Back in January 2020, my team took on the challenge of revamping the overall look and feel of display advertising for Capital One's credit card division. The card business wasn't new to web banners by any means, but here wasn't a documented strategy in place. Until then, each display campaign's look and feel had been largely left to the whims of individual designers interpreting brand standards for this space as they saw fit.
A Crash Course
Before diving headfirst into the project, we needed to establish a baseline. What were the common terms used in this space? What obstacles should we anticipate, and how could we overcome them? What best practices should guide our efforts? For weeks, I researched and compiled essential information on display and banner ads.
Synthesis
Armed with all this knowledge, the next step was clear. Rather than leaving our research scattered across documents and bookmarks, we decided to create an internal guide. This not only helped us consolidate our findings but also allowed us to educate other creatives and partners within the business. During this phase, I collaborated closely with our Copywriter and Creative Director to outline the fundamentals of display advertising through straightforward descriptions and infographics. We also conducted a competitor analysis, applying our insights to showcase effective and ineffective creative strategies. After countless hours of work and revisions, we finally unveiled the first version of our Display 101 Guide in March 2020.
Welcome to White Space
With the foundational work complete, the next challenge was applying our newfound knowledge to Capital One's web banners. Over the following year we used both business-as-usual projects and independent explorations to begin developing and stress-testing a basic design framework. The more banners we created, the deeper our understanding became of the various factors to consider. The muddy waters were becoming clearer by the day.
The Final Result
Through our efforts we soon realized that it was impossible to anticipate every possible scenario. While we initially envisioned a set of templates we gradually shifted towards a design system that provided guidelines rather than rigid rules for creatives to use when designing for this space. Over the next year, we synthesized all our insights and experiences into a single document. Version 1 of the Display Channel Creative Guidelines was officially shared in Fall 2021.