Banner Production | Autumn Favorite Sweets Vote

I took on this challenge because my web design school was calling for banner designs for a fictional event. I am recording my reflections to help improve my design skills.

Update
I won the Grand Prix! ✨

Request Details

・Theme: Autumn "Favorite Sweets Vote"
→ The word "favorite" (oshi) seems likely to resonate particularly well with younger generations and women who use social media.
・X (Twitter) campaign ad banner
→ It would be good to place the catchphrase and photos prominently to create an impact that makes people stop scrolling.
・Goal: Request for follow & repost (vote)
→ It is necessary to clearly communicate how to vote and what benefits might be gained by voting. Including an application deadline would likely strengthen the urge to vote immediately.
・Autumn-themed design preferred
→ A Halloween-style design would feel like autumn and have a high affinity with sweets, so it seems like a good fit.

Produced Design

Design Points

• By placing a large catchphrase at the top, which is the first thing seen after scrolling, I made it easier for the impactful copy to catch the eye and stop the user from scrolling further.

• I placed photos of sweets with bright colors against a dark background to make the photos stand out.

• I used red, purple, and black as the main colors to evoke a Halloween feel, but since those colors alone can create a dark overall impression, I added yellow and orange star accents to add a bit of a bright and fun image.

Production Process

Production Time

Since I had a personal goal of increasing my design production speed, I decided to focus on speed for this theme and timed myself in 30-minute intervals. As a result, the total production time was about 3 hours. Although I exceeded my goal of 2 hours, it was the fastest I have ever produced a banner, so I plan to continue using a timer in the future.

Tools

I heard that banner production in Figma is sometimes assigned as a task for job-hunting assessments, so I tried creating this primarily in Figma for the first time. (I used Photoshop for image processing.) Since the only parts I couldn't achieve with Figma's features were image processing, it was easier to create than I expected. I plan to keep experimenting with more advanced features so I can master them.

Summary

I felt that while it is important to be conscious of the purpose and challenges of a project, it is also crucial for my own growth to set personal challenges and goals rather than just creating things. I will continue to put this into practice in my future work.