Chances are that if you’re in the ad industry, you went to college for it. However, some people landed in this industry who didn’t perhaps major in that field of study, say communications for example. For those of you who are familiar with advertising techniques and have studied this area of expertise or been the industry for as long as you can remember, then this article really isn’t for you. It will cover basic, common visual advertising techniques that are used. Some you may know and some may be new to you. We’ve talked about emotional advertising in one of our past articles but there are so many, many more. This list is in no particular order and does not include the entirety of ad techniques.
1. Color Psychology. Creative advertising relies on certain colors to invoke particular emotions. It is found in every single ad you’ve ever seen. Expect to see a detailed article in the future from us on this one.
2. Composition. This refers to how all of the elements are placed in the visual space of the ad. It can pull the viewer’s attention in one direction to another that creates a flow from top to bottom. It is crucial that the composition is balanced. The Gestalt Principles can contain basic rules for balancing visual compositions. More to come on this from us later.
3. Rule of 3rds & Golden Mean. This also contributes to balanced composition. The rule of 3rds separates a canvas into six equal rectangles: two rows and three columns. In placing important elements at the cross-point of the rectangles, they are given visual importance all the while, maintaining compositional balance. Golden Mean used the Fibonacci sequence to direct the placement of elements harmoniously. This one is really cool since it uses mathematics to balance the visual composition.
4. Focal Point. The ad must have a clear place for the viewer’s attention. There are a few different ways to create a focal point.
a. Selective focus: focal point is in focus and background blurry
b. Exposure: manipulation of light and dark areas to make focal point stand out
c. Light source: illuminate the focal point
5. Visual Paths. There are two types of visual paths you can create. One is the Z shape and the other is the F shape. It takes the viewer through a journey of the ad through taking their gaze to specific places on the ad.
6. Body Language. Body language is important in advertisements. This is why casting directors go to great lengths to find the perfect actor for their commercials. Body language transmits a message by how they stand, smile, sit and move.
7. Gazes. There are two types of gazes in ads. The first is direct gaze where the person in the image or video is looking directly at the viewer without looking away. This is to invoke an emotion and it’s actually adopted from hypnosis techniques. The second is the three-quarter gaze where the person in the ad is looking into a situation and not at the viewer. The viewer isn’t part of the situation.
This list includes the more intricate types of visual techniques. Others that you have probably heard of were omitted, such as point of view, BTS, FOMO and symbolism, just to name a few. Psychology plays a very important role in the creation of advertisements as you can see. It’s important to understand how these techniques are used to help your brand create an effective advertisement.
