PREREQUISITE — load moda-core once per session (step-0, write contract,
free/metered map). Already loaded? Skip ahead. If you cannot load it, the
non-negotiables: run moda doctor --json before anything; moda brand list
before creating; writes that pin a revision use your last read's — on
stale_revision, re-read and retry once (it heals); send the canvas link the
moment it exists; stuck or failed? moda ask "<question>" — free and fast,
never guess.
Sizes and defaults
The IAB core set (--category web-ads), plus any size the user names:
| Size | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 300×250 | medium rectangle | the workhorse — design the MASTER here |
| 728×90 | leaderboard | hostile: one line, logo, CTA — nothing else |
| 160×600 | skyscraper | vertical stack, CTA at the bottom |
| 300×600 | half page | the roomy one; the master usually scales here first |
| 320×50 | mobile banner | hostile: type only, 4–6px off every edge |
| 970×250 | billboard | the only size with room for imagery |
Platform-native single ads (--category web-ads or social): IG story ad
1080×1920 (bottom reserved from y 1400 for CTA chrome), Facebook feed ad
1200×628, IG feed ad 1080×1080 or 1080×1350.
Craft, in one pass: the Rule of One — one audience, one promise, one ask. Hierarchy is hook → brand → CTA, with brand and CTA both visible; the CTA is button-shaped and the highest-contrast element ("See the demo", never "Learn more"). Keep type and CTA 8–10px off every edge — networks add a border at serve time. Photography rarely survives these sizes: prefer solid colour, gradients, shapes, type, and generated patterns.
Recipe — the size set (master first)
moda canvas create --name "[Campaign] — ads" --intent "[the one promise]" --size 300x250 --category web-ads --brand [KIT]— send the link immediately.- Design and APPROVE the master on page 1:
moda canvas markup [CANVAS_REF] --file - --page [PAGE_ID] --screenshot PATH, then at most one repair write. Do not adapt anything until the master is right. moda canvas add-pages [CANVAS_REF] --count 1 --size 728x90— one page per size, repeated for each size in the set.- Re-COMPOSE each size (never squash): one markup apply per page, serial on the one canvas — the same message, re-laid for the shape. Check the two hostile sizes (728×90, 320×50) first; they break layouts before the others do.
moda canvas screenshot [CANVAS_REF]in ≤3-page batches; judge the set for one voice, one CTA, one brand presence. ONE repair round, then export.moda export [CANVAS_REF] --format png --pixel-ratio 2 -o [campaign]-ads.zip— multi-page png arrives as a zip: the set ships together, one file for the trafficker.
Recipe — one platform-native ad
moda canvas create --name "[Campaign] — [placement]" --intent "[the one promise]" --size [WxH] --category web-ads --brand [KIT]— link immediately.- Write the idea in one sentence first: "For [audience], [brand] is the [category] that [single claim]." Kill every secondary message.
- Author in ONE apply; keep the CTA inside the placement's chrome-free zone.
moda canvas screenshot [CANVAS_REF]— squint test: blurred, does it still show what it is for and where the eye lands? Fix what fails in at most ONE repair write, captured the same way, then ship.moda export [CANVAS_REF] --format png --pixel-ratio 2 -o [campaign]-[size].png.
Examples
- "banner ads in the standard sizes" → size-set recipe, IAB core, one zip.
- "an Instagram ad for the spring sale" → platform-native recipe at 1080×1350.
- "just a 728×90 and a 300×250" → size-set recipe with those two pages only.
- "an animated banner ad" → not this skill: load moda-video (motion wins).
Errors
Any typed error → load moda-core and read its recovery reference.
canvas_busy is likeliest here (many pages, many applies): applies to one
canvas stay SERIAL — they serialize on the server anyway, so fanning them out
buys nothing and can come back busy.
Make it recurring
A campaign refresh on a cadence → moda-automate; the approved size-set skeleton → moda-templates, so the next campaign starts at step 4.
See also: moda-social — organic posts, carousels, one-off graphics · moda-core — the contract, recovery, everything Moda can do.
References
| Doc | Load when |
|---|---|
| references/ads.md | depth: IAB set, per-size composition patterns, CTA and stopping power |
| references/markup.md | before any markup apply |
| references/export.md | zip semantics, pixel ratio, warnings |
| references/no-brand-design.md | no kit is active — inventing the identity: palette law, type, imagery, layout system |