Graphic design and creative work can often get the reputation of being “fun and easy” work. You get to play around with colors and pictures all day! It’s probably the easiest job at any business, right?

Any graphic designer that read that sentence just cringed.

As technology has evolved, design platforms that anyone can master have begun to pop up, giving more people than ever the chance to try their hand at graphic design. It’s easy to get lost in the creativity and go rogue, which is why it’s important to start the design process far before you even open your favorite design platform.

First, your team has to answer one very important question:

What are we trying to do with this ad?

Do you want to raise brand awareness? Garner engagement? Without a goal, your ad falls apart before you even design it.

A trap many marketers often fall into is cluttering their ad with too many elements and graphics. You rush toward the goal of giving the intended audience all of the necessary information, and whoomp! You fall through a pile of leaves and net into the hidden pit of no discernable message. As you build your ad, remember to rein in any desires to overload your message. Check as you go, making sure each element added builds to your message, rather than diminishing on return.

Once you know what you want this ad to accomplish, it’s a matter of using elements that actually work.

CREATIVE YET CONCISE

Let your end goal serve as a guide while adding in your elements. Start with your copy—generally, less is more. You’re asking your audience to read your whole ad, so don’t make that harder than it needs to be. Once your copy is complete, it’s time to focus on visuals. As you begin, ensure you’re clear on the dimensions you’ll need for the space hosting your ad. Many ad hosting platforms require exact dimensions, and the last thing you want is to have a beautiful finished ad that gets cropped because you’ve got a horizontal ad to fill a vertical spot.

Companies should have a brand kit and standards, which serve as the best resource for keeping an ad within the necessary parameters. Use of the brand’s predetermined colors and fonts are what will help make your ad truly work. Without these elements, your ad isn’t recognizable as you. The viewer won’t connect the ad to your company and it’s become worthless. And if it’s not recognizable, what’s the point?

But what if you don’t have a fleshed-out brand kit or maybe want to make your text a little flashier than your sans serif standard? You can add in a fun font here, but your main focus should always be clarity over pizzazz. Ensure a font is first and foremost legible. Limit yourself to using the fun font on the tagline or primary sentence, rather than the whole copy. Your viewers can’t do what you want them to if they can’t read your message!

When choosing the colors for your ad, keep it simple. There’s no need to use every color found in your brand palette, or even most. Pick complementary colors that make the full ad look well-coordinated, all while maintaining brand recognition and inserting a little eye-catching flash. And be sure that whatever colors you choose to apply keeps your ad accessible—especially when layering colorful copy on top of other colors! There’s no need to make your ad harder to see and read.

QUALITY IMAGES LEND AUTHORITY

Is your ad basically perfect, but missing ... something? Images can be a great way to add something that stands out—as long as it’s a good image. But what does “good” mean, exactly?

Your images should always be as high-resolution as possible. Pixelated, unclear images ruin a good ad faster than you can post it, making your design team look lazy and unresourceful—a vibe no company wants to project. Typically, a close-up, focused image will net better results than a wide shot of a more general scene. Think one product versus your whole storefront. This approach gives the viewer a better idea of your quality and ability, versus a larger image they have to work to interpret.

Implement these tips and your ad can—and will—look great. But if you find yourself facing ad difficulties, or simply don’t feel like you have a designer’s eye, the Serendipity Media team is here to help! We know these guidelines by heart, and not only can we design ads that look great, we have the resources and expertise to get them seen by the audiences you seek. Connect with us today to learn what we can do for you.