Banner ad design provides a cost-effective way to reach large online audiences. These ads come in different sizes and shapes, contain text and graphics, and may appear at the top, side, or bottom of web pages. One of the primary purposes of this type of digital advertising is to create brand recognition. Despite talking about ‘banner blindness,’ there is no question that they can work very effectively. Let’s analyze the banner ad design process and why it matters if you want to reach a wide audience effectively.
Why Banner Ad Design Matters
Good banner ad design can create brand awareness, get clicks, and increase sales. Knowing how to design a banner ad involves using various best practices. Banner placement is important, and the ads must be clear, relevant, and eye-catching with high-quality images. They should contain minimal text and a compelling call-to-action (CTA). It is cost-effective, and the ads are relatively easy to implement and manage for smaller brands with limited budgets.
They are also highly measurable, so advertisers can track their performance and adjust them to improve their effectiveness over time.
Moreover, they are a key type of advertising design for many famous brands. For example, Chanel is famous for its dramatic banner perfume ads. The viewer is taken to a place of elegance and luxury with a combination of lifestyle imagery and products. You can clearly see the logo and product name, and a CTA invites viewers to discover more.
First Steps When Designing a Banner Ad
- Define the objective of your campaign. This is essential before you initiate the banner ad design process. Do you want to increase website traffic or build brand awareness? Is your aim to increase conversions or promote a specific product? Knowing your goal will enable you to decide everything from the copy format to the CTA.
- Research your target audience. This includes finding out demographics, interests, preferences, and behavior. The more you know about your audience, the better you can customize your banner ad design, message, and placement. Customizing your ad will ensure that it resonates with your specific audience and makes them want to take action.
- Choose the right size and format. No one size or format is correct in the banner advertising design. You must choose what suits your purposes best. You may use a wide horizontal banner at the top of a page or a tall vertical ad on the side of a page. The size and format will depend on your objective, the platform, and where you intend to place it. A wide horizontal ad is good for announcements or brand messages, as viewers see it as soon as they visit the site. A vertical ad can show your products or services. You can also choose a medium or large rectangle or even a half-page ad.
Half-page ad example
- Choose the right imagery and colors. You can choose from many different types of images, but they should be of high resolution and relevant to your message. Opting for an original illustration or ad graphics created by a designer is better than using stock images.
- Write clear, concise copy. Too much text can reduce the effectiveness of your ad. Short, simple phrases are easier to understand. Your value proposition, such as a limited-time offer or a discount, should be clearly visible. The headline should be a different size from the body text, and the body text should be minimal.
- Find the right fonts. Fonts shouldn’t just be an afterthought. The typography is just as important as other elements. The fonts should be legible, align with your brand, and suit your ad’s purpose. If you use more than two fonts in a banner advertising design, it could overload it. You can use fonts to convey your brand personality.
- Add a strong call to action. A strong call to action will encourage viewers to click if they want to discover more about a product, download an ebook, watch a video, or purchase a product. Call-to-action buttons (CTA) in contrasting colors attract attention, and their placement should make them easy to access. You can use a CTA to send users to various pages on your website, from a promotional page to your home page.
| Steps to create banner advertising | Why do I need to take these steps? |
| Define your objective | Clarifies what you want to achieve, whether it’s driving traffic or getting clicks. |
| Research your target audience | Find out more about demographics, needs, interests, preferences, and behavior. |
| Choose the right ad size and format | Adapts the banner for different platforms, purposes, and devices. |
| Select the right images and colors | Makes the ad visually appealing and professional-looking. Reinforces your brand image. |
| Write clear, concise copy | Communicate your message quickly and effectively. |
| Find the right fonts | Fonts should be consistent with your brand image, legible, and suited to purpose. |
| Add a strong call-to-action | Encourages viewers to take action, whether this is downloading an eBook, watching a video, or making a purchase. |
Banner Ad Design: Current Practices
It helps to create different iterations of a banner ad design and test them to find out what works best. A/B testing of different versions will help you to identify the most effective designs for high-impact ads.
1. Choose Correctly Where to Place the Text of the Ad
Banner graphic design relies on the right balance within each ad, and maintaining layout hierarchy is important. An ad should include your company logo and be visible but not as dominant as your value proposition and call-to-action. You can try out different headlines, body text, and CTAs to find the most captivating combination.
2. Use High-Quality Images
It is essential to use high-quality images in web banner design. Images should also have relevance to viewers, which you can determine based on viewer data insights. If you are selling a product, a high-quality image of your product works best. You can also choose an image to evoke a particular mood or emotion.
3. Use Clickable Hotspots, Quizzes, or Mini-games
Elements like these create more user interaction and provide a sensory connection you can’t achieve through traditional advertising. When users spend more time with an ad, you have a better chance of them converting.
You can even personalize mini-games in the ad design to suit unique user preferences. They can also capture user behavior and provide insights on improving your ads further. The end card on a mini-game will contain your call-to-action.
4. Don’t Overload Your Ads with Too Many Animations
Animations can be effective, but too many flashy animations will distract from the ad message.
5. Optimize Banner Ads for All Devices
Your banner ad needs to look good on all types of devices, from desktops to mobile phones. For the best UX, banner sizes must be mobile-friendly. It also helps to choose images and fonts that work just as well on smaller screens. You need to test the design to ensure that it looks like the best responsive banners and seamlessly adapts to different screen sizes and orientations. A key UI design principle is to help users easily achieve the desired outcomes.
Call us now
6. Utilize Unconventional Shapes and Formats
Banner ads are becoming more creative, and using unconventional shapes and formats can leave a lasting impression on your brand. Keeping your marketing banners innovative and fresh can help you avoid users thinking they are just seeing the same thing over and over again.
Common Things to Avoid in Banner Ad Design
Poorly designed ads can result in few clicks and a waste of advertising expenses.
A poor ad example – overcrowded and text-heavy
- Overcrowded and text-heavy design
Using more than four lines of text is usually too much. Text simplicity is best used in the banner ad design process. Remember that an all upper-case copy can be intrusive. Using too many different fonts can create confusion. Very thin font weights and font sizes smaller than 10 pt can make text illegible.
- Vague call-to-actions (CTAs)
If a call-to-action isn’t clear and specific, users are unlikely to click it.
- Low-quality images
Avoid using blurry, low-quality photos. If you can’t afford professional photography, stock images may be better than poor-quality images.
- Irrelevant content
Your banner ad will link to a landing page that includes an offer. It must match a landing page with relevant content, or potential customers will be confused.
- Slow loading
When it comes to file size, small is better. Your advertising online banners need to load quickly on a page. If an ad loads slowly, it increases viewer drop-off.
- Ignoring ad regulations on platforms
Most display advertising platforms have specific guidelines and regulations. If you ignore them, your ad may be rejected. A lack of compliance might also cause legal issues. Some guidelines for visual ads are likely to include file size limits and acceptable formats.
Whether it’s click-through rate, engagement rate, conversion rate, or ROI, you can discover which ones are performing poorly. This can help you make data-driven adjustments for optimization.
Top Banner Ad Design Examples
Companies use many different banner styles and sizes for different purposes.
Case Study 1: Spotify’s “Listening is Everything” Campaign
Objective: Increase the number of users of the platform’s paid services.
Strategy:
- Personalized visuals
- A catchy tagline
- A clear CTA button urges viewers to ‘listen now’ and ‘upgrade to premium.’
Results: A rise in users of paid services.
Case Study 2: Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 Ad Campaign
Objective: To promote the new product.
Strategy:
- A single pop of eye-catching color that showcases the phone
- A clear message using slick text
- A hashtag to promote social interaction
Results: An increase in Gen Z interest in the phone.
Request a quote now
Case Study 3: Disney+ Ad Campaign
Objective: To promote a streaming
Strategy:
- An effective wide, horizontal banner ad
- An exclusive offer: View “Star Wars” The Mandalorian (not available on any other platform) by signing up.
Results:
Disney+ saw an increase in people streaming new episodes.
Case Study 4: AARP Ad Campaign
Objective: To promote various benefits of the AARP program.
Strategy:
- Use of a skyscraper gif banner ad
- Clear, concise text describing the program benefits
- Bright red color that aligns with the brand image
- Relevant lifestyle image
- Call-to-action accompanied by a great discount
Results: More signups to the AARP program
Duck Design: Why Ordering Banner Ad Design from an Agency is a Good Idea
Ordering banner ad design from an agency has many advantages. World-class designers will collaborate with you to make sure your banner creation is a smooth process.
- Graphics
- Logos
- Web design
- Pitch deck design
- Clothing and merchandise design
- GIFs
- Printing
- Video
For a monthly subscription, you can not only request banner ad design but many other useful design services, from website illustrations to packaging design. The expert designers follow proven design practices to offer UI/UX design services. They prioritize accessibility, usability, and compatibility.
With one centralized platform and a dedicated design team, you can scale your demands up and down according to your needs. There are no hidden rates, and you will pay the same rate every month. You can make unlimited requests, and each one will go to a designer best suited for the project.
Reviewing and approving your designs is an integral part of the design process. It ensures you are happy with the end product. The designers will deliver your banners in the right file type, such as a JPG file for a static banner or an HTML5 banner form for an animated one.
Conclusion
Thorough preparation, captivating visuals, and text optimization through A/B testing can ensure your advertising banners grab attention. Focusing on what your target audience is looking for and its main pain points can help you keep your message clear. This can help your ads offer tangible results, such as driving traffic, increasing brand awareness, or improving product sales.
