Looking Back to See The Future

Billboards are back!

Perhaps it’s the return to the office, or a backlash against screen time, but the biggest shift we noticed in 2025, was the increase in illustration projects for OOH and billboards. Last year we worked on an array of campaigns that ended up on outdoor screens and ad sites, for clients including Heinz, BBC, TFL, Beazley and the Department of Transport. This marked a significant increase for us on the previous year and the data seems to suggest this may be a pattern.

Multiple independent data sources have forecast OOH will continue to grow in 2026, including Fortune Business Insights and the UK Advertising Association, which is suggesting growth of 6.6% will push the sector to rise to almost £50bn. The suggestion is that DOOH, improvements in technology and updates to hardware might be the driving force, but whatever the canvas, we can’t wait to fill it with bespoke illustration and animation.

Showing the humans in the workplace

Another trend we noted last year was an increasing demand for illustrated portraits, predominantly for use on client websites. It’s unclear what’s driving this, but if we were to hazard a guess, we think it’s about showing real people in the workplace.

With elements of businesses increasingly being outsourced to AI and automated, perhaps this resurgence represents a backlash. Do clients and customers want to see the human beings they're working with and have that reassurance that there’s a real person on the other side of their transaction? Is there an increased yearning for human interaction? Possibly, but either way, we’re drawing more faces than ever before and we’re really enjoying it.

BTS – Showing craft and process

Once the preserve of only the most technical commissions, the appetite for behind the scenes footage and imagery has increased so much now, it’s almost become an expected client request. Clients who invest in artists have realised the benefits of gathering footage, because it fulfils two important criteria. Firstly, it demonstrates to your audience that your brand is investing in real art and artists. For brands that want to convey quality, craftsmanship and provenance, this has become crucially important in a world flooded with quick, cheap, and often sloppy AI imagery. Secondly, it provides wonderful content for social media. It feels like the levels of interest in seeing craft and process have never been higher.

Perhaps as people have less time and opportunity for creativity and using their hands, they’re ever more interested in seeing the process of people who do. Either way, we’re all for it at Handsome Frank, we love casting a light on the people and skill behind the work and we’re more than happy to oblige if clients want case studies, footage or even short films.

The continued demand for animation

Looking back, it was perhaps initially ushered in by the pandemic of 2020. With everyone stuck at home, spending more and more time on their phones and the temporary halt to live action production, animation briefs began to significantly increase. The demand has never ceased, and 2025 saw us working on more animation projects than ever before.

According to data from Zipdo, 72 % of marketers say animated videos outperform static images when it comes to engagement, whilst 85% of consumers are more likely to remember a brand after viewing an animated ad. One survey conducted by breadnbeyond found that 60.8% of marketers now use animation in social media posts, and that certainly squares with our experience.

At Handsome Frank we have experience of working on anything from five second loops, to feature length animation. If you need your work to move, you’ve come to the right place.

Luxury Loves Illustration

2025 felt like the year that luxury brands really woke up to the potential for integrating illustration and animation into their brand story telling. The French powerhouse Hermes led the way, commissioning more than 50 illustrators, animators and visual artists for their social media channels - we were lucky enough to work on a couple - and other fashion brands having been taking notice.

At Handsome Frank we also worked with Christian Dior and Jimmy Choo in 2025 (to name drop a few) and based on our enquiries so far in 2026 this looks like a pattern which is set to continue. Why? Our guess is that it goes well beyond simply being decorative. Illustration is being employed as a strategic tool that supports how luxury brands want to be perceived, protected, and remembered. It’s unique, ownable and emotive, just like the brands themselves.