Advertising Creative Process: Ideas First
The great thing about advertising is that you can break the rules—as long as you solve the problem.
That said, there is a process. One that strengthens your work and ensures your final execution is built on a solid, clearly communicated concept. Start by developing your ideas in four stages.
This isn’t just for class—it’s how the professional world works. These stages apply across all media.
4 Stages:
1. Ideas
2. Visuals / Words
3. Layout / Design
4. Execution
Advertising Creative Process: Ideas First
SVA Continuing Education — Online Advertising Portfolio Course
1. Ideas
This is the thinking—the heavy lifting. Once you’ve read, understood, and agree with the brief, spend most of your time here.
Do not look for pictures.
Do not look for pictures.
Do not look for pictures.
If you start with images, your idea becomes whatever the image is—and you’ve skipped the thinking.
Use your brain. Don’t look for ideas—think of ideas.
Ideas that persuade. Ideas rooted in the objective of the brief, the product’s benefit, what makes it unique, and what matters to the target audience.
Persuasion is key.
Use insights from class. Writing may help shape the idea, but don’t get stuck on perfect wording yet.
Come up with multiple ideas.
Do not settle for the first—even if it feels great.
2. Visuals / Words
Spend serious time here as well.
Art directors (and writers) should explore what visuals best express the idea. Generate multiple options. Don’t settle for the first image that comes to mind.
Ask yourself:
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Is it arresting?
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Is it memorable?
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Has it been done before?
If it’s been seen a million times—kill it or reinvent it.
Writers: begin developing the wording—headlines and copy that express the idea. Just like visuals, push for multiple approaches.
Together, the visual and verbal form your executional idea.
3. Layout / Design
Now bring it to the page.
Sketch it. Rough it out. Map the relationship between image and words. This applies to all media—print, digital, social, outdoor, etc.
Don’t just place elements—design them.
Art direct the viewer through the idea.
We’ll discuss the difference between paper roughs and digital layouts.
3b. Video (if applicable)
If you’re producing video, think in sequences.
Map the story and develop a loose storyboard:
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Where does it begin and end?
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What message is being delivered?
Stay focused on the selling point. Avoid over-dramatizing what doesn’t matter.
Make sure the key takeaway is clear—and deliver it in a fresh, engaging way.
4. Execution
Now you bring it to life for your portfolio.
Visual:
This is your final interpretation. Use every tool available—photography, illustration, typography, AI, Photoshop, etc.
Refine everything:
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Color
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Cropping
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Composition
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Type
If you’re using stock, and you haven’t looked through hundreds or thousands of options—you’re settling.
If you only use one Generative AI platform, you're short-selling your idea. Each render differently.
If you love your idea, you should be excited by the visual.
If you’re not—go back to Stage 1.
Verbal:
Now you wordsmith.
Ask:
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Can this be simpler?
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More persuasive?
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More precise?
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Engaging
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Better?
Keep pushing until you love it.