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Designers might be a dime a dozen – but good ones definitely are not. Whether it’s a print ad, trade show booth, direct mailer or any other marketing collateral, a skilled designer will do more than just lay text over your image. (Any tech-savvy marketer can do that these days, thanks to apps like Canva and Infogram). Experienced designers understand the little things, like the way fonts influence perception of quality, and how color can affect purchasing behavior. They also know how to balance images, text, and white space to grab and hold audience attention.
When it comes to online marketing (websites, banner ads, social media posts, etc.), the stakes are even higher. Competition for impressions is at an all time high, and viewers are getting better and better at tuning out online ads. In order to get your digital marketing to cut through the clutter, you’re going to want to enlist the support of a digital designer. Here’s why:
6 Reasons You Need a Digital Designer
- They Know the Right Sizes
Quick – what are the dimensions of a Facebook ad? How about a Twitter cover image? Static banner ad? What’s the appropriate DPI for web images? If you don’t know, no worries – a digital designer does. These are the types of images and ads they work with day in and day out, which means no wasted time resizing ads that were designed to the wrong specs.
- They Know the “Rules”
It’s not just sizes that can be confusing when it comes to digital advertising. There are dozens of other rules, too, including text limitations, image quality standards, and content guidelines that differ by platform and ad type. It can be hard to keep up with the constantly changing specs, but a good digital designer will be up to date and can help advise you on what you can and can’t include in your online ad.
- They Know What Makes People Click
To create a great digital ad, you need to do more than just follow the rules. You also need to know what makes people click. This is where digital advertising really differs from traditional print advertising – it’s meant to convert. While print ads are typically designed for awareness, digital ads are often used to convince people to take an action. In addition to traditional design capabilities, good digital designers are also trained in designing ads that inspire action. Everything from color choices to fonts to drop shadows and button positioning can be used to increase conversions.
- They Know What’s Possible in Programming
Another major difference between print and digital is that digital requires a second step after the initial design is complete – it has to be programmed. Digital designers work hand-in-hand with programmers, enabling them to create designs that will translate seamlessly from PSD to Flash, HTML and other digital formats. They also know how to design for varying screen sizes and create websites, landing pages and ads that adapt to the device they’re being viewed on – no easy feat!
- They Understand Web Browsing Behavior
Which company was advertising on the latest blog post you read? Can’t remember? You’re not alone. Online advertising has become so all-consuming that most people have learned to tune it out completely. That’s why a skilled digital designer, with knowledge of how people navigate websites and what they’re most likely to click on, is so important. Digital designers can concept and layout ads that not only catch your eye, but also stand out from the surrounding copy, images and competing ads. Color, white space and image selection are particularly important in this area.
- They’re Quick
The lead-time for print ads is often weeks, if not longer. When it comes to online advertising, however, you can change out ads as quickly as you can create them – sometimes even daily. You also have to option to personalize ads based on who they’re being served up to, meaning you may need to create 20+ versions of the same ad concept. The bad news? You’ve got to pay for all that design time. The good news? Digital designers are used to it – so they’re typically pretty quick.
About Ethos
Ethos is a multiplatform branding agency that develops and executes integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels for companies inside and outside of Maine.
At Ethos, we believe that the most effective way to set a company’s marketing course is by finding its core truth – its ethos. We know that once we discover and communicate that core truth, we can truly make a difference for each client’s unique marketing and business objectives.
