10 Tips To Create a Successful Magazine Ad Design

Magazine publications are an effective way to advertise your business. There's still room for advertising in magazines - it's not limited to physical, printed material as magazines nowadays come in different mediums. Coming up with a brilliant magazine ad design can help your ad stand out.

Are Magazine Ads Still Relevant?

Like any other form of advertisement, magazine ads are also still a driving force in reaching out to consumers. It is similar to newspapers, billboards, leaflets, and other printed materials. These ads will continue to become a source of a sizable amount of audience.

There are around more than 220 million magazine readers in the U.S. alone. The number has remained the same for every year between 2016 and 2020. This means getting into magazine advertisements is still a potent form of marketing in today's digital age.

Also, when you think of a magazine, you will most likely think about a physical, printed publication. That is not always the case nowadays. Magazine publications now come in different formats, which allows you to reach more people reading content in different mediums.

A 2022 study showed the number of audiences reading a magazine in different formats. Take a look:

Magazines in both physical and digital formats are not going anywhere soon. In planning your marketing, you need to consider doing a magazine ad. And how do you captivate the millions of audiences reading a magazine? Here are some tips to follow.

How To Design a Magazine Ad

1. Balance and Cohesive Design

The first thing to consider is having a balanced ad. Every element in the ad must be cohesive. It must not look cluttered and have proper placement. When viewers look at your ad, they must know where to look - each component having its rightful place in the space.

This can be done by ensuring that every element complements the other. There should be a visual weight from the colors to the objects, textures, and whether it's a still or moving image. Incorporate the design elements into one picture where the viewer can easily identify where to focus on and have minor objects to complete the look.

2. Effective Use of Space

Whether you only have a small corner or an entire spread, you must use the space wisely. Be creative in how you design the magazine ad, making sure that it's attractive to readers.

You have to make the most out of the available space where your ad will appear in the magazine. Use an innovative layout design that will catch people's attention towards the ad - even when there are other texts and images presented on the page. If you have an entire page or a spread, maximize the use of the space. Don't go for the usual ad design. You can even incorporate how people flip the page to make it look outstanding.

3. Use Powerful Imagery

The image you use in the magazine ad will become the focal point of your ad. It needs to be powerful enough to convince readers to take a look.

This is why major companies invest in photoshoots for their magazine ad campaigns. You don't necessarily have to hire an expensive model to endorse your brand. It takes creativity to find an image that will create an impact on your ad. Make sure that, at one glance alone, you can effectively capture the reader's interest.

4. Apply the Gestalt Principles

The Gestalt principle is how people perceive an image according to similar elements or have easily-recognizable patterns. Your ad should also apply this theory by making sure that readers can look at and understand your ad.

This theory helps readers become more familiar and at ease with your ad. You need to incorporate similarity, proximity, continuation, closure, and symmetry into the design material. It's all about grouping similar patterns, objects, or figures to make them recognizable and coherent for the magazine reader.

5. Creative Execution

Come up with an ad that's not simply putting an image and your logo. Find out other ways to express your idea cleverly. This will help attract readers to take a look at your ad.

Find a way to interpret a message or present an idea that will have readers thinking. It has to spark their curiosity enough to stop for a moment and make the magazine ad more noticeable. Remember: people are exposed to a lot of ads already. Make yours pop out of the page.

6. Choose the Right Colors

Colors are another element that you also need to consider. Make sure to pick complementary colors that don't look too distracting, especially on printed material.

Every industry has a corresponding color. Use them well when crafting your magazine ad. The colors must represent the overall idea of your ad while, at the same time, staying true to your branding.

7. Proper Typography

The font also matters in the design of your magazine ad. Whether you have minimal text or a bold statement, choosing the right font can complete the look of the ad.

Don't pick several fonts. It will make your ad look incoherent. Pick at least one to two font variations for the ad. When choosing a font, it's also important to consider if it reflects your brand.

8. Must Be Relevant to the Magazine

Your ad will only form a part of the magazine. It has to blend in with the rest of the magazine content seamlessly - as though readers didn't notice it was an ad already.

The choice of the magazine publication is a start. When it comes to your magazine ad design, you must also consider if it will fit into the rest of the content. Ask the publication what they will be placing - you may come up with an ad that will be relevant.

9. Make It a Timeless Ad

Magazines can get picked up in various locations - in offices, clinics, or other public places. This is why having an ad with evergreen content and design is more plausible as readers will still be able to relate to the ad despite being inside an older publication.

To execute this, it's important to not get caught up in what's trending in graphic design or magazines at the moment. Stay true to your branding. A simple image or a minimalist ad is one of the ways you can still capture readers in the years to come.

10. Visible Branding and Call-to-Action

What do you want the magazine readers to do once they see your ad? Is it to visit your store or shop online? Make sure that these details are visible.

A magazine ad doesn't have clickable elements, unlike online or digital marketing material. You have to be creative in how you make people contact you or visit your website. One of the ways to do this is by incorporating QR codes that readers can scan and lead them to your intended landing page.

Want an Eye-Popping Magazine Ad Design?

The look and feel of your magazine ad has to set the tone for magazine readers. It must be attractive for them to look at and convincing enough to recognize your brand. To execute this, you will need graphic design experts who know their way around producing amazing magazine ads that get people to stick around.

Crafting a magazine ad design gets easier when you have expert graphic artists. Especially if you have no design background, the creativity stemming from a skilled graphic artist can bring incredible results to your print advertisement.

One of the providers you can trust for a magazine ad design is Delesign. You'll have access to graphic design talent to work on your magazine ad - bringing your idea from concept to creation. Best of all, Delesign's arrangement allows you to have flexibility in the working relationship: no contracts, fixed charges, and an endless amount of graphic design talent to choose from.