Ad design, or design in general, can be one of the most fun and exciting things you can do when marketing for your business. Whether you are creating a print or digital ad, or you are simply designing a graphic to upload to your website, you can get your creative mind flowing and develop something both stunning and eye-catching. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when designing ads for your business.
1. Be Consistent
You don’t have to be a pro at graphic design in order to make something that looks appealing to the eye. However, you do need to be sure that you remain consistent with your brand. Be sure to use the same fonts in your design that you use for your business’s website and logos. You can play with this a little, but don’t stray too far off. You want your audience to recognize your ad and instantly affiliate it with your business. Further, be sure to use the same color schemes you have used within your business’s logo and website as well.
2. Call to Action or CTA
If you are creating an ad design to drive traffic to your website or you are simply looking for potential new clients to give you a call, then you need to create call to action buttons within your design. This can be something as simple as a small box in the corner that says, “learn more!”
3. Visuals
Within ad design, you must stay consistent with your brand, but you don’t have to create the same graphics every time. You can have different illustrations that represent the message you are trying to convey or you can create beautiful eye-catching images that drive people to want to learn more about what it is you are offering. Follow the rule of thirds and place your information from the top left corner to the bottom right– just as if you were reading a book. Again, just stay on point with your colors, fonts and logos you have already created for your business.
4. Negative Space
This one is an important one as there is such a thing as too much information. Be sure that your ad design has room to breathe and you are not bombarding people with way too much context. Your goal should always be to drive people to your website, sign up for your email newsletter or give you a call. Therefore, you don’t want to give ALL of your information away freely. Be sure that your audience gets a taste of what you have to offer and wants to learn more!
5. Platforms
You don’t have to be a professional at Adobe Illustrator in order to create an effective ad. There are so many other tools that are extremely user friendly that you can use to create whatever design you want for your business! Check out Canva or Picmonkey for more ideas and information.