During my first position at Capital One I was a designer on the Brand Creative Display Advertising team. During my time there I worked on numerous campaigns and placements, ranging from Google Discovery and native ads to traditional banners served by networks.
One of the most challenging (and rewarding!) tasks was creating animated HTML5 banners for ad networks. It wasn't just about arranging pixels in limited space; I had to craft attention-grabbing stories in a format where user attention is almost always scarce. My job involved creating these banners in Photoshop following best practices and brand guidelines before passing them on to a partner agency for animation. While they brought the banners to life, I was the mastermind behind the general flows.
Let's face it—most people tend to overlook ads, whether consciously or not. I'm guilty of it myself! But being part of a dedicated team in this space made me truly appreciate the artistry behind these often-dismissed ads. Sometimes the most restrictive situations spark the most creative solutions.