Designing Breakthrough Advertisements: Basics to Begin

Designing Breakthrough Advertisements: Basics to Begin

This course is part of Designing Breakthrough Advertisements and Commercials Specialization

Instructor: Dan Ligon

Included with

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5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Create more attention-getting advertisements to break through the clutter and stand out from the competition.
Master the techniques to become a better copywriter to craft more impactful headlines, body copy, and video scripts.
Design and think like an art director by applying and influencing typefaces, visuals, and the layouts of advertisements.
Appeal to customers by understanding their needs and tailoring the messages in advertisements.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

17 assignments

Taught in English

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logos of Petrobras, TATA, Danone, Capgemini, P&G and L'Oreal

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Designing Breakthrough Advertisements and Commercials Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 5 modules in this course

Designing Breakthrough Advertisements: Basics to Begin will teach you the skills to make breakthrough advertisements. In this course you will learn how to approach writing headlines and commercial scripts. We'll explore how to direct art and conquer page layouts. And we'll cover typefaces and visuals, so that you know how and when to employ them. All with the singular goal of crafting pieces of communication that will get your potential customers engaged and more likely to respond to your message.

So if you're ready to do some advertising and make that investment in your business, then this is course for you. We’ll show you the best practices to make sure you're making the most effective advertisements you can make. After all, if you're taking the time to develop a marketing plan and a media placement strategy, shouldn't you also take the time to learn how to make an advertisement that won't get immediately ignored?

You can think of advertising as the world’s 8th oldest profession, give or take. Humans have been creating advertisements since before we could read and write. How can something so old still be effective? We’ll look at the characterizes of effective advertisements and ineffective ones. We’ll look at the different kinds of advertisements and learn the strategies to make the right choice for communication you want to create. Most importantly, we’ll get you looking at advertisements not through the eyes of a consumer, but rather, through the eyes of designer. You don’t have to start from scratch, you can stand on the shoulders of techniques and practices that have worked in the past to make your advertisements work harder for you.

What's included

10 videos4 readings4 assignments

10 videos Total 34 minutes

Specialization Introduction 1 minute
Meet Your Instructor 4 minutes
Course Introduction 2 minutes
Copywrite Versus Copyright 4 minutes
Who Put the "Copy" into "Copywrite"? 4 minutes
What is Art Direction? 5 minutes
What is Art Direction Part 2 3 minutes
Clients and Logos 3 minutes
Keeping Clients Happy 4 minutes
The Customer's Champion 3 minutes

4 readings Total 121 minutes

Course Updates and Accessibility Support 1 minute
Portfolio Practice: Copy Writing 45 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Art Direction 60 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Clients 15 minutes

4 assignments Total 105 minutes

End of Module 1 Wrap Up 60 minutes
Copywrite versus Copyright 15 minutes
Introduction to Art Direction 15 minutes
Clients and Logos 15 minutes

What is Copywriting? What do copywriters do? What makes a good headline? What makes good body copy? What’s involved with writing a script? Even if you never written that much before, you can be sure that you’ll be improved after this module. You'll get specific tips to make your advertising copy more readable, muscular and memorable.

What's included

11 videos5 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt

11 videos Total 55 minutes

Some Basics to Begin 5 minutes
Looking at Great Headlines 6 minutes
Headlines. How Do I Get There? 4 minutes
Body Copy Basics to Begin 6 minutes
How to Write Body Copy 6 minutes
Meet the Scripts 6 minutes
Theater of the Mind 4 minutes
Time to Practice 6 minutes
Kill Your Babies 4 minutes
Read Out Loud 2 minutes
Kitty Wasn't Eating 6 minutes

5 readings Total 210 minutes

Portfolio Practice: Headlines 30 minutes
Read Some Long Body Copy 15 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Scripts 45 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Thinking about Scripts from Beginning to End 30 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Writing and Reading Copy 90 minutes

5 assignments Total 165 minutes

End of Module 2 Wrap Up 60 minutes
Thinking About Great Headlines 60 minutes
Understanding Body Copy 15 minutes
How to think about Scripts 15 minutes
Getting Better at Copywriting 15 minutes

1 discussion prompt Total 25 minutes

Discuss the Timberland Long Body Copy Advertisement 25 minutes

The partner and companion to copywriting is art direction. After all, the majority of advertisements and commercials are works of communication designed to be seen. How does one approach the visual design of an advertisement? What are things to think about? What are the watch-outs to avoid? . If want to get more visually creative with the look of your advertisements, this is the module for you.

What's included

10 videos4 readings4 assignments2 discussion prompts

10 videos Total 61 minutes

Introduction to Layout 7 minutes
It's the Rule of Thirds 6 minutes
Meet the Grid 6 minutes
Typeface Vs. Font 5 minutes
Uppercase Lowercase WTF 7 minutes
What is the Role of Type? 3 minutes
Typeface Tone of Voice Practice 11 minutes
Display versus Text Type 5 minutes
Choosing Type to Use 6 minutes
A Lucky Strike Extra 5 minutes

4 readings Total 150 minutes

Watch the Ending to "Finding the Fablemans" 10 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Design Your First Layout 60 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Typefaces and Fonts 60 minutes
Portfolio Practice: The Ampersand 20 minutes

4 assignments Total 85 minutes

End of Module 3 Wrap Up 20 minutes
Laying out the Layout 20 minutes
The Shapes of Letters 15 minutes
Using Display and Text Type 30 minutes

2 discussion prompts Total 90 minutes

The Eyes of a Designer 75 minutes
Try handwriting different typefaces 15 minutes

Visuals appear in the majority of advertisements. How do you find them? What can you use? How should you think about them? It's everything you wanted to know about find, using, and improving the visuals you use in your advertisements.

What's included

7 videos3 readings4 assignments

7 videos Total 31 minutes

Get Rights or Get Burned 4 minutes
Permission Permission Permission 4 minutes
Just Hire Someone 3 minutes
Where to Find Visuals? 4 minutes
Your Friend Public Domain 5 minutes
Visuals Must be Relevant 5 minutes
Big Beefy Sandwiches 7 minutes

3 readings Total 120 minutes

Portfolio Practice: Getting Permission 30 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Finding Visuals 60 minutes
Portfolio Practice: Relevance 30 minutes

4 assignments Total 55 minutes

End of Module 4 Wrap Up 15 minutes
Usage Rights and Permission 10 minutes
Where to Find Visuals 15 minutes
Visual Relevance in Advertisements 15 minutes

The Final Challenge: Imagine, Design, and Publish Your First Breakthrough Advertisement.

What's included

1 video1 reading1 discussion prompt

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructor

Dan Ligon

University of Colorado Boulder

3 Courses 293 learners

Offered by

University of Colorado Boulder

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