Digital Animated Ad – Instructions

Digital ads featuring 2D animation are very popular with companies and organizations. 2D animation is a regular advertisement that has the assets set into motion. Type, art, logos, and photos fade, grow, travel, or move in from the side; photos swap out, or a video plays with type over top of it. The added motion is meant to grab and hold the viewer’s attention.

Remember that you are still delivering a message to an audience in an organized and clear manner.

Digital ads come in many different shapes and sizes to fit into various places on web pages. We’ll focus on two popular sizes for this project: the half-page (or large skyscraper) and the billboard.

Grading Checklist

  • Design one 10-second 2D animated digital ad for a client of your choice
  • Use my After Effects templates (download below). You can start with my After Effects 10-second AI Marinades template and customize it with your client logo, type, headlines, colors, photos, assets, etc., and start designing immediately.
  • Or, you may make your own template and choose your own client:
  • Use After Effects and render to an MP4 in Adobe Media Encoder
  • Keep your motion to a minimum. Too much movement will create chaos, and the viewer will focus on the flying and zooming instead of the message and elements.
  • Focus on your product and the benefits it provides to its users. How does it fit into their lifestyles?
  • Have one large, emphasized image/graphic to draw the viewer in
  • Use consistent brand guidelines (logos, colors, typefaces, design elements, photos/art)
  • Be sure to have a call to action:
    • Button with words
    • Logo and website URL
    • QR code to scan at the end
    • Social media icons and @handles
    • Phone numbers for certain hotlines
  • Size: (Choose one):
    • Half Page (Large Skyscraper)
      300 x 600px, 30fps, RGB
    • Billboard
      970 x 250px, 30fps, RGB
  • Use Illustrator to draw your vector elements (if you choose to use vector)

Template for Half Page Web Ad

Download here: A1 Marinades-AfterEffects-Templates.zip

Here’s my example half page animation that’s in the template:

Template for Billboard Web Ad

Download here: A1 Marinades-AfterEffects-Templates.zip

Here’s my example animation that’s in the template:

Here are the ad sizes on a web page

Half Page (Large Skyscraper) (300 x 600px)

Billboard (970 x 250px)

How to Replace My Photos/Videos With Yours

You can quickly swap out the photos, videos, and logos in the template and customize it for your projects. You may have to resize and adjust the new content to fit your layout.