chat.

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AI as a Tool

Where AI fits into the process

AI speeds up exploration and mockups. Style and final linework judgment stay with the artist.

STAGE 06

Faster concept range

AI-assisted variation lets the pod push more compositions during thumbnailing, widening the field before final art starts.

STAGE 08

Realistic application mockups

AI-generated context lets you see the illustration in the real world , page, product, screen , before it's finalized.

STAGE 07

Pattern & texture generation

AI-assisted texture and background generation speeds up building custom elements from scratch.

ONGOING

Faster iteration cycles

Revision turnarounds shrink because early-stage composition variations don't have to be rebuilt by hand each time.

Where we draw the line: AI never finalizes linework or approves production files on its own. Every asset that ships has been checked, adjusted and signed off by a senior illustrator.

Our Work

A sample of the work

Illustrative site layouts across the categories we work in most , filter to see the range.

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WHAT OUR PARTNERS SAY

Trusted by people who care about their brand.

“Having worked with numerous agencies across New York and Los Angeles, I can confidently say that the consistent quality and innovation we’ve experienced with Zee and the team at Routes is truly remarkable. They bring a unique blend of creativity, and attention to detail that sets them apart. ”

Brad B McCormick

Founder | 10Louder

“Zee and team Routes combines creativity and strategy to produce campaigns that leave a lasting impression. Their team’s professionalism and ability to adapt to different industries make them a trusted partner for all our marketing needs”

Reba Judeh

Marketing Communication Consultant

“Since partnering with Routes in 2021, we’ve accomplished an incredible number of successful projects together. Routes team’s dedication, creativity, and hard work are unmatched, consistently delivering exceptional results that exceed expectations.”

Hesham Thabit

Managing Partner | The Creative Squad

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