Graphic Design in Advertising: 7 Tips For Awesome Ads

When you think of advertising what do you see in your mind?

If you’re like most people, you picture commercials and colorful advertisements. That’s because ads are mainly visual. They appeal to the sense of sight. This demonstrates how important graphic design is to advertising.

This article will explore the role played by graphic design when it comes to ads.

Graphic Design in Advertising 

Graphic design is simply the art of combining text and visual elements to convey a message. In advertising, the message is usually meant to sell a product or a service.

In this modern and fast-paced world, great visuals are more important than ever. With people’s average attention span down to 12 seconds , having a compelling and powerful message delivered through graphic design is really necessary. 

Companies realize this and that’s why big businesses utilize the best designers to work on their branding and ads. It’s also what’s pushing the graphic design industry’s growth. Back in 2019, it was already valued at $15 billion. The pandemic may have slowed down that growth but it’s sure to pick up again. 

Persuading People Through Visuals 

When used on ads, graphic design is all about the power of persuading people to purchase and buy things. Amazingly, it only takes a few seconds for a person to feel a connection with a logo or a piece of graphic design for a brand. At the same time, people can reject a visual design just as quickly.

That just means you really need graphic design elements that have been planned and carefully considered.

Tips for Awesome Graphic Design for Ads 

So, how can one create awesome graphic design advertisements?

Here are a few ideas that are worth considering:

1. Find the Right Mix of Pictures and Words 

While ads are mostly about images, the text elements of the ads cannot be lost. The call to action or the instruction on what you want you to do has to be in the text. There are a few things that you have to remember when mixing text and images. 

First of all, make sure that you do not use a background that has a confusing pattern. If the pattern is complex then the text might get lost. You want the colors of the text and the images to complement each other. Finally, the whole should not be confusing to look at. 

2. Mix Images of Humans and Products Carefully 

You have to be careful when you are mixing images of humans and products. If you are going to use a human image, you need to make sure that it looks good and will be a good representative for your brand. 

If you are selling a specific item or product then you need to feature the image hat exclusively. The emphasis should be on the product and it should be clear to anyone who will see the ad what action you want them to take. 

For example, it’s not enough to include an image of a camera that you are promoting, its features should be emphasized and if possible it should be shown while being used. 

3. Use Layout Wisely 

The layout is the way that the different elements of the graphic design are arranged in the ad. You cannot just place the elements there in a haphazard manner. There must be an idea that you will follow on how you place the various elements. 

For example, if you are offering a discount, you need to place that information on a prominent part of the ad. You should use the knowledge on how humans scan a page to your advantage.

People usually start scanning the upper part of the page in a horizontal manner. Then the users scan a bit downwards and they scan horizontally again. They follow a sort of F-pattern when scanning a page. It can be useful to know that when thinking about layout.

4. Use the “Magic” Words 

Advertisers claim that there five words that should be used on ads to catch people’s attention. The words that they recommend are ”you”, “because”, “immediately”, “latest” and “free”. These words are supposed to work in captivating an audience or at least catching their attention long enough to see your message. 

Make sure that you highlight those words and make them stand out from the rest of the text through the use of contrasting colors.

5. Vary Your Brand Colors

You should have brand colors already if you don’t then you need to pick those before you run a campaign. If you already have brand colors then try to use variations of those on your advertisements. If one color is always used as an accent try to use it as a primary color and vice versa. 

6. Use a Border for Your CTA 

You need your CTA to stand out from the rest of the text and the ad in general, not just from the other text but from the whole design. A simple way of doing that is by adding a border to your CTA. 

CTA is the action that you want your audience to perform. Whether it is to buy or to subscribe, it is the action that you are aiming for. Placing a border around the text of the CTA will ensure that the attention of the viewers will be focused there.

7. Play on Emotions 

According to research , more than 30% of the ads that perform really well evoke an emotional response. Compare that to 17% of the ads that perform really well have rational responses. The main goal of ads is to make people stop what they are doing to read more. By evoking some kind of emotional response, you increase the chance that your message will come across. 

These are just a few ideas on how you can use graphic design in advertising. These ideas are all proven and tested. 

But sometimes, it is best to leave things to professionals. If you need help with the graphic design of your ads, check out how Delesign can help you.