Part of: Ad creative
Static ad design for ecommerce
Static ad design is the making of ads and social assets that sit still: images with a clear message, set up in the formats each platform needs and handed over in files you can edit.
Is this right for you?
Who it is for
Stores that know what their ads should say and need them designed well, consistently and in every format the campaigns use.
When it is not
Stores that are not sure what the message is, which should start with creative strategy. Also stores with a very large catalogue that want ads built from their product feed, which is dynamic creative. This page does not cover video.
What is included
- Ads and social assets in the formats your campaigns need
- Product imagery treated consistently, within the limits of what you supply
- A small set of reusable layouts, so new ads do not start from nothing
- Variations to test, based on the plan agreed in the brief
- Editable source files and exported files, named clearly
- A short note on how to use and update the files
Static ad design is the making of ads and social assets that stay still: an image, a clear message and a call to action, set up for each format your campaigns need. It suits stores that know what the ad should say and want it done consistently. You receive exported files and editable ones, so your team can carry on without us.
This page is part of ad creative.
Who it’s for, and when it isn’t
It suits stores that run ads in several places and find the results look uneven, with different styles, different crops and logos in different spots. It also suits teams that have a media buyer and need the creative to keep up.
It is not the right fit if you are unsure what the ads should say. Start with creative strategy. If you have thousands of products and want ads made from your product feed, dynamic and automated creative is the better route. This page does not cover video.
What’s included
- Ads and social assets in the formats your campaigns need
- Product imagery treated consistently, within what you supply
- A small set of reusable layouts
- Variations to test, based on the agreed plan
- Editable source files and exported files, clearly named
- A short note on how to use and update them
We ask for your brand guidelines, logo files, product photography and the brief or copy. You get back exported PNG and JPG files in each platform’s sizes, plus editable source files in Affinity or Figma.
How we do it
We work from a brief, design one strong version first, then adapt it to each size and make the agreed variations. We check each one at the size it will actually be seen, because a headline that reads well in one format can disappear in another.
We keep product imagery consistent: the same treatment of background, shadow and spacing wherever we control it. We cannot fix poor photography, but we will tell you if it is holding the ads back.
How design and paid media work together
Design decides what people see. Media decides where it appears, to whom and at what cost. They are two halves of the same job, and each needs the other.
For display ads, you need images in several sizes, a clear message and an offer that makes sense. We design to the sizes the campaign uses, because a media plan with no usable creative cannot work. For Google Ads, the images and text you supply affect how your ads look, so we design them to still read when Performance Max mixes and matches them across Search, YouTube, Display and Gmail.
We plan creative and media together where we can, and we judge results against your own sales figures, not only what a platform reports.
What it costs
Static ad design can be priced per asset, per batch or monthly. See the pricing page for how we approach it.
One-off creative is priced at an agreed hourly rate. If you have a digital marketing retainer with us, ad creative for the channels we run is often already covered by it. See the pricing page.
What we measure
We look at what each variation was meant to test and what the campaign reports show, then compare that with sales in your store. We tell you what we think it means and what we cannot tell. We do not promise results.
Not sure where to start?
A creative review covers your current ads and tells you what is working, what is not and what to fix first.
How we do it
Every project is different, so timings depend on its size and complexity. You get a realistic timeline in writing before work starts, and we never promise results by a date.
Step 1: Start from the brief
We work from the brief and message order, whether we wrote them or you did. If there is not one, we write a short one first.
Step 2: Design the main layout
We design one strong version first, so you can react to something real. We check it against your brand rules.
Step 3: Build the set
We adapt it to each size and format and make the variations you agreed to test. We check that text, logos and the key part of the image stay readable in each one.
Step 4: Hand over
We export the final files and give you the editable ones, named so someone else can pick them up later.
What it costs
We price this by what you need, so you can start small and add stages later. You see the quote in writing before work starts. Our pricing page explains how we approach design and creative work.
Questions people ask
What sizes and formats do you design for?
We design for the formats your campaigns use. Each platform has its own sizes and text limits, and they change over time. We check the current ones at the start of each project.
What do I need to supply?
Your brand guidelines, logo files, product photography and the brief or any copy. If photography is poor or missing, we say so early and suggest the simplest fix, such as a short reshoot or a different layout.
What files will I get back?
Exported images in each platform's sizes, ready to upload, plus the editable source files.
Do you write the ad copy?
We help with the words on the image and the first lines of text. We can also write the full ad copy, edit yours or work from copy your media buyer supplies.
How many variations should we start with?
A small set, usually a few that each test one clear idea. More variations spread the budget thin and make results harder to read. We do not promise that any ad will perform.
Can you work with the person who runs our ads?
Yes, and we prefer to. If someone else manages your campaigns, we design to the sizes and tests they want. If you use us for both, we plan them together.
Ready to talk it through?
Get a free UX and conversion review of your website, focused on how your creative affects performance. A subject matter expert at Advent reviews it, and we aim to send it within 5 working days.