digital advertising in the modern visual world by dustin stout

#SMX #32B @DustinWStout

Visual Thinking, Design Principles, Tools

Digital Advertising in the Modern Visual World

Your Name/Title/Co. Could Go Here Too

FACT 1: The Internet is becoming more and more visual.

FACT 2: Human beings have evolved to judge their environment based on visual cues.

Fogg, B., Soohoo, C., Danielson, D., Marable, L., Standord, J., & Tauber, E. (2003)

FACT 3: The growing fragmentation of visual marketing mediums is a pain in the rear end.

Stout, Dustin W. (2015)

VISUAL TRUST: When something looks professional, we generally assume that it is professional.

Stout, Dustin W. (2015)

▪  Balance ▪  Framing ▪  Contrast ▪  Color ▪  Typography ▪  Quality ▪  Consistency

VISUAL TRUST INDICATORS

BEFORE ALL ELSE: The purpose of good visual design is to effectively communicate a message.

Plain and simple. Don’t screw that up.

BALANCE: All visual “weight” is evenly distributed throughout the canvas.

Our brains are programmed to see symmetry as beauty.

But Dustin, what if the image isn’t perfectly symmetrical?

I’m glad you asked. And don’t call me butt Dustin.

BALANCE: Use symmetry and asymmetry to

give your visual marketing structure and stability.

FRAMING: Creating even clearance around the edges of your visual piece.

Or in other words… whitespace.

FRAMING: Imagine an invisible red-zone

around the edge of your canvas to avoid clutter.

CONTRAST: Visual distinction between background and subject matter.

Probably the hardest thing to explain… so let me just show you.

What is the point of adding text if people can’t freaking read it?

Answer: There is none.

#ProTip: Add a dark, semi-transparent layer to boost contrast.

Drop shadow works, but be conservative. Nothing kills a design faster than bad drop-shadow.

CONTRAST: Just make sure it’s readable, and

if it’s not, fix it.

COLOR: Using the right combinations can set an emotional and psychological tone.

Witty commentary here.

RED: Exciting, demands attention. Studies show that the color red can actually increase heart rate.

Also, my favorite color.

ORANGE: Fun, youth, ambition. Also an attention-getter this color works great for Calls-to-action.

Probably my second favorite color.

YELLOW: Happiness, optimism. Studies show that this color causes the release of serotonin.

You’re welcome.

GREEN: Growth, nature. Also associated with money, this color is the easiest for the eye to process.

It’s also very trendy right now.

BLUE: Trust, loyalty. The majority of people would say this is their favorite color. Associated with calmness & security.

Can you guess who uses this blue?

VIOLET: Prosperity, royalty. Studies show that this color actually stimulates problem solving.

Be careful not to over use or it can give the impression of being fake or superficial.

GREY: Solid, timeless. Associated with stone or rock, this color communicates sturdiness and longevity.

How many of you are wondering if it’s spelled gray instead?

BROWN: Earthy, organic. Associated with being natural or earthy. If done right it can be very soothing.

If done wrong… well let’s just say the result can be crappy.

WHITE: Cleanliness, clarity. Also associated with purity and adds no extra visual weight.

Also the most popular color for movie credit text.

BLACK: Elegance, power. Gives an impression of strength and authority.

Maybe why it’s cooler to say you like “black” coffee.

Keep colors few and well coordinated for maximum appeal.

Unless you’re really good at color theory.

▪  coolors.co ▪  color.adobe.com ▪  colourlovers.com

COLOR RESOURCES

Always keep your target audience in mind.

■  What colors will speak to them more effectively?

■  What emotion are we trying to evoke?

■  Are the colors we want “on-brand”?

TYPOGRAPHY: Or in other words-- choosing the right “fonts”.

Resist the urge to give a lecture about the difference between typeface and fonts.

▪  Fontpair.co

TYPOGRAPHIC RESOURCES

▪  Typ.io

▪  femmebot.github.io/google-type/

▪  hellohappy.org/beautiful-web-type/

When choosing fonts: ■  No more than 2 fonts ■  See how it looks at 8px ■  Don’t let style trump legibility ■  Make sure you have a license or

it’s free to use commercially.

MOST IMPORTANT TEXT Not quite as important but noteworthy

Much less important than the other text Y o u c a n p r o b a b l y d i s m i s s t h i s t e x t e n t i r e l y

HIERARCHY

ACTION!

#ProTip: Your call-to-action should always stand out (contrast) with the other elements.

Do what I call the “Squint” test.

#ProTip: The smaller the font is, the more space you will need between characters.

It also helps to space out characters when using A L L C A P S.

QUALITY: Building an eye for detail. Pixelation is your enemy.

HI-RESOLUTION Always source images that are bigger than you will need. It’s much easier to scale down.

1200 pixels wide or bust!

QUALITY: If your image looks like it came out of an 80’s video game, find

another image.

CONSISTENCY: Having a consistent look & feel shows intelligence and intentionality.

Consistent branding builds trust. Consistent advertising builds recognition.

COMPONENTS EXECUTION IMAGE / BACKGROUND A visual that connects strongly with the intended message.

TAGLINE / HOOK What they need to know in a few well selected words.

CTA GET IT

CONSISTENCY: Having clearly defined messaging,

imagery, colors and typography makes for a professional-looking

advertising campaign.

SO. MANY. CHANNELS. And way too many different shapes and sizes for your visual marketing efforts.

▪  320x50 ▪  468x60 ▪  728x90 ▪  970x90 ▪  336x280 ▪  300x250 ▪  250x250

GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK ▪  300x600 ▪  200x200 ▪  160x600 ▪  120x600 ▪  240x400

▪  1200x628 ▪  1200x900 ▪  1200x444 ▪  1200x675 ▪  600x600 ▪  100x72

FACEBOOK ADS

▪  144x144 (App) ▪  800x320 (App, Website) ▪  800x200 (Lead card) ▪  16:9 (Video)

TWITTER ADS

▪  No size restraints but... ▪  Taller images perform better on

Pinterest. ▪  Typical size of 735x1102 makes

for maximum coverage on most devices.

PINTEREST ADS

TOOLS & RESOURCES: To get you started in the right direction.

▪  BlogPhoto.tv ▪  PicJumbo ▪  MoPho.to ▪  Gratisography ▪  Pexels ▪  Pixabay ▪  Death to the Stock

FREE PHOTOGRAPHY

▪  iStockPhoto ▪  PhotoDune ▪  Lightstock

LOW-COST PHOTOGRAPHY

BEST OPTION: Hire a professional to do a one-day shoot and get as many shots as you can.

It’s not cheap, but worth every penny for a good photographer.

▪  Photoshop ▪  Canva ▪  Pixelmator ▪  Sketch ▪  Pixlr ▪  Gimp

GRAPHIC DESIGN APPLICATIONS

EXAMPLES: Let’s deconstruct some real-world examples.

THANK YOU!

SEE YOU @SMX WEST SAN JOSE, CA

MARCH 1-3, 2016

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