It’s a casual day, you’re taking the metro to work. You see graffiti on the back of a public restroom. “Normal”, you think. You see a Bath and Body Works advertisement, their new christmas packaging is out and you’re making a mental note to collect all the pretty shampoos with christmas artwork.

Then you reach your office. There’s a new “art-wall” up. Your first question instinctively is “why?” Second question, “Is this why I didn’t get my end-of-year bonus?”

*Bath and Body Works Holiday Collection, 2024*

It’s interesting that we expect to find art in some places but are completely thrown off by it in others. Maybe it’s because we’ve decided that art belongs in spaces that innately require creativity, like a boring metro wall or a billboard for a makeup brand. But when art pops up somewhere structured and buttoned-up, it feels like it’s crashing the office party in sneakers. And honestly? That’s kind of the energy art thrives on.

Art is uncontainable. When we try to define it, we ultimately omit some form of its uncontainable-ness. It’s polymorphic, versatile, adaptable, the list of complicated adjectives goes on. And more recently, a lot of brands are realising the importance of art as an attention-grabber for an effective branding strategy.

Take, for example, a food delivery business like Swiggy. Its "We Day" ad campaign for Valentine’s 2022 featured a collaboration with artist Alicia Souza, allowing users to send a personalized card to a loved one along with their order. The purpose of this was to provide couples with a simple valentine’s day gesture, when doing the whole chocolate, flowers and date thing isn’t always feasible as the world was just recovering from the lockdown. Art here isn’t just decoration; it’s a tool to humanise the brand and allow love-stricken teens to show that they can, in fact, go above and beyond.

*Swiggy’s “We-Day” ad-campaign for Valentine’s Day, 2022*

Art in industries isn’t limited to just ads, it’s also key to a brand’s look, with eye-catching websites that draw people in. Having just text and still images of apartments isn’t going to cut it anymore. From first glance, a real estate company like DLF, one of the largest in India, has a website that is not only user-friendly, but is also visually striking. You might find a lot of idle people living vicariously through the videos, but a beautiful website design increases your chance of finding an interested buyer.

But it isn’t just mega-brands that are incorporating art. A home-grown Indian brand like ASAII selling sustainable clothing has a unique way of representing its brand’s belief through sketches. The drawings are simple, rustic and hand-made, mirroring the hand-painted and ethically-made pieces sold. Sepia tones have never felt more needed.

*Instagram post by @asaii.in* *, November 13, 2024*

Sometimes, the item demands to be doused in art. Decorating your iPhone with different coloured cases, or buying rubber charms for Crocs makes you feel like your unique sense of style shines through, when in fact it’s simply a way for the brand to market themselves as “customisable” and for you to advertise their artistic designs through social media. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to take a mirror selfie with the new iPhone 16 Pro in “desert titanium” casing?

Incorporating art in your brand to sell stuff is one thing, but to provide a service is something else. Look at a company like Kaha for mental health services. So many companies like it exist, so to stand out and connect with their audience, they’ve created everything from relatable memes to aesthetic illustrations that customers can keep as prints. Maintaining a light-hearted, simple, and peaceful tone isn’t easy, but when you scroll through their feed or land on their homepage, you’re immediately filled with a sense of calm—exactly what they aim to promote through their services.

*Instagram post by @kaha.mind , November 20, 2024*

As we’ve been through many brands and companies, the use of art is quite obvious– and we’re back to the start– because it’s multi-functional and extremely useful. It’s the factor that makes you want to collect those seasonal coffee cups at Third Wave, and it’s what makes you switch gyms because one is more aesthetic and, therefore, more “you” than the other. Art, not just through illustrations but through design, photography and videography, shapes a brand. And as a bonus, it helps justify your immense credit card bill at the end of the month.

Written by: Ishita Ahuja

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