As a designer, the tasks on your plate can vary wildly. One day, you're a project manager trying to keep the schedule on track, and the next, you're a DTP’er, barely keeping your head off the keyboard. Let’s be honest—there are always tasks we’d rather hand off to the dog. For me? That’s social ads. And not just any ads, but location-based ones.
Why? Because it’s never just a few locations—no, it’s often 50+! Each location means copying, pasting, double-checking, and exporting over and over again. It’s repetitive, time-consuming, and just plain... broccoli on my plate. (Sorry for the broccoli lovers)
AI: My Savior (or Not?)
I know automation, especially AI, makes some people nervous. But me? I embrace it with open arms. If there’s one thing AI is great at, it’s taking on those dreaded chores. So, as I was slogging through yet another list of 50 locations, I thought, “Chat, tell me… how do I turn this awful task into something fun?”
Okay, I needed a pretty hefty prompt for that. And honestly? The options for making it fun were disappointing. But the options for making it easier? Now that was a game-changer. While Figma still feels a bit clunky in this area (Totally on me, not Figma), I discovered that combining Illustrator with a Google Spreadsheet and a few features completely changed the game.
Automating in Illustrator: A Quick Guide
The concept is simple: use Illustrator’s ‘variables’ feature to automate text and visuals with data sets. Here’s how it works:
- Create Your Design: Set up your base ad in Illustrator with placeholders for the variables (e.g., location names).
- Prepare Your Data: Create a Google Spreadsheet with columns for all the variables you want to change (like location, color codes, or images).
- Import into Illustrator: Export your spreadsheet as a CSV file and link it to your design in Illustrator using the variables feature.
- Automate: With just a few clicks, apply your data sets to generate multiple variations automatically.
- Export: No more manual exporting—everything is done in one go.
For a detailed walkthrough, I highly recommend this fantastic video by Andrew VectorScout. He explains the process clearly and shares tips to improve your workflow.
The Benefits: Save Time, Reduce Frustration
I might be “late to the party” with this discovery, and let’s be real, the system isn’t perfect. A name like “Alphen aan den Rijn” doesn’t always fit as neatly as “Ede.” But this process has massively simplified my workflow. What used to take me a hundred actions now takes no more than five. That saves not just time, but also my sanity.
Conclusion: Fun? A Little. Easier? Absolutely!
I won’t pretend this is my new favorite task, but it’s definitely a lot more bearable. So if you, like me, dread these repetitive jobs, I encourage you to embrace the power of automation. There are plenty of resources online to get you started. Give it a try and discover how much time you can save—and who knows, maybe that broccoli won’t taste so bad after all.
