04.03.

20 | Banner Ads
BANNER ADS
Banner ads, also known as display
ads or image ads, are image-based
advertisements that are widely
popular online. Why are banner ads
so popular? They are a cost-
effective way to allow advertisers
to attractively display their
products and services online across
an array of websites. Additionally,
banner ads allow for increased
brand recognition and ad targeting.
5 Design Principles to
Master for Better
Banner Ads
With 11% of Internet users now blocking display ads, and many others just
tuning them out, you have to work extra hard to make sure people click
when they do see them. And great display ads are all about the visuals.

Don’t underestimate the power of design. 50% of companies say that

design plays a massive role in how they achieve success. After all, design
influences first impressions and the way consumers perceive your brand.

Let’s take a look at how you can up your design game by applying five key
principles of visual design to create high-performing display ads.
1. STRUCTURE
The foundation of a good display ad is structure. And there are best practices you
should follow when mapping out your ad. Display ads need to be “distinguishable
from normal web page content and the ad unit must have clearly defined borders
and not confused with normal web content.”

Ad sizing should be flexible as people may view your ad on different-sized screens.

Google offers various ad sizes from half page ads

to leaderboard to large mobile banners. The top
three ad sizes in terms of performance are
300x250 (medium rectangle), 336x280 (large
rectangle), and 728x90 (leaderboard).
1. STRUCTURE
You need to make sure you have a strong yet flexible
structure to fit each format, paying special attention
to the top performing sizes.

To do this, think about the fundamental elements of a

display ad. Every ad should contain four main
components:

1. Your logo or company name

2. A value proposition
3. An image or visual representation of your service
4. A CTA (Call-to-Action) button.
1. STRUCTURE
What’s the best way to arrange these elements?

Naturally, your value proposition and CTA are most important. One company found
that optimizing its landing page CTA led to a whopping 245% increase in leads. This
goes to show just how critical your CTA is.

Thus, your value proposition and CTA should be the most visually distinct elements.
You should place your logo on the sidelines, at one of the edges of your ad. Plus, you
have to make sure your image doesn’t obscure any of the copy.
1. STRUCTURE
You should end up with something like this:

As you can see, the value proposition and

CTA are front and center. The SoundCloud
logo is out of the way, and the image makes
up the background.

This is just one way to arrange the key elements of a display ad. The exact structure is
up to you, as long as the CTA and value proposition are most prominent. And the
elements can be rearranged in a comparable way to suit different ad sizes.
2. COLOR
In design, color is vital as it’s used to grab people’s attention and evoke emotion.
People also associate your color scheme with your brand. When you think about
Coca-Cola, you’re always going to think red, for instance.

The psychology behind color is fascinating and something you need to pay attention
to when designing ads. For example, men and women have different color
preferences. One study showed that the most popular colors among men are blue
(57%) and green (14%); while women are into blue (35%) and purple (23%).

Hence, you may decide to

use a slightly different color
palette depending on who
your campaign is aimed at.
2. COLOR
Particular industries also tend to favor
particular colors. This study from Visual
Capitalist shows the colors used by the
top 20 brands for their logos, sorted by
industry:

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/color-in-branding-industry/
2. COLOR
Many industries lean towards favoring particular colors, leveraging the psychological
triggers these colors carry, both attracting us as a consumer and representing the
industry.

In the communications industry, for example, blue and black are the most popular
colors. Using these colors in display ads for this industry will thus instill trust in your
brand.

Clearly, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to picking a color palette for your
display ad. The most important questions to ask yourself are:

Who is my campaign aimed at and which colors will appeal to them?

What do people expect from my brand and industry?
2. COLOR
As a general rule, your color palette should be minimal. You should pick two or three
main colors to use in ads. If you use a rainbow of colors, the viewer won’t be able to
focus on what’s important. A couple of contrasting colors make the important parts
stand out, like in this ad:

The green font stands out clearly

against the light background. It’s a
simple palette that’s totally on
brand for the company.

What it all boils down to is

choosing your colors wisely. Your
choice isn’t arbitrary, and you need
to think about the impact color will
have on the audience.
3. TYPOGRAPHY
Typography is another design element which draws your eye to the most critical
information, like the speech bubbles in a comic book.

The most important thing to have is a clear and legible typographic hierarchy. It
doesn’t matter if you have amazing visuals — if your audience can’t read or
understand your message, they won’t click on your ad.

Take this example from Zendesk:

The potential customer’s pain point is emphasized using bold copy. Your eye is immediately
drawn to the statement, “Good relationships take work.” The key takeaway here is to direct the
viewer to the information you want to see via the order and scale of your typography.
3. TYPOGRAPHY
The typeface is also influential. There’s a limitless number of fonts out there that you
can use. But that doesn’t mean you should be using a bunch of different fonts in
your display ads. Like with color, if you do this, then the viewer won’t be able to
focus.

You may be wondering where you even begin choosing a font. This guide to font
combinations will show you which typefaces complement each other nicely:

https://justcreative.com/2015/05/05/15-stunning-font-combinations-for-your-inspiration/
3. TYPOGRAPHY
Take a look at this landing page, for instance:

The font used for the headline is

Playfair Display, a classic serif
typeface. It’s mighty stylistic,
which hints at the brand’s artistic
prowess as a web design
company. The information
underneath is in Museo Sans, a
sans-serif typeface. The
combination of typefaces works
as the sans-serif font balances
out the stylistic font above.

Again, a hierarchy is formed using different, complementary typefaces. Use a more unusual font for the vital
info you want to convey. A more traditional font can be used to add information.

You may wish to use a style or a bold typeface, or both, to make certain parts of the copy stand out.
4. SIMPLICITY
Ever heard of the KISS principle? KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. The phrase
originates in product design but can be applied to design in any context.

Display ads are obviously compact. You’re not going to fit your entire brand story in
a 300x250 ad. So, you have to keep it simple (stupid). You have to get your message
across clearly and quickly.

Here’s another acronym for you… Google Marketing recommends the three C’s for
creating display ads. They should be compelling, concise, and clear. This is so you
don’t overwhelm the viewer.
4. SIMPLICITY
Look at how simple, yet brilliant this display ad from join.me is:

The value proposition and CTA are

unmistakable. And that’s what you
want. The three C’s mean you need a
design that grabs people’s attention, a
brief message, and a clear call to
action.

For B2C ads, you’ll also want to

display your product. You can do this
and still keep it minimal. The trick is
to use a high res image that doesn’t
overwhelm your message or CTA.
4. SIMPLICITY
Shaving brand Harry’s does this particularly well:

They feature the product in an

understated way through the use of
color.
4. SIMPLICITY
Another way to feature simple design in your display ads is to make the design of the
entire campaign seamless. For instance, if you click on a display ad and it takes you
to a landing page with a different image, color, and/or typeface, it’s going to leave
you a little confused.

Take this ad: It leads you to this page.

The message is different, and the imagery is different.

The overall experience is overwhelming.
4. SIMPLICITY
By comparison, take a look at this banner ad:

Take this ad:

It takes you to this landing page:

You can clearly see that the

message and design of the
display ad match that of the
landing page. The overall
experience is seamless.
4. SIMPLICITY
Why is this even a thing? Seamless design creates a better user experience. And a
better user experience leads to more conversions. Improving user experience can
lead to an increase in conversion rates of up to 400%.
5. CUSTOM IMAGES
& GRAPHICS
You should never use images to simply fill up space. Or because you think that you’re
supposed to have images in your display ad. You know that images are essential in
marketing. You’ve probably already heard that you’re more likely to remember
information if you see it as opposed to hearing it.

Why is this the case? Images communicate valuable information. That speaks to why
they’re so important in marketing. And why you shouldn’t just use images for the
sake of it. They should serve a purpose.
5. CUSTOM IMAGES
& GRAPHICS
Perhaps the purpose of your image is to display your product in all of its glory...

Or perhaps you’re using an image or graphic to make

your ad more eye-catching…
5. CUSTOM IMAGES
& GRAPHICS
Using custom imagery in this way is likely to spark the interest of the viewer. As a
rule of thumb, you should avoid stock images. Design is all about creativity after all.

Wistia, for instance, uses playful and unique imagery in their display ads:
5. CUSTOM IMAGES
& GRAPHICS
The images capture attention but don’t take
away from the message of the ad –
remember KISS? The effect that the images
in these ads have is that they make you
curious to learn more about the product.
Wistia does this purposefully – they have
simple display ads that pique your interest
which then take you to landing pages with
lots more information:
5. CUSTOM IMAGES
& GRAPHICS
It apparently works as their landing page
converts at 13%.

To emulate their success, show off your

products or lure people in with interesting
and unique images. But don’t forget to make
sure your CTA and value proposition are at
the forefront – because you want clicks, of
course.
IN CLOSING…
Good design (along with smart targeting) can help you cure widespread banner
blindness. So, ensure you follow key design principles to create the best ads you
possibly can:

• The best way to structure a display ad is to make your value proposition and
CTA most prominent.
• Choose a simple color palette that’s conducive to your branding and
marketing goals.
• When it comes to typography, construct a hierarchy to make sure the most
important information stands out.
• Keep the overall design of your display ads simple.
• And finally, opt for unique images to grab the attention of fickle viewers.