ne of my happy places is the famed California snowboarding destination, Mammoth Lakes. The 6 1/2 hour drive from San Diego mainly consists of a two-lane highway that takes you through the desert and valley found on the east side of the High Sierra mountains. It’s fairly uneventful except for a few sleepy towns and the occasional billboard promoting food, lodging, or retail options.
One billboard stood out to me on this particular road trip. I didn’t get a picture of it – you know, because taking photos while driving would be irresponsible – but the picture below represents the same artwork in smaller form.From a good distance away – certainly before I could read what the billboard said – I knew it was from Mammoth Mountain, the town’s resort and main tourist attraction. It had the signature blue background and white block font that “the mountain” has used for years in advertising. (Note: they have since slightly updated this look.)It reminded me of Three Branding Basics to keep in mind whenever creating artwork for an ad campaign:1. Color:
- For any given campaign, pick one or two primary colors (or patterns) and use them wisely. Having a solid background generally helps legibility and therefore recall.
2. Font:
- Select two fonts maximum for your ads – one for your headlines and one for body copy. Mixing and matching too many fonts can quickly make a design too busy and hard to read.
3. Graphics:
First determine whether you’re going to use photography, graphics or no images at all, and then define the style of graphics and any effects you might add. For example, you might only want to use lifestyle photography with a certain filer effect. Again, pick a style and be consistent with its application.
These may seem intuitive but I see many ads in the marketplace (especially from small businesses) that violate these basics. When applied, they help aid brand awareness and communicate your message in a more effective way. When ignored, an ad campaign can be rendered ineffectual before it ever starts running.
What other branding basics do you adhere to when designing your campaigns?