Advertising Design

Advertising design refers to the creation and organization of visual artwork used in advertisements (ads) for products and services. The designs used in advertising are created by graphic designers. Advertising agencies as well as the advertising departments of corporations employ graphic designers to create and execute brochures, direct mail, web ads and print ads. Design elements used in advertisements include fancy lettering, borders, cartoons, illustrations and photographs. The main difference between advertising design and regular mainstream artwork is that advertising art must be designed to reach and compel the target audience to purchase products and services.

Advertising designers are not only talented in the art of creative design, they understand marketing and how to promote products and services through visual communication. Whereas a freelance fine artist may work on one creative piece of artwork for months, a graphic artist must constantly keep generating original advertising design pieces to meet campaign deadlines. Examples of advertising design are all around us. The banner ads you see on websites as well as the newspaper ads for products such as shoes and watches have been designed for advertising purposes. Graphic designers also create logos and symbols used in advertising to help inspire consumers to develop brand recognition, such as McDonald’s® golden arches.

It’s important to realize that although advertising design is used to promote virtually every product and service sold today, it’s not something new. An advertising design job blends psychology, marketing and creativity. Although many advertising design professionals focus their energy on the creative end of the spectrum, psychology and marketing often spill over into their everyday work.