Custom illustration and icons that pull their weight
Most teams wait too long to fix their visuals. The product improves, the funnels get complex, but the interface is still held together with stock art and mismatched icons. BYBOWU designs custom illustration and icon systems for web, mobile, and marketing that are light to load, consistent to use, and built to support conversion.
We are a Phoenix, AZ headquartered team working with SaaS, ecommerce, and product companies across the US and worldwide. If you want visuals that work as hard as your product, not just decorate it, this service is for you.
When visuals start holding your product back
Clients usually come to us when design debt starts to show up in real numbers and real friction.
- The product looks like every other template in your category, so prospects do not remember you.
- Icons mean different things in different places, which quietly increases onboarding time and support tickets.
- Designers keep redrawing the same assets because there is no agreed system or source of truth.
- Developers are stuck exporting heavy PNGs that slow pages and hurt Core Web Vitals.
- Marketing cannot tell a clear story about new features without long paragraphs of explanation.
You feel this as slower releases, inconsistent brand perception, and wasted design and engineering hours. A solid illustration and icon system gives every team the same visual language so they can move faster with fewer debates.
What we actually design
This service is a focused part of our broader UI/UX and branding work. We specialize in digital-first illustration and iconography that plug cleanly into modern stacks like React, Next.js, React Native, Laravel, and WordPress.
- Marketing and product hero illustrations that explain your value in one glance on homepages, feature pages, and campaigns.
- Onboarding, empty states, and UX moments that make flows feel friendlier and reduce confusion at key steps.
- Diagrams and explainers that break down complex flows, data, or AI features for sales decks and in-product education.
- SVG icon systems with grid, stroke, and metaphor rules for web apps, iOS, Android, and marketing assets.
- Animation-ready vectors structured for After Effects, Lottie, or lightweight SVG micro-interactions.
- Supporting materials for print and events like slide covers, one-pagers, and booth graphics that match your digital system.
Everything is created as clean, scalable vectors so your pages stay fast, your exporters stay sane, and your brand stays consistent as you grow.
How the process works, step by step
You should not have to manage hundreds of tiny stylistic decisions. We keep your time focused on direction and outcomes, not exporting files.
1. Compact discovery and creative brief
We start with a focused call to understand your product, audience, and metrics. Together we define:
- Where the visuals will live: product UI, marketing site, decks, emails, print.
- The tone you want to hit: playful, editorial, technical, premium, minimal.
- Critical flows to support: signups, onboarding completion, feature adoption, checkout.
- Brand constraints: colors, typography, logo, design tokens, existing design system.
You get a concise brief to approve so stakeholders are aligned before we draw anything.
2. Moodboards and style exploration
We explore one or two promising styles using moodboards and quick studies. Options might include line-based, flat, geometric, semi-realistic, or 3D-inspired looks. You react to density, color, and character so we can lock in a direction quickly, without a month of back and forth.
3. Key scenes and pilot icons
Next we design the key illustrations and a pilot icon set (usually 8–12 icons) to test how the system behaves in the wild.
- Readability at small sizes and on different backgrounds.
- How visuals support hierarchy, messaging, and calls to action.
- Behavior in light and dark modes across web and mobile.
Once this foundation is approved, the rest of the library becomes faster and cheaper to produce, because the rules are clear.
4. System build-out and vector production
We expand the system and convert concepts to production-ready vectors.
- Icon grids, cap heights, and optical alignment for crisp rendering.
- Stroke and corner-radius rules, filled vs outline usage.
- Color roles for primary, accent, states, and dark theme mappings.
- Layer structure and naming so assets are motion-ready and dev-friendly.
5. QA, optimization, and handoff
We test assets in realistic contexts, then optimize them for performance and accessibility:
- SVG cleanup and minification to keep bundles lean.
- Contrast and legibility checks, including color-blind safe palettes where relevant.
- Preview states in live prototypes (for example Figma, Storybook, or your design system) when useful.
You receive well-organized source files and exports, plus documentation your design and engineering teams will actually follow.
Deliverables you can expect
The exact scope follows your roadmap, but most illustration and iconography projects include:
- Vector illustration masters (AI, SVG, PDF) plus optimized web exports (SVG, PNG, WebP) sized to your layouts.
- Complete SVG icon set with grid specs, outline and filled variants, light and dark versions, and naming conventions.
- Animation-ready artwork with labeled layers for After Effects, Lottie, or CSS/SVG micro-interactions.
- Practical style guide that covers illustration rules, icon usage, color roles, and clear do/don't examples.
- Accessibility and localization notes including contrast, metaphor choices, and cultural cues to avoid.
- Developer handoff package with optimized SVGs, sprite sheets where appropriate, and optional React or React Native icon components.
The goal is simple: your team should be able to design and ship new screens, features, and campaigns without reinventing the visual language every time.
What you can order
- Product launch starter kit — 1–2 hero illustrations, 16–24 core UI icons, and a compact style sheet so a new product or feature can launch with a distinct, consistent look.
- Growth-stage library — 4–6 product and marketing illustrations, 48–96 icons (with outline and filled variants), and a documented system aligned with your existing design tokens.
- Full product icon system — A multi-size SVG icon set for web, iOS, and Android, with grid rules, dark mode guidance, and optional React / React Native components for your design system.
- Illustration refresh for existing brands — Modernize outdated artwork while keeping core brand assets (logo, colors) intact, including empty states, onboarding, and key marketing visuals.
- Event and campaign visuals — Focused set of illustrations and icons for a specific campaign, conference, or promo site, tailored to work with your landing pages and ads.
Why choose BYBOWU for illustration and iconography
- Design and engineering in sync — We are not just illustrators handing you big PNGs. We design with performance, accessibility, and implementation in mind so your devs do not have to rework files.
- Systems, not one-offs — Every project is built as a reusable system with clear rules, so new vendors and hires can extend it without breaking the brand.
- Product-first thinking — Our background in web development and mobile apps means we focus on improving flows, comprehension, and conversion, not just making a nice Dribbble shot.
- Global, remote-friendly collaboration — Based in Phoenix but working across time zones, we are comfortable collaborating async in Figma, Slack, or your project tools.
- Transparent scoping and pricing — You will see exactly what you are getting, how long it will take, and how it fits into your broader design and development roadmap.
Proof it works in the real world
Marketplace with a clear story
For an online marketplace in the tactical apparel space, we helped define a sharper visual language so product categories were easier to scan and the brand felt more modern. That clarity supported higher engagement on key listing pages.
Matching people, not just screens
A housing and roommate platform needed friendly, trustworthy visuals to support onboarding and profile creation. A focused set of illustrations and icons made the product feel safer and easier to understand for new users.
From generic to recognizable
A modern clothing marketplace used our digital-first illustration and icon work to move away from generic templates, giving their brand a more memorable, ownable presence across web and campaigns.
You can see selected projects in our portfolio, or ask us for examples close to your industry or product type.
How engagement works
We keep the commercial side simple so you can make a clear yes or no decision quickly.
- Typical timelines — Most illustration and icon projects land between 2 and 5 weeks, depending on volume and number of stakeholders.
- Clear milestones — We define checkpoints for style approval, key scenes, icon pilots, and final system handoff so you always know what is coming next.
- Fixed-scope proposals — After an initial call, we send a proposal with concrete deliverables, rounds of feedback, and a budget range tied to outcomes, not hours.
- Collaboration with in-house teams — We often work alongside internal designers and developers, plugging our work into your existing design system or component library.
You can review example ranges on our pricing page, then we fine-tune a package to match your channels, timelines, and internal capacity.
Questions founders usually ask
What kind of budget should we plan for?
Most focused starter kits for a single product or campaign sit in the low five-figure range, and larger multi-team systems cost more. The final number depends on how many illustrations and icons you need, how many platforms you support, and how much documentation is required. We will give you a clear range after the first call.
Can you fit into our existing brand and design system?
Yes. Many clients come to us with an existing logo, color palette, or design system in Figma. We extend what already works, document any changes, and keep your core identity intact while giving you a clearer, more scalable illustration and icon layer.
How do you hand off assets to our developers?
We provide organized folders with SVGs, PNGs where needed, and optional React or React Native components for icons. We also include naming conventions, usage notes, and, when useful, Storybook-ready examples so your team can drop assets into the codebase without guesswork.
Will this slow down our current roadmap?
The goal is the opposite. We work in parallel with your product roadmap and integrate at clear milestones, so your team can keep shipping while we build the visual system. Once in place, designers and developers spend less time debating icons or redrawing assets and more time on actual product work.
Do you only work with Phoenix-based companies?
No. We are headquartered in Phoenix, but most of our work is with distributed teams across the US and internationally. We are used to async collaboration and can adapt to your communication tools and time zones.
Ready to upgrade your visual system?
If you are done fighting with stock art and inconsistent icons, we can help you build a visual system that supports your product, brand, and numbers.
Tell us what you are building, where visuals are falling short today, and your timelines. We will come back with suggested styles, scope, and a clear budget range, usually within one business day.
Contact us via the project form or email [email protected]. You can also review relevant work in our portfolio before we talk.
