Ad Design
Campaign creative built to each platform's own specifications and to the content standards that apply to advertising in the UAE, in Arabic and English.
What ad design is
Ad design for Dubai businesses starts with a single message and a visual idea, then turns it into the exact shapes each platform shows. A property launch in Dubai might need a 4:5 feed image, a vertical Story, a LinkedIn post for brokers and a roadside billboard. Same offer, four very different layouts. This page covers the concept and those platform formats. Large sets of display network sizes are handled on web banner design, and animated versions on motion graphics.
What the ad says in one glance, what the viewer should do next, and which proof point earns the click.
Each placement redrawn, not just cropped, so the headline and product stay readable in every ratio.
Arabic ads laid out right to left with their own copy, rather than English layouts with translated text dropped in.
Specifications
These are the recommended ad design sizes for Dubai campaigns that each platform publishes in its own help centre. Platforms update them, so we recheck the source at the start of every campaign.
| Platform and placement | Recommended ratio and size | Design notes from the platform |
|---|---|---|
| Meta: Facebook Feed image | 4:5, 1440 × 1800 px | JPG or PNG, up to 30 MB. Primary text of 50 to 150 characters and a headline around 27 characters are recommended. |
| Meta: Instagram Stories image | 9:16, 1440 × 2560 px | Keep roughly 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos, so profile icons and buttons do not cover them. |
| Google: responsive display ads | 1.91:1 at 1200 × 628 px and 1:1 at 1200 × 1200 px | JPG or PNG up to 5120 KB. Google assembles the ad from your images, headlines and logo, so each asset must work on its own. |
| LinkedIn: single image ad | 1.91:1 at 1200 × 628, 1:1 at 1200 × 1200, or vertical 4:5 at 720 × 900 px | JPG, PNG or GIF up to 5 MB. Headline up to 70 characters, introductory text up to 150 characters. |
Search ads on Google are text only, so they need copy rather than design. For campaign setup and bidding, see Google Ads management and social media advertising.
Outdoor
Outdoor ads in the UAE are bought from media owners, and each owner publishes its own artwork specification for each site: dimensions, resolution, file format, and for digital screens the duration and whether motion is allowed. We work from that sheet, never from a generic size.
The ad design rules for Dubai billboards are different from a phone. A driver on Sheikh Zayed Road sees a roadside board for a few seconds at speed, so the layout needs one image, a short headline, the brand, and a single memorable way to respond. A mall screen viewed from a few metres can carry more, but still less than a feed ad.
UAE advertising rules
Platform policies are only one layer. Advertising shown in the UAE also has to meet national standards, and some sectors need a licence before an ad can run. These are the points that change how we design. They are not legal advice, and your own compliance or legal adviser has the final word.
The UAE National Media Authority’s published Media Content Standards state that the content of an advertisement shall respect the culture, identity and values of the UAE. The same standards address respect for children’s rights and the spread of misleading content. In practice that shapes casting, clothing, gestures, humour and claims in every visual.
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention runs a service to issue health advertisement licences across media channels and electronic platforms. Its service page says ads in languages other than Arabic or English must be translated into one of them, and that the licence does not exempt the advertiser from other authorities’ requirements. Clinics, pharmacies and supplement brands should plan approval time into the campaign.
The National Media Authority issues a permit for individuals who publish advertising or media content on social media, websites or digital platforms, paid or unpaid. If your ad creative features a creator or an employee posting from their own account, check their permit status before the artwork is final. Influencer marketing covers this in more depth.
Whatever the regulator, a headline that promises an outcome needs evidence behind it. We flag absolute claims, before and after comparisons and discount wording during the Review stage so they can be checked or softened before the ad is submitted.
Your brief
Ads are small, so every element has to earn its space. The brief decides which elements those are.
What you are selling, why now, and the one fact that makes it believable: a price you have confirmed, a location, a licence, a delivery area.
List the platforms and placements you will buy. Designing six formats you will never run wastes the budget meant for testing.
The ad and the page it opens must match in message and look. If the page is not ready, landing page design can run alongside.
Arabic first, English first, or both as separate ad sets. This changes layout, not just text.
Brand files, approved photography, sector rules you already know about, and anything head office has banned.
From the blog
What an Arabic and English brand guide must settle in writing so printers, developers and writers in the UAE apply it the same way.
Read the article
What UAE trademark law protects and refuses, how registration with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism works, and what it means for your logo.
Read the articleStraight answers
Yes. Many clients run campaigns in house or with another agency. We deliver files named and sized for each placement, plus the headline and text variations, ready to upload.
Enough to learn something, and no more than your budget can feed. A common structure is two or three concepts, each with a small number of headline variations, rather than dozens of near identical images.
Price depends on the number of concepts, placements and languages. You receive a fixed written quote, scoped to your brief, and during business hours it is typically sent within 45 minutes.
Yes. Advertising management is available on an optional monthly retainer. Design can be bought on its own without committing to that.
Send us the rejection message and the creative. Rejections are often about the landing page, the claim wording or a restricted category rather than the image itself, so we check all three before redesigning.
Sources
Fixed price, in writing
Got it. Your quote is being written now.
In business hours you will have it within 45 minutes. Check your inbox for the confirmation.
