Why a Cartoon or Caricature could be useful for your company in 2022

September 13, 2022

Cartoons, caricatures, and animation are commonly conceived as being made for children and is not thought of as something that would be important for business. However, if you consider the following:

Company mascots
Animated advertisements, explainer videos, and presentations
Cartoon brand logos

You will be able to see beyond the frivolous nature of caricatures and find them to have practical value that could be useful for your company, business or brand.

As a cartoon and caricature artist with over a decade of experience working with clients remotely through the internet, I’ve had the opportunity to collect a lot of anecdotes and testimonials about how the works I made for them helped their company in unique ways. I’ve identified five ways that a cartoon or caricature can help your business:

Cartoon or Caricature Logo
An Employee Group Caricature
As a Retirement Gift
Cartoon or Caricature Email Signatures
Cartoon or Caricature Profile Pictures or Avatars for Social Media

Let me me talk about these five ways in greater detail.

1. Cartoon or Caricature Logo

Above: A notary caricature logo; Below: A cartoon logo for a candidate running for a political office

The most common way that clients use caricatures they commission is to use it as their official company logo. While normally you would not think that a drawing can serve as a professional representation of a brand or organization, but you’ll be surprised! The original Walt Disney and Looney Tunes cartoon logos would be the first to come to mind since their logos represent the business they are engaged in: animation. But there are other famous logos like in the food industry: Starbucks, KFC, Wendys, and Pringles to name a few. One ubiquitous social media network, Twitter, has a blue bird drawing as its logo. A lot of professional sports teams also have well known cartoon logos such as: The Chicago Bulls, The Oakland Raiders, The St. Louis Cardinals.

Podcast Cartoon Logo

A caricature logo has the advantage of being easily recognizable. Over time, once your brand gains a reputation your logo also becomes a meme in itself. The good things that are associated with your brand are also associated with the drawing and this facilitates transference of your brand strengths to a visual representation. For people interacting with your brand for the first time, this is a definite advantage.

2. An Employee Group Caricature

Caricature for Important Corporate Milestone

A lot of my business and corporate clients often hire me to create a group caricature of their staff. The reasons they have me draw these group caricatures are usually the following:

A distinction or tribute for a completed project or an important milestone
To be used as a decoration or ornament in the office after it is printed and framed on canvas
Finally, as the main design for company holiday or Christmas cards

Group Caricature

By having all the staff or team drawn into the design it give it a level of personalization that can be appreciated by each individual part of the drawing. It makes one feel they truly belong to the organization.

3. As a Retirement Gift

Happy Retirement Caricature!

Somewhat related to number 2, a caricature can also make for the most personalized retirement gift for a cherished employee. Usually the clients who commission this sort of caricature gift provide specific details of how their coworker would spend retirement, filling it with details about their hobbies and interests. It just means a lot more, knowing that ones coworkers took the time and effort to get to know you better and held you with esteem. A perfect gift to treasure into one’s retirement.

4. Cartoon or Caricature Email Signatures

Sample Cartoon/Avatar Email Signatures

More often used by web or internet based businesses who do a lot of communication over email-- caricature email signatures are a way for individual staff members to have a means of making their correspondence more personal. By having their very own cartoon as part of the email their clients or business partners would get an idea of their face without making them vulnerable to the risks of having your actual photo available to the public. A caricature email signature is a creative solution of meeting both of these needs.

5. Cartoon or Caricature Profile Pictures or Avatars for Social Media

Cartoon PFPs for Social Media

Finally, a variation of number 1 and number 4-- for some clients, especially those who are a one-person business or self-employed professionals, their profile picture for social media is as important as one’s logo. Using one’s likeness can be a unique opportunity to give your business “a face” without having to use your actual photo for privacy or aesthetic considerations. Turning yourself into an avatar can be a fun way to represent yourself and communicate your brand in an awesome way.