Marketing Visual Design

Production-ready patterns for marketing visual asset creation.

Scope: Ad creatives, social media graphics, email visuals, presentation design, brand collateral. NOT product UI (use software-ui-ux-design).

Primary specs & sources: data/sources.json (official docs + curated best practices).

Quick Start

1. Pick the asset type using the decision tree.
2. Capture requirements using assets/ (brief, carousel, deck outline).
3. Produce a layout spec + copy variants + export plan (and a prompt pack if AI-generated).
4. Run QA gates (readability, brand, compliance, accessibility, specs) before handoff.

Use software-ui-ux-design for product UI, marketing-cro for experiment design, and marketing-content-strategy for messaging systems.

Workflow

1. Confirm channel + placement (paid/organic, platform, static/video, ratio).
2. Ask intake questions (goal, audience, offer, proof, CTA, constraints, brand rules).
3. Select a creative direction (2-3 options) and lock the core message.
4. Build layout using the hierarchy rules (hook -> hero -> value -> CTA -> brand).
5. Create variants for testing (3-5); change one major variable per variant.
6. Run QA gates (specs, safe zones, readability, compliance, accessibility, export).
7. Handoff deliverables (final exports + editable source + copy + notes).

Intake (Ask First)

• Objective: awareness, click, lead, purchase, retention
• Audience: who, what they care about, what they already know
• Offer: product, price/promo, risk reversal (trial/guarantee), deadline
• Proof: 1-2 strongest stats, testimonial, logo, rating, demo signal
• CTA: one action verb + destination (landing page, app store, form)
• Platform constraints: placement(s), ratio, file format, file size, duration
• Brand constraints: logo usage, fonts, colors, imagery rules, do/don’t list
• Compliance constraints: claims policy, regulated category, trademark usage, consent/model releases

Decision Tree

MARKETING VISUAL REQUEST
  |-- \"Ad creative\" -> references/ad-creative-specs.md
  |-- \"Social media graphic\" -> references/social-media-dimensions.md
  |-- \"Email banner\" -> references/email-visual-specs.md
  |-- \"Presentation/deck\" -> references/presentation-design.md
  |-- \"One-pager/collateral\" -> references/brand-collateral.md
  `-- \"AI-generated visual\" -> references/ai-design-tools.md

Platform Dimensions Quick Reference

Social Media (Static)

Ad Platforms

For full specs and edge cases, use references/.

Visual Hierarchy for Ads

Text Overlay Rules

Variant Testing (Fast Defaults)

• Create 3-5 variants per concept: hook, hero visual, offer framing, CTA, proof.
• Keep one major variable per variant to attribute performance.
• Prioritize native-looking creative for social (UGC-style often wins) unless the brand requires polish.

Carousel Structure

SLIDE 1: Hook (problem or bold statement)
SLIDE 2-4: Solution/Benefits
SLIDE 5: Social proof
SLIDE 6: CTA with offer

Video Structure (Hook-Retain-Convert)

AI-Generated Visuals (Operational Notes)

• Use references/ai-design-tools.md for tool selection, prompt frameworks, and artifact avoidance.
• Prefer brand-safe workflows: licensed stock, first-party photography, or tools with clear commercial terms.
• Treat text-in-image as unreliable for exact typography; use AI for backgrounds/hero imagery, then typeset in design tools.

QA Gates (Run Before Delivery)

• Specs: dimensions, aspect ratio, safe zones, duration (video), file size.
• Readability: passes thumbnail test, high contrast, minimal on-image text.
• Brand: correct logo, colors, fonts; consistent style across variants.
• Compliance: avoid prohibited claims, unlicensed trademarks, misleading before/after, missing disclosures.
• Accessibility: sufficient contrast, large-enough type, avoid text-only communication of meaning.
• Deliverables: export naming is consistent; editable source files included.

File Formats

Resources

Templates

International Markets

This skill uses US/Western market defaults. For international visual design:

Auto-triggers: When your query mentions specific countries, cultural adaptation, or RTL design, both skills load automatically.

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