The Role of Graphic Design in a Great Print Ad.
Which comes first — the design or the concept? Look at a great ad and you might assume it was the design. However, in a great print ad, design is usually the last — and most important —step in the creative process. Before I say anything more about design — and knowing these steps overlap one another — let’s look at that process.
Step One: Establish a good understanding of the product (object, person, idea, etc.) that you are trying to sell — Take it apart and put it back together again, so that you really know what you are talking about. The sheer amount of creative ideas that can spin out of this one idea is amazing to me.
Step Two: Determine the objective of the ad — In other words, what does the ad need to sell?
Step Three: Determine the audience — Are you speaking to men or women, single or married, and to which generation? Very few products are all things to all people.
Step Four: Nail down the concept — This is the framework of the ad from which every other part evolves. If great design is a garden of delights, then a great concept is the seed. Do whatever it takes to get it. In my experience, teaming up with great creative directors, the most successful ads we developed came from lots of brainstorming along with considerable amounts of high-test coffee and M&Ms.
Step Five: Immediately following the concept development is the copywriting. That is the headline, subhead, and body copy. They showcase the concept and inform the reader. In cases where there is no copy, go directly to Step Six:
Step Six: Design The Ad — Having outlined the creative process, let’s look at the role graphic design plays in a great print ad. Whether it’s all-type, all-graphics/artwork, or a combination of the two, an ad must be well designed to wrap all steps together: Product, Objective, Audience, Concept, and Copy. After all this work, success or failure relies heavily on the skill of the Graphic Designer. Poor design can kill a great concept.
In a well-designed ad, all of the elements — visuals, copy, & typography — have a rhythm. The reader’s eye goes from what the designer wants to be seen first, to what she wants to be seen last. Good design works like a subtle magnetic force, guiding the reader through the ad over and over again.
Now that we have established the role of design in an ad, let’s look at what constitutes great design. You might hear a designer mention terms such as white space, kerning, leading, type style, color, contrast, and “pop”. An experienced designer with a sensitive eye and design touch considers all of these elements.
Good use of white space will set the boundaries of where the designer wants to keep the reader.
Appropriate selection of typefaces and how they are set is very important — Kerning is the space between the letters and words. Leading is the space between the lines of type. Together, they make type legible plus set the tone and mood for the ad. Great type design can emphasize key words, stop and start a reader or even be the single visual within the ad.
I mentioned the word “pop”. My very first Creative Director would describe my works as either having pop or in desperate need of it. If he said my design popped, then I knew it strongly and clearly communicated the message of the ad. For me, “pop” comes from proper use and balance of color, type, and graphics.
So yes, graphic design is the key to a great print ad. Building on the foundation of a great concept, the graphic designer must pull the elements together in a way that brings the reader quickly to the objective of the ad, while engaging the emotions which the designer wants to inspire in the reader.
Above all, great design must sell.
