What Arcane Teaches Us About Brand Building: World, Audience, and Characters
When Riot Games released Arcane, it did more than expand the League of Legends universe—it created a masterclass in world-building, audience engagement, and character development. These elements are at the heart of effective brand building, offering lessons for anyone seeking to create brands that resonate deeply and stand the test of time.
Whether we view Arcane as a narrative, a product, or an experience, its success lies in how Riot Games treated every facet—world, audience, and characters—as integral parts of its brand.
Let’s explore the lessons we can draw from their approach.
1. Building a Cohesive World:
The Blueprint for a Brand Ecosystem
Arcane immerses viewers in a richly realized world that feels alive and consistent. Piltover’s gleaming opulence contrasts with Zaun’s gritty, industrial chaos, visually reinforcing the central tension between progress and exploitation. Every detail, from the architecture to the lighting, serves a purpose in the story and reflects the broader themes of the League of Legends universe.
This world isn’t built just to look beautiful—it’s built to be functional. It gives the story depth, making it feel like a living, breathing place where narratives unfold naturally.
Lesson for brands:
A brand’s world is more than its logo or tagline—it’s the sum of all its touchpoints. To create a cohesive brand, you need to build a world where every element (visuals, tone, messaging, actions) works together to tell a consistent story. Think of how brands like Apple create ecosystems: every product, store, and communication reflects the same minimalist, forward-thinking ethos.
2. Engaging and Expanding the Audience
Riot Games didn’t create Arcane just for its core League of Legends audience; it used the series as a way to expand its reach. By focusing on universal themes—family, identity, ambition—it made the show accessible to non-gamers while still rewarding long-time fans with Easter eggs and deeper lore connections.
The “RiotX Arcane” campaign took this a step further by integrating the series into Riot’s games, creating new skins, events, and cross-platform experiences. Collaborations with musicians like Imagine Dragons brought the show into mainstream culture, while the curated soundtrack introduced new audiences to the world of League.
Lesson for brands:
A strong brand isn’t limited by its existing audience; it actively seeks to grow its tribe. By creating entry points for new audiences while maintaining loyalty with existing fans, brands can expand their influence. Nike’s collaborations with cultural icons like Virgil Abloh, for example, brought in new audiences without alienating their core community.
3. Characters as Individual Brands: Lessons in Multi-Sensory Storytelling
Perhaps Arcane’s most impressive achievement lies in how it builds its characters. And that’s where I want to spend a bit more time with you. Each one feels like an individual brand, carefully crafted across multiple dimensions:
Storytelling as the Core Narrative:
Characters like Vi, Jinx, Ekko, and Caitlyn are more than just players in the plot—they embody the show’s themes. Jinx’s descent into chaos reflects trauma and instability, while Ekko represents resilience and innovation. Caitlyn, the privileged enforcer, symbolizes integrity and justice navigating the moral ambiguity of Piltover’s elite. These stories don’t just exist in the dialogue—they’re embedded in every visual and symbolic cue.
Visual Identity:
Each character has a distinct visual style that reflects their personality. Jinx’s erratic violet tones signal her psychological instability, while Caitlyn’s sleek, structured uniform reflects her disciplined, principled nature and her role as an enforcer and Vi’s pink and blue palette reflects her inner conflict and familial ties.
Subtle, Deeper Layers:
Ekko’s association with time isn’t just a gimmick—it’s woven into his story, his actions, and even the animation. From the first time we see him fixing a clock as a child to the moment he faces Jinx in battle, everything about him reinforces the theme of time.
The most striking example is his dance scene with Powder (Jinx) in the alternate dimension, where the frame rate slows to 4 frames per second—a direct reference to his in-game ability, which rewinds time by four seconds. This technical decision turns a simple animation choice into an extension of his character’s essence.
Multi-Sensory Cues:
The soundtrack elevates each character. Jinx’s theme is chaotic and fast-paced, echoing her unstable mind, while Caitlyn’s more refined and deliberate musical cues reflect her methodical approach to justice. Ekko’s music feels rebellious yet hopeful, reflecting his leadership of the Firelights. These auditory cues reinforce what we see on screen, making each character feel multidimensional.
Inclusivity by Design: Normalizing, Not Highlighting:
One of Arcane’s most progressive elements is how it handles inclusivity. Rather than making diversity the focal point, the show normalizes it, allowing characters to exist in their full complexity without being defined by a single trait. Caitlyn and Vi’s relationship is nuanced and intimate, but it isn’t framed explicitly as a queer love story—it’s simply a love story. Their connection unfolds naturally, without being tokenised or sensationalised. Similarly, Isha’s non-verbal nature isn’t a defining characteristic or a narrative obstacle. It’s simply one aspect of who they are, integrated seamlessly into the story without being over-explained or highlighted for emotional effect.
Lesson for brands:
Think of your brand as a character in a larger story. Like Arcane’s characters, a brand needs to have a clear narrative (what it stands for), a strong visual identity, and deeper layers that reward closer inspection. A luxury brand like Hermès, for instance, isn’t just about handbags—it’s about craftsmanship, heritage, and storytelling, all communicated through design, advertising, and customer experience.
4. Semiotics: The Hidden Language of Brand Meaning
Semiotics—the use of symbols, signs, and cultural cues to communicate meaning—lies at the heart of Arcane’s storytelling. Beyond the overt narrative, Riot Games embeds layers of meaning into the series, creating emotional resonance through subtle yet impactful details.
Take Jinx, for example. Her design and behaviour are infused with semiotic cues that reflect her fractured psyche and chaotic nature:
Hair as Symbolism
Jinx’s iconic pigtails are exaggerated, wild, and uneven, symbolising both her playful, childlike origins and her mental instability. They’re a visual continuation of her story as Powder, the innocent child she used to be, now distorted by trauma.
Weapon Design
Her arsenal of weapons mirrors her personality—unpredictable, playful, and destructive. From the shark-shaped rocket launcher to the bombs she gleefully decorates, each piece embodies her chaotic identity.
Visual Distortion:
Scenes involving Jinx often include elements like erratic lighting, flickering neon, or abrupt camera angles, which disorient viewers and reflect her internal instability. This is particularly evident during her hallucinations, where she confronts imagined versions of her past.
Colour Usage:
Her shift from Powder’s soft blue tones to Jinx’s erratic purples signals her transformation. Purple, a combination of red (anger) and blue (melancholy), perfectly captures the emotional turbulence that defines her character.
Lesson for brands:
Just as Jinx’s semiotics build her into a multi-dimensional character, brands can use symbolic cues to create layers of meaning. Think of Tiffany & Co.’s iconic robin’s-egg blue—a colour that instantly communicates luxury, timelessness, and exclusivity. Or Coca-Cola’s red, which evokes energy, warmth, and familiarity. Semiotics enables brands to go beyond functionality and build emotional connections that resonate on a subconscious level.
By intentionally crafting the details—colours, shapes, and even behaviours—brands can create identities that are not just seen but felt, just as Jinx’s semiotics make her more than a character: they make her unforgettable.
5. Building for Longevity: Craft as Strategy
Finally, Arcane demonstrates the value of craft. Riot and Fortiche spent six years developing the series, and this attention to detail does more than create a visually stunning product—it deepens the emotional resonance and immersive quality of the narrative. The painterly animation style, lifelike movements, and subtle emotional cues—like the flicker of hesitation in Vi’s eyes or the tremor in Jinx’s hands—allow viewers to connect with the characters on a profound level. This level of craft extends beyond visuals to sound design, storytelling, and world-building, creating a cohesive experience that feels both rich and authentic. In an industry often focused on speed and volume, Arcane’s commitment to quality signals respect for its audience, fostering trust and loyalty. Lesson for brands: Craft isn’t just an aesthetic choice; it’s a strategic tool that communicates care, builds emotional connections, and differentiates a brand in a crowded marketplace.
Lesson for brands:
In an era of fast content, investing in quality sets brands apart. Craft isn’t just an aesthetic choice—it’s a strategic one. It builds trust, loyalty, and a reputation for excellence that pays off in the long run.
Conclusion
Arcane is more than an animated series—it’s a blueprint for brand building. By creating a cohesive world, engaging and expanding its audience, and crafting characters as multi-dimensional brands, Riot Games showed how to create an experience that resonates deeply and endures.
Ultimately, Arcane teaches us that great brands aren’t just seen—they’re felt. And when a brand resonates on that level, it doesn’t just succeed—it thrives.
Written by Camille Yin