For the spot illustration rework, our goal was to bring clarity and personality to complex ideas, simplifying product benefits and features in a visually engaging way. With a clean, line-based style and flat colors, the illustrations communicate key messages effectively while adding depth and a sense of wonder. This cohesive visual language enhances user engagement and injects extra personality into our product and web experience.
For the spot illustration rework, our goal was to bring clarity and personality to complex ideas, simplifying product benefits and features in a visually engaging way. With a clean, line-based style and flat colors, the illustrations communicate key messages effectively while adding depth and a sense of wonder. This cohesive visual language enhances user engagement and injects extra personality into our product and web experience.
For the spot illustration rework, our goal was to bring clarity and personality to complex ideas, simplifying product benefits and features in a visually engaging way. With a clean, line-based style and flat colors, the illustrations communicate key messages effectively while adding depth and a sense of wonder. This cohesive visual language enhances user engagement and injects extra personality into our product and web experience.
Company
Chegg
Type
Illustration
Year
2024-2025
Team
Hannah Spencer, Claire Fraze, and Chaella Dent
Defining categories
To ensure consistency and focus, each spot category was approached with its own design considerations: product interactions were crafted to clearly communicate user actions in a simple, straightforward manner; emotive illustrations convey feelings and experiences through subtle character expressions and body language; academic tools & props were simplified to highlight functionality, while adding personality to everyday items; product illustrations emphasized key features, bringing clarity and intrigue to technical details; and people & faces were designed to reflect the diversity and humanity of today’s students, using warmth and movement to convey growth and momentum.
To ensure consistency and focus, each spot category was approached with its own design considerations: product interactions were crafted to clearly communicate user actions in a simple, straightforward manner; emotive illustrations convey feelings and experiences through subtle character expressions and body language; academic tools & props were simplified to highlight functionality, while adding personality to everyday items; product illustrations emphasized key features, bringing clarity and intrigue to technical details; and people & faces were designed to reflect the diversity and humanity of today’s students, using warmth and movement to convey growth and momentum.
To ensure consistency and focus, each spot category was approached with its own design considerations: product interactions were crafted to clearly communicate user actions in a simple, straightforward manner; emotive illustrations convey feelings and experiences through subtle character expressions and body language; academic tools & props were simplified to highlight functionality, while adding personality to everyday items; product illustrations emphasized key features, bringing clarity and intrigue to technical details; and people & faces were designed to reflect the diversity and humanity of today’s students, using warmth and movement to convey growth and momentum.
Depth and perspective
In simple terms, flat design with shadows adds a subtle sense of depth, while isometric design shows depth more actively through perspective. Since both styles are used throughout our visual language, we aimed to find a balance between them in the spot illustration library. Some moments naturally suited the flat-with-shadows style, while others worked better with isometric. We made adjustments where needed to ensure the overall balance was maintained across the library.
In simple terms, flat design with shadows adds a subtle sense of depth, while isometric design shows depth more actively through perspective. Since both styles are used throughout our visual language, we aimed to find a balance between them in the spot illustration library. Some moments naturally suited the flat-with-shadows style, while others worked better with isometric. We made adjustments where needed to ensure the overall balance was maintained across the library.
In simple terms, flat design with shadows adds a subtle sense of depth, while isometric design shows depth more actively through perspective. Since both styles are used throughout our visual language, we aimed to find a balance between them in the spot illustration library. Some moments naturally suited the flat-with-shadows style, while others worked better with isometric. We made adjustments where needed to ensure the overall balance was maintained across the library.
Streamlined design for clear messaging
The final library provided our designers with a wide range of consistent, clear, and fresh illustrations that effectively communicated key messages and product benefits. This was especially valuable for our product partners within the native platform, offering them illustrations that were easy to integrate and aligned with our overall visual language.
Outcome
By focusing on clarity, consistency, and visual engagement, we created a set of designs that conveyed key messages and product benefits in a simple yet compelling way. The balance between flat design with shadows and isometric style added depth and perspective where needed.
This collaborative effort equipped our design team with a versatile toolkit, ultimately elevating the student experience by making learning more engaging and accessible through thoughtful, well-crafted visuals.
By focusing on clarity, consistency, and visual engagement, we created a set of designs that conveyed key messages and product benefits in a simple yet compelling way. The balance between flat design with shadows and isometric style added depth and perspective where needed.
This collaborative effort equipped our design team with a versatile toolkit, ultimately elevating the student experience by making learning more engaging and accessible through thoughtful, well-crafted visuals.
By focusing on clarity, consistency, and visual engagement, we created a set of designs that conveyed key messages and product benefits in a simple yet compelling way. The balance between flat design with shadows and isometric style added depth and perspective where needed.
This collaborative effort equipped our design team with a versatile toolkit, ultimately elevating the student experience by making learning more engaging and accessible through thoughtful, well-crafted visuals.
