We will tell you about the main directions of advertising design, its role in a marketing campaign, and what a designer should consider when working with a corporate identity.
In advertising, there is a rule of three seconds – this is how much time is enough for a person to look at a leaflet or package and receive information about the product. With the help of color combinations, illustrations, and other graphic design tools, ads tell the buyer about the product’s benefits in a few moments. For the client to correctly “read” such an advertising message, the designer must take into account the needs of the target audience, understand the peculiarities of color perception, and address the buyer’s emotions.
What is graphic design?
Graphic design is a visual communication tool. Its scope is not limited to advertising since there are areas that are not related to marketing. These are wayfinding (design of signs, plates) and UI (user interfaces in programs and mobile applications). Designers working in these areas face conveying information in the most accessible way and helping a person navigate in space.
Graphic design in advertising serves other purposes. It should attract the attention of buyers, distinguish products from the background of similar consequences of competitors. The designer solves this problem using artistic means:
- Color accents contrast,
- Lines, strokes, spots,
- Abstraction,
- Scaling,
- Motion effect.
The first stage in graphic design development is a briefing. The designer receives information from the customer about the brand, the advantages, and the company’s philosophy. Using this information, he visualizes the advertising idea. The high-quality graphic design increases customer loyalty and promotes the effectiveness of the marketing campaign.
Types of advertising graphic design
There are several directions of advertising graphic design :
- Brand design. Creation of visual identity – corporate identity, logo, brand book. The designer’s task is to make the brand recognizable and think over all the style details, from color to paper forms. This area includes other types of design – work with printed products, packaging, website design for the company.
- Packaging. Product appearance is one of the leading marketing tools. Packaging must be memorable, distinctive, and cheerful; designers design labels, boxes, branded bags, and bottles.
- Advertising printing. Advertising on brochures, leaflets, business cards, and other paper materials. Working in this area of graphic design requires a deep understanding of the printing process, proficiency in layout programs (for example, Adobe InDesign), knowledge of the properties of paper and ink.
- Illustration. Creation of artistic images that solve marketing problems. They use for packaging design, printing, outdoor advertising. Often a designer works in conjunction with an illustrator.
- Motion Design. Videos, animated images, GIFs, presentations, 3D compositing, video backgrounds. Motion design elements use widely in advertising—knowledge of specialized programs required (After Effects, Premiere Pro) to create moving images. The peculiarity of this direction of graphic design is that it exists only in a virtual environment.
- Environment design. Signs, advertisements, posters, and banners that serve to attract buyers. For outdoor advertising to blend harmoniously with the environment, it may require knowledge of architectural planning when working on it.
The listed areas are closely related to each other – for example, branding includes all types of advertising design and illustration use widely in product packaging design. Typically, designers do not specialize in one area and work in several directions at once.
The Role of Graphic Design in Advertising
The role of graphic design in advertising can be seen in the rebranding of Tropicana juice. In 2009, due to a change in corporate identity, the company lost more than $27 million in two months. The designer has some responsibility for the success or failure of his work. He/She must follow the marketing strategy and take into account the characteristics of the target audience. Thus, the design of Mercedes cars is focused on people with high incomes, and the Nike corporate identity is designed for a youth audience.
The design profession requires analyzing the situation, constantly interacting with the team, and finding unusual solutions for familiar things. To reach career heights, you need to develop and monitor changes in the market continually. When creating an advertising graphic design, you need to keep in mind its main tasks:
- Convincing buyers of the quality of the product,
- Selection of products against the background of competitors,
- Encouraging people to purchase goods.
You will learn how to work with corporate identities, how to increase the effectiveness of a marketing campaign with the help of advertising design, and how to create a visual brand identity starting from 0. Under the guidance, you will develop your own corporate identity, master professional programs and collect the portfolio you need to work. Already during the training, you will learn how to create graphic design and will be able to start taking your first orders.
