GIF ANIMATED BANNER DESIGNS
Animated banner designs are greatly used for the success of online marketing campaigns because these banners can greatly increase a banner’s click-through-ratio (CTR). Animation should be used only to attract viewers, not to annoy them. Animation is a process in which a series of individual pictures called frames or panels are taken and strung together in a timed sequence that gives the appearance of continuous motion. A GIF animation is generated in a GIF file format, one of the widely used file formats supported by Web publishers. Small businesses prefer gif animation because it is the best cost-effective solution for them.
GIFs can support only 256 web-safe colors since gif animation is created in a gif file format. So the designers design them within the 256-color palette, so that the animated gif banners look their best across computer monitors and platforms.
When photos are used in gif animation first they are viewed on a low-resolution computer to see whether they can be used in the banner. Since photos usually contain millions of colors they may not look as good with only 256 colors.
Most web publishers are very particular that gif banner to have file size less than 12K. To keep the file size minimum, the designer uses only a very few contrasting and complimentary web colors. The smallest possible web-safe color palette enables the designer to use more creative special effects in the animation.
Regarding looping (the number of times animation repeats itself) most web publishers have given strict specifications, such as maximum 3 loops and each loop should not last more than 10 seconds. So before designing the animated gif banner confirm the loop specifications with the web publisher.
Now is the time to decide whether the main message should appear on the first, last or on both frames/panels of the animated banner ad. It is better to have the message on the first frame if the web page takes a long time to download. But the message could be more “punchy” if it comes across in the last frame/panel that will be the final image a user views at the close of the animation.
If the gif animated banner is found 12.2K in size and not possible to make it smaller by applying the usual compression methods like using small color palette, by limiting dithering and interlacing, the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks make it possible to compress the gif files through lossy compression, a technique by which file sizes can be shrunk by giving away some precision of detail.
In spite of the ripples created by the rich media banners, designers and ad agencies still place much emphasis on the special effects of banner designs rather than the message. Style and flashiness can never conceal lack of substance. Whether the designer uses gif animation or rich media for the banners, he/she should convey rich information through the web banner design.
GIFs can support only 256 web-safe colors since gif animation is created in a gif file format. So the designers design them within the 256-color palette, so that the animated gif banners look their best across computer monitors and platforms.
When photos are used in gif animation first they are viewed on a low-resolution computer to see whether they can be used in the banner. Since photos usually contain millions of colors they may not look as good with only 256 colors.
Most web publishers are very particular that gif banner to have file size less than 12K. To keep the file size minimum, the designer uses only a very few contrasting and complimentary web colors. The smallest possible web-safe color palette enables the designer to use more creative special effects in the animation.
Regarding looping (the number of times animation repeats itself) most web publishers have given strict specifications, such as maximum 3 loops and each loop should not last more than 10 seconds. So before designing the animated gif banner confirm the loop specifications with the web publisher.
Now is the time to decide whether the main message should appear on the first, last or on both frames/panels of the animated banner ad. It is better to have the message on the first frame if the web page takes a long time to download. But the message could be more “punchy” if it comes across in the last frame/panel that will be the final image a user views at the close of the animation.
If the gif animated banner is found 12.2K in size and not possible to make it smaller by applying the usual compression methods like using small color palette, by limiting dithering and interlacing, the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks make it possible to compress the gif files through lossy compression, a technique by which file sizes can be shrunk by giving away some precision of detail.
In spite of the ripples created by the rich media banners, designers and ad agencies still place much emphasis on the special effects of banner designs rather than the message. Style and flashiness can never conceal lack of substance. Whether the designer uses gif animation or rich media for the banners, he/she should convey rich information through the web banner design.