I featured the Mona Lisa Triplets in a recent post. Here’s the original illo:
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content)](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-97DvvC.jpeg)
I’m bringing them back because they’re perfect for an object lesson; namely: you can always get more mileage out of an illustration.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-XM05Z8.jpeg)
The New Yorker has a cartoon caption contest on the last page of every issue. They print an old cartoon and delete the original caption. They challenge readers to submit their own captions for the cartoon.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-EX8Jmg.jpeg)
The same idea can be applied to illustrations.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-ZKoRjg.jpeg)
Brands commission custom illustrations because they want something unique. Something specially crafted to support the brand.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-NS7wMM.jpeg)
It makes sense to repurpose those illustrations to maximize their value.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-uoIQK8.jpeg)
Brands need to look at every illustration and ask: how can I get more use out of it?
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-QPTqTq.jpeg)
I decided to turn “Triple Mona” into an infographic and upload it to my online store. All I did was tweak the header text:
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-Wj1Fm5.jpeg)
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content)](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-J4PoY8.jpeg)
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-45PV1V.jpeg)
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-qnxEL1.jpeg)
It occurred to me that I could create three different cards by tweaking the three Monas and coming up with inside greetings for each card that would serve as punch lines.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-QxqgG8.jpeg)
Here’s what I came up with for the front of each card:
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-A619an.jpeg)
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content)](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-I9Ui7o.jpeg)
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-DMte2Y.jpeg)
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-2Y2DdL.jpeg)
But essentially, the images are the same.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-rW1AHu.jpeg)
Bottom line: you can always get more mileage out of an illustration. Always. Don’t settle for one-time use.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-AE9L1b.jpeg)
A few additional suggestions:
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 24 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-_SBS1K.jpeg)
1. Think about maximizing image use ahead of time. Make it part of your content strategy.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-33n975.jpeg)
2. Discuss it with your illustrator when you commission an illustration. Ask the illustrator to design the illustration with maximum use in mind.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-jNmoeK.jpeg)
For example: Ask the illustrator to put some white space between the various objects and people in the illustration. That way, each element can be broken out and used as a separate spot illustration.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-pIXusd.jpeg)
3. A lot of times all you need to do is add new text: new header text, new caption, new dialog in word balloons.
![Repurpose Your Illustrations (They’re Part Of Your Content) blank vertical space, 16 pixels high](https://m5.paperblog.com/i/262/2627176/repurpose-your-illustrations-theyre-part-of-y-L-42THXa.jpeg)