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

• Pick the asset type using the decision tree.

• Capture requirements using assets/ (brief, carousel, deck outline).

• Produce a layout spec + copy variants + export plan (and a prompt pack if AI-generated).

• 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

• Confirm channel + placement (paid/organic, platform, static/video, ratio).

• Ask intake questions (goal, audience, offer, proof, CTA, constraints, brand rules).

• Select a creative direction (2-3 options) and lock the core message.

• Build layout using the hierarchy rules (hook -> hero -> value -> CTA -> brand).

• Create variants for testing (3-5); change one major variable per variant.

• Run QA gates (specs, safe zones, readability, compliance, accessibility, export).

• 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)

Platform Post Story/Reel Cover/Banner

Instagram 1080x1080, 1080x1350 1080x1920 N/A

Facebook 1200x630, 1080x1080 1080x1920 820x312

LinkedIn 1200x1200, 1200x628 N/A 1584x396

TikTok 1080x1080 1080x1920 N/A

YouTube N/A 1080x1920 (Shorts) 2560x1440

Ad Platforms

Platform Sizes Safe Zone Max File

Meta 1080x1080, 1080x1350 (4:5 best) 14% from edges 30MB/4GB

Google Display 300x250, 728x90, 300x600 N/A 150KB

YouTube Thumbnail 1280x720 Right-bottom 2MB

TikTok Ads 1080x1920 Top 130px, bottom 440px 500MB

For full specs and edge cases, use references/ .

Visual Hierarchy for Ads

Element Priority Placement

Hook/Headline 1 Top 1/3

Hero Visual 2 Center

Value Prop 3 Middle

CTA 4 Bottom 1/3

Logo 5 Corner

Text Overlay Rules

Platform Max Text Safe Zone

Meta <20% recommended 14% from edges

TikTok Minimal Top 130px, bottom 440px

LinkedIn No strict limit Headlines <2 lines

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)

Section Duration Purpose

Hook 0-3s Stop scroll

Agitate 3-10s Amplify pain

Solution 10-20s Product demo

Proof 20-30s Testimonials

CTA 30-45s Action

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

Use Case Format

Photos JPEG

Transparency PNG

Logos/icons SVG

Animation GIF/WebP

Print PDF

Video MP4 (H.264)

Resources

Resource Purpose

references/ad-creative-specs.md Full specs for Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok

references/social-media-dimensions.md Complete platform dimensions

references/presentation-design.md Investor deck, sales deck

references/email-visual-specs.md Email design specs

references/ai-design-tools.md AI prompting, workflows

references/brand-collateral.md One-pagers, case studies

references/2026-creative-trends.md UGC-style, sensory design, Meta algorithm

references/video-creative-specs.md Video specs by platform, encoding, safe zones

references/motion-animation.md Animated ads, GIF/HTML5/Lottie, micro-interactions

references/accessibility-visual.md WCAG 2.2, contrast, alt text, inclusive design

references/creative-testing-framework.md A/B testing, DCO, fatigue detection, iteration

references/infographic-data-viz.md Chart selection, data storytelling, social infographics

references/typography-for-marketing.md Font selection, type hierarchy, readability, email font stacks

references/photography-direction.md Art direction, stock vs custom, product photography, image optimization

Templates

Template Purpose

assets/ad-creative-brief.md Creative brief

assets/social-carousel-template.md Carousel structure

assets/pitch-deck-outline.md Investor deck

International Markets

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

Need See Skill

Cultural color symbolism marketing-geo-localization

Regional imagery guidelines marketing-geo-localization

RTL design adaptations marketing-geo-localization

Regional platform specs (WeChat, LINE) marketing-geo-localization

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

Related Skills

Skill Purpose

marketing-cro Landing page optimization

marketing-content-strategy Brand messaging

marketing-social-media Social strategy

marketing-paid-advertising Campaign strategy

software-ui-ux-design Product UI (not marketing)