jonathan connolly

I actually have this photoshop competition running right now on my blog. You can check it out for further details on this but thats another story. Just thought I would post a few steps in perfecting print ads. I gave some steps in the help guide for those entering the ad competition. So disregard some of the phrases referring to picking a brand. Other than that have fun with it and hopefully some of it can help you out.

Mind you this is just some abreviated guidelines. In the near future I hope to post a much more in depth way of going about this. We are heavily involved in print and advertising world. So hopefully somethings can shed like and give more inspiration to others. Once again if you would like to see more of this and an illustration check it out on my blog. Thanks guys and most of all enjoy!

1. Inspiration - Get the juices flowing. Let your eye look at tons of different things that are creatively designed. Whether its ads, photos, magazines… Do lots of browsing around on artistic websites. If you cannot find anything decent looking start by going to ffffound for inspiration.

2. Brainstorm - Once your mind is flowing with ideas of random things you can do now try to start thinking how you can implement that into your design. Think of different tag phrases or cool quotes that can bring great attention to brands.

3. Pick a Brand - Try to narrow down a brand that would best fits what your trying to emphasize. Classify things down into categories like automotive, health, electronics, food… From there then its a matter of finding a corporate id that would best complement your idea.

4. Keep it simple - Try your best not to get carried away with too much stuff. Sometimes adding too many effects or ideas on one ad can confuse the viewer and never bring any attention to the brand. Remember less always says more.

5. Be Creative - No body likes a boring ad. As someone is flipping through a magazine what makes them stop on a page? It has to catch their eye. If something is going to make you stop and look at it then it must be different. The more work you do in brainstorming the less work you will need to do on the design side.

6. Let is speak - Let your design speak for itself. If I were to look at an ad you really should not have to explain anything to me. The ad should simply speak for itself. Visually it should be putting ideas into the viewers mind and then draw them to understand everything by seeing the corporate logo. Also tag phrases are great to help explain the visual design.

7. Brand it Baby - Finally put in your corporate id in a location where is easily seen but not in a way where its taking over. Sometimes ads don’t always need branding because the product can speak for itself. If your dealing with a product that is not very well known then make sure to somehow tie in the id.

__________________
Jonathan Connolly : Creative Director | Website | Blog | Work | Flickr |

chris

Nice list. This list would probably work for more then just prind ads but Design on a larger scale. Thanks for sharing and I will be sure to check out the blog. Might even join the contest =D

~chris

PS I like your blog layout.

__________________