Illustrations, icons, pictograms, lines and arrows

Last changed: 17 September 2021
The picture shows examples of SLU's illustrations, icons and info graphics components.

There are a few different tools you can use in your communication for both print and digital material. Illustrations help us to describe something that cannot be conveyed in a photograph. If you want to create effective infographics, you can combine some of these objects, colour in a couple of SLU´s profile colours and add short texts or messages.

Illustrations

Illustrations help us to describe something that cannot be conveyed in a photograph. Our illustrations are based on authentic pictures and have relevant motifs linked to our activities. For example if we make an illustration of a Swedish sea, we illustrate it with domestic fishes and plants.

In terms of technique, our illustrations are true to life and relatively detailed with fine, clear, carefully drawn contours. The illustrations are easy to use in layers, with different colours and opacity, and with image applications.

The illustrations can be used for printed material and digital purposes, and they come in three different styles: 

  • Black
  • Black + profile colour
  • Filled with cutouts from SLU's profile collage

Only these changes to the illustrations are allowed:

  • Colour change to another one of the colours in the colour palette, black or white.
  • Changing size (proportionally).
  • Combining several illustrations.

State the name of the illustrator

The name of the illustrator should be stated next to the picture. 

Fredrik Saarkoppel created most of the illustrations originally, and Infab AB has subsequently simplified them to make them easier to use and filled them with cutouts from the profile collage. Some of the newer illustrations are created by Michael Kvick and Jenny Svennås-Gillner.

 

The illustrations are made in three versions: black, black + green and filled in with SLU's profil collage.
By combining different illustrations you can entire environment.
The illustrations can be used on a pictured background, against a coloured block or together with others, and with or without transparency (opacity).

Icons, pictograms and lines

Icons and pictograms provide a simple illustration of a context, clarify a feature or support a message. Icons are the simplest form, with few details. Pictograms are designed like icons, but contain a bit more detail and are more informative.

Icons

The picture shows icons of a laboratory flask, a book, a laptop, a marked location, a lightbulb, a magnifying glass and a plant.

Font Awesome has ready-made icons that we use in certain contexts, such as online. If you draw your own icons, start from the explanatory examples to the right.

The picture shows icons from Font Awesome showing a backpack, a person hiking, a person, a train, a house, temperature, music on the computer and a plant.

Pictograms

You can design your own pictograms like the example here. To ensure recognition, you may need to use specific pictograms, for example on fire extinguisher signs.

The picture shows a pictogram showing a house in flames, symbolising fire.

Lines

Lines, arrows and dots are used to clarify and emphasise in a playful way.

The picture shows lines, dots and arrows.

Examples of use – infographics

Infographics combine words and images in order to visualise difficult concepts in a simple, engaging way.

When you make infographics, you can use SLU’s illustrations, copy, graphic elements and colours. You might even use parts of the image collage.

The infographic might be an illustration emphasising certain details and linking them to figures and messages.

The picture shows a beetle half filled with green colour. Next to the beetle there is a dummy text with a few numbers in it.

Infographics can also consist of a background from an image collage or a colour block to which illustrations, figures and messages are added.

Add lines, arrows and dots to create flow, direction and clarity.

The picture shows two examples of info graphics containing some text, illustrations, our colour palette, our image collage and brand promise, lines, arrows and dots..

Facts:

SLU´s graphic profile and components, such as our illustrations, may only be used when SLU is the sender together with SLU´s logo.

Contact

Brand Management and Communication Platforms Unit 
Division of Communication