Source-first campaign setup: Build once, adapt everywhere

Start with one campaign source, then adapt it for each channel. This keeps your type, color, message, and core layout together while you make the changes each format actually needs.

If your visual rules are still loose, set up your Gesso Brand Book first. You will make faster decisions once the working file and the brand rules agree.

Set up the campaign source in Gesso

1. Open your workspace and create a project for the campaign.
2. Create the main campaign document. Add the approved mark, colors, type styles, message, and any notes the team needs before it starts making variants.
3. Build the main artboard first. Pick the format that best expresses the idea rather than trying to solve every size at once.
4. Add the other required artboards inside the same campaign document. Give them clear names such as Story 9x16, Feed 4x5, and Banner 16x9.
5. Adapt each artboard. Keep the idea and hierarchy consistent, but move or resize elements when the format calls for it.
6. Check the social safe-zone guide before you place important text near an edge.
7. Review the full set together, then export from the approved source.

The main artboard is a reference, not a mold. A vertical story may need a tighter headline and a different crop. Make that change on purpose instead of shrinking the original layout until it fits.

Check the campaign before publishing

Keep the next revision easy

Write short notes beside decisions that are likely to come up again. Explain why the headline changed, which image crop was approved, or where a platform required an exception. Keep the note close to the work so the next person does not have to reconstruct the decision.

When the campaign is ready, use the vector and export workflow to prepare production files. If another person will deliver or revise them, package the source with the client handoff guide.

Pro tips