How to Design Creatives Within Feathr using the Banner Ad Builder

Feathr's Bannersnack-powered Banner Ad Builder allows you to design great creatives from scratch without external software, or even graphic design expertise. 

Start by navigating to the Project where you'd like to use the creatives you will design. Then, in the left menu, select Creatives. You will be prompted to choose a creative type. Choose HTML5 Creative. That is the creative type that allows you to design a new creative within Feathr.

Next, you will see the Banner Ad Builder appear with a blank rectangle in the workspace sized to 300x250 pixels, the most common ad creative size. Give your creative a descriptive name by double clicking at the top where it says "Untitled banner," typing in a new title, and pressing Enter (or Return on a Mac).

Take note of the many options in the Banner Ad Builder. This article will focus on designing a static (non-animated) creative from scratch, but we encourage you to play with templates, animation, and the other options available in the Banner Ad Builder.

To continue designing your creative, select "Bkground" from the left menu within the Banner Ad Builder. If you wish to design a creative in a size other than 300x250, click the "resize" button, and either type in the dimensions you'd like to design and click "Add Size," then select it. Or scroll through the numerous options and pick the size you'd like. All ad specifications that Feathr supports can be found here. 

Click "Bkground" again to return to the background design menu. Note the tabs across the top of the Editor that offer a selection of solid color backgrounds, as well as stock gradients, textures, and images. To upload your own image as a background, choose Images > My Images, and use the upload files tool. For this article's example, we've selected a simple blue gradient.

Important Note: Remember to save frequently as you work. To save, click the green Save button at the top of the Editor. After saving the first time, continue saving by pressing ctrl+S (or ⌘+S on Mac) while the Editor is active.

Next, navigate to the text menu by clicking Text on the left side of the Banner Ad Builder. You have the option of manually adding headings, subheadings, and body text by clicking on any of those options, or choosing a text template among the additional choices.

The example above has one heading added. Click within the heading to change the copy, and click through the vertical menu seen to the left of the creative to change fonts, sizes, color, opacity, blur effects, and more.

Note on Layers: each visual element you add appears as a layer on the right menu of the Banner Ad Builder. Toggle the eye icon to hide or show layers. Click the lock icon to prevent further changes to the layer. Click the layer title to rename the layer. Layers may also be dragged into any order, to place individual visual elements on top of or behind others.

Clicking on the layer menu or the layer element within the design will bring up the positional border, which allows you to drag to move, resize, or tilt your layer.

Next, use the Elements menu to add some visual interest to your design. The Banner Ad Builder offers an enormous library to choose from, or you can upload your own imagery.

In keeping with the masterpiece theme, we searched for a paintbrush illustration, added it from the stock library, and resized and tilted it to fit the design using the positional border.

Lastly, to add a CTA (call-to-action) button, click the "Button" option on the left menu of the Banner Ad Builder. Once again, you have a choice to select from a variety of choices or create your own. 

Here we've added a CTA button from the standard options, and added a custom color gradient using the palette menu.

When you're finished with your design, scroll below the Banner Ad Builder and enter alt text (optional) and a Destination URL. Then click Save Changes.

Once your design is saved, you will see it listed in your Project-level Creatives menu. To design additional creatives, click the + Add creative button. 

Any creatives you design here will be available to select when you're ready to build a Campaign within your Project. Simply choose "Add Creative" then "Clone Existing Creative" and select the one you want from the dropdown menu.