Web Ad Design – Instructions

Overview

Companies use web ads to reach customers directly with product announcements, sales, specials, educational information, seasonal promotions, how to use a product, and new uses for a product.

For this project, you’ll design three web ads for one product/client. These web ads will also communicate the same message.

Grading checklist

You will design 3 web ads for one product/client
- Use my fictitious client below (Mainstreet Market) and start designing immediately
- Choose another fictitious client from my list here: https://craigkunce.com/clients-to-choose-from/
- Or, choose your own client and find your own design assets
Focus on your product and the benefits it provides to the people who use it
Have one large, emphasized image to draw the viewer in
Use consistent brand guidelines across all three ads (logos, colors, typefaces, design elements, photos/art)
Be sure to have a call-to-action button/ text link
Size: Design for these three common Google web ad sizes:
- Leaderboard
  728 x 90px at 72ppi, RGB
- Medium (Inline) Rectangle
  300 x 250px at 72ppi, RGB
- Wide Skyscraper
  160 x 600px at 72ppi, RGB
Use Illustrator or Photoshop to design your ads (download the template below)

Template for the Three Web Ads

Download and use this project folder to design your three web ads. It contains the main template and all the support files (design assets) you see below.

Download the Project folder here: Mainstreet Market Project Folder- Web Ads.zip

You may choose either the Photoshop or Illustrator template below to design with.

Web Ad Best Practices

Web Ad Placement on a Website

Here are three common and popular web ad sizes and where they are usually placed on a website.

I suggest keeping the medium rectangle away from the text as much as possible. It reduces readability and slows your reader. It also makes your website look like you put ad revenue over content delivery.

Google also offers an in-text ad that displays between paragraphs. I find these completely annoying as they greatly reduce the delivery of content.

Student Web Ad Examples

Industry Web Ad Examples

Only 7 Brand Assets were used to create these ads

The process is fairly simple. Designers create, choose, or are given photos, words (copy), design elements (borders), colors, and typefaces. They arrange these brand assets to create the web ads shown below.