Digital advertising has come a long way since 1994, when a gloriously simple banner ad graced the pages of HotWired.com and asked the world, “Have you ever clicked your mouse right here?” Over 40% of people actually did. Forty. Percent. If that number sounds fake in today’s world of algorithm fatigue and ad blindness, it’s because it basically is by today’s standards. That ad, courtesy of AT&T, was the digital equivalent of shouting into the void and getting a standing ovation.
Since then, the internet has been through more makeovers than a reality show contestant. I’ve been lucky enough to play a small but meaningful role in that transformation—specifically in creating ad campaigns for ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4, one of the biggest broadcasting networks in the DACH region. It was more than just ad creation; it was a masterclass in how media, technology, and design collide. While crafting those campaigns, I dove headfirst into the world of code. What started with a few tweaks to banners soon spiraled into full-on obsession with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The more I learned, the more I realized that effective ads don’t just sell—they work, they flow, and they fit seamlessly into the user's journey. That was my gateway drug into UI/UX design.
Back in the early 2000s, digital ads were loud, flashy, and borderline obnoxious. Pop-ups and neon GIFs were fighting for your attention like kids at a birthday party on too much sugar. The industry learned the hard way that attention doesn't equal engagement, and ad blockers became every user’s best friend. But then came the quiet revolution: Google AdWords. Suddenly, ads were no longer screaming in the middle of the room—they were whispering exactly what you wanted to hear, right when you were looking for it. That shift to intent-based advertising was a huge leap forward.
Then social media entered the scene and changed the game again. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—they turned ads into content that looked like it belonged, not like it was crashing the party. These platforms knew more about you than your closest friends, and advertisers loved them for it. It became possible to speak to a very specific someone, not just a faceless crowd. Precision replaced volume.
And then we all went mobile. Designing for smaller screens wasn't just a technical challenge; it was a creative one. You had to think about how an ad feels in someone’s hand, not just how it looks. That's when responsive design became more than a buzzword—it became a necessity. And with mobile came new opportunities: location-based targeting, swipeable stories, vertical video. Creativity and code had to work in perfect harmony, and that’s exactly the kind of space I love to work in.
Today, the digital ad world is slick, fast, and smarter than ever. Algorithms decide which ad goes where in a millisecond. AI tweaks layouts and headlines based on who’s looking. Programmatic ads are buying and selling themselves like a stock exchange on caffeine. Video reigns supreme—on YouTube, TikTok, Reels, even on your smart TV through CTV and OTT platforms. It’s like television and digital ads had a baby, and it's binging Netflix with you.
Of course, not everything is flashy. Privacy concerns have entered the chat, and rightly so. GDPR, CCPA, Apple’s anti-tracking updates—these shifts have made advertisers rethink everything. We've gone from tracking people across the web like digital detectives to asking, “Hey, would you maybe like to see something cool?” Contextual ads and first-party data strategies are the new frontier—less creepy, more clever. That’s a shift I’m fully behind.
What I’ve learned through all this is simple: good advertising doesn’t interrupt, it integrates. It doesn’t chase attention; it earns it. My job—whether I’m building a UI or designing the flow of an ad—is to make sure the user experience feels effortless and engaging, not invasive. That’s where design meets intention. That’s where clicks actually happen.
And that’s the kind of work I love to do.