Visual advertising is an experience. That's what is it for creators as well as viewers. The creator of the advertisement will exercise his crafts or work with others to produce the final product. If that product is effective, it will standout among other visuals with an allurement that beckons the viewer look more closely. Once the viewer has focused attention on the advertisement, he will discern the parts that make up the entire visual presentation. If the parts have been laid out in a way that leads the viewer's eye to the product image and then to text that is carefully written and invites the viewer to buy, the goal of the advertisement has been achieved.
When the creator of the ad is engaged in its creation, he is engaged in the act of design. Advertising design is the work of an ad designer. This designer combines salesmanship with art to produce the product of his activity, the ad.
Advertising design proceeds in the same manner as any artist engaged in the creation of a painting. The artist should have a concept (perhaps not clearly defined yet), or a vague image of what it is he would paint before he paints it. In advertising design, the designer must have a more definite idea of the subject of the ad. Before entering design, the designer will become thoroughly familiar with the product or service the is being sold to the viewer. The product or service will be the subject of any add. The designer should know what motivates a customer to buy such a product or require such a service. The designer will know the product's relations to its competitors, their arguments for or against the product. The designer will know clearly the advantages of their products and services over others. Advertising design starts with knowing how the product sells its self.
Advertising design is concerned with the organization of the advertisement and the selection of its parts. Design is found in most human constructions. It is the act of imposing form on what we call raw material. The advertisement designer begins with a general sketch of the visual advertisement. This is no different then when an artist scratches out a sketch of an intended painting. It is the first effort at design. In a sketch, form is mainly represented by lines; the colors are not yet laid in. The designer will also sketch out the ad. What is sketched is not necessarily preconceived. The act of sketching the design will bring out one expression and the designer's idea will have been revealed to himself. Many artist sketch a subject several times, discarding one in favor of another. The ad designer must do the same thing. Each effort will contribute to the next, until, finally you recognize the appropriate form for your visual ad.
Once sketched, the ad is ready to be filled in. The parts the designer has organized must then also be designed, so that each part has its own order and purpose. With purposeful and artful design, the ad will not only be effective, but be a piece of beauty in itself.