Create a digital ad that converts

Use bold typography and precise positioning to design a digital ad that delivers results.

Published January 26, 2026

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00:01

Introduction

Looking to make a scroll-stopping digital ad that's simple but effective?

My name is Sydney Michuda, Creative Director of Super Creative.

In this video, I'll walk you through a quick, easy process to make ads that stand out and drive action.

00:12

Setting up the digital ad document

Create a new document and set the artboard to your ad size.

Let's use a vertical 250 px x 360 px and make sure the Color Mode is RGB Color for digital.

Your ad should contain the brand's logo, a headline, some descriptor body copy, and a call-to-action button.

Paste this info into your document.

Let's create a layout

00:30

Creating the layout with product imagery and background

where the product photo is cropped out of its environment and placed onto a solid color background.

This will help with text legibility.

Decide on the product photo you'd like to use in the ad, then in Photoshop or Illustrator, clip the product out of the photo, leaving the shadow intact and keep the background transparent.

Place the photo into your Illustrator document.

If you have brand colors, place them into your document.

With the Rectangle Tool, click and type 250 px x 360 px, then move the shape to the center of your artboard.

Move the shape to the back by going to Object, Arrange, Send to Back.

Let's use a bright lighter color for the background and apply one of the darker colors to your type.

If you have brand fonts, apply them to the copy.

01:12

Applying brand fonts and text hierarchy

If you don't, find an impactful headline font that matches your brand's attitude and a clean, legible font for body copy.

Place a simple version of your logo at the top of the ad and center it with the Align Tool.

I'm also going to place a colored shape behind the logo for a tiny bit more impact.

With the Paragraph window, center-align the headline and increase the size.

Then place it near the top of the ad below the logo.

The size and placement near the top of the layout gives the headline clear priority, and nice visual flow from top to bottom.

If possible, arrange your product photo, so some of the product overlaps parts of the headline.

This makes the ad engaging and more interesting.

When sizing the photo, make sure to leave room near the bottom for the copy and button.

Keep the body copy smaller, but still big enough to read quickly.

Center the type inside the text box, center it in the artboard and place it near the bottom of the page.

02:10

Designing an effective call-to-action button

Lastly, let's add the call-to-action button.

Use the Rectangle Tool to create a shape around the call-to-action copy.

Select the copy and bring it to the front with Object, Arrange, Bring to Front.

Then make sure the copy is centered inside the shape with the Align Tool.

Let's make the button white, so it stands out from the dark text color.

Move the button to the bottom of the ad below the body copy.

Make sure the button is large enough to identify and read quickly, but not so big that it fights with the headline.

To really spice things up, test out incorporating other cropped photos to the edges of the layout.

This will draw the eye in further and make the layout even more compelling.

02:47

Exporting the ad for web use

Finally, save your editable document as an .ai file.

Then, to export your ad for the web, go to File, Export, Export As..., select JPEG, click Use Artboards, click Export, select Screen (72 ppi) resolution and hit OK.

Now you're all set to create simple digital ads that stand out and break through the noise.

Try it out and make an ad that leaves an impression.

Again, my name is Sydney Michuda of Super Creative.

Thanks for watching.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you’ll learn

Set up the document for digital work

Create a new document with the correct size, color space, and resolution to ensure your ad looks sharp on screens.

Arrange the text and visual elements

Gather ad copy, artwork, and brand colors on the artboard. Choose an impactful headline font and clean, legible fonts for the rest of the text. Learn to arrange elements to create a standout ad that guides your viewer to the call-to-action.

Save artwork and export a final copy

Save the original design in Illustrator's format for easy edits later. Then, export the digital ad optimized for screen viewing.

Instruction by: Sydney Michuda
Design by: Sydney Michuda
Adobe Stock Contributors: andreaobzerova; forgraphic

Try these tutorials with Illustrator

Create illustrations and other graphics with vectors.

View all plans

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