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Imagery
Beautiful Web Design
Chapter 5
Lesson Overview Understand that images are a necessary
component to well-designed sites Learn how to find the right visual
elements to add impact to our pages Understand how to locate sources of
legitimate imagery Learn to master the basics of cropping,
masking, borders and file types
What to For? A picture (can be) worth a
thousand words… Ask yourself these questions when
choosing imagery… Is it relevant to the content? Is it interesting and memorable? Is it appealing to your target
user?
Legitimate Image Sources There are three sources of image
content to use in the design of your site: Do it yourself Purchase stock images Hire a professional graphic designer
The approach you take depends on your budget, time frame, and client preference
Take It or Make It
If you own a camera, you can take photos of locations or products the client wants on the site
This can reduce costs and also show the customer you want to be involved in all steps of the project
If you have the skills to create illustrated graphical elements, you can also provide these for the client
Model Release Agreement If you have people that appear in photos
you intend to use on the Web, you must obtain written permission from each subject
This permission usually takes place with a model release form
You must state all intended uses of the imagery
Keep these agreements on file for your protection
Sample Form:
http://gardening.about.com/od/yourgardenphotos/a/Model-Release-Form.htm
Stock Photography
You can usually find imagery you need in a stock photo archive
If working with a client, you may want to place stock images in a page layout to show intended use
Then if the client approves, then obtain the stock image for your production Web site
Good stock images with people are usually more expensive
Classifications of Stock Images There are three tiers of stock images:
Free Images Royalty-Free Rights-Managed
Always view the image usage guidelines and copyright statements
Every stock source has its own guidelines
Free Images
Why do photographers offer their work for free: They love what they do
and it gets their work noticed Most images in free archives are restriction-
free Some large collections of free images are:
stock.xchng : Almost 400,000 images MorgueFile.com : Asked to credit the photographer
if possible
Royalty-Free Images A royalty-free image is not free The term refers to the licensing agreement
Once you pay for the image, you can use it over and over again for different purposes
A royalty is a per-use fee So… royalty-free means you are not charged per-use
Some sources for royalty-free images: Getty Images: http://www.gettyimages.com/ Corbis: http://pro.corbis.com/ iStockPhoto: http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php
Rights-Managed Images Rights-managed images have their
payment fee charged per image is based on: The size of your business How many people will be exposed to image The amount of time the image will be used
Photos in a rights-managed collection are very high quality
Unlikely your competitor will be using the same rights-managed images you choose
Resist these Bad Behaviors Google Ganking: searching for specific
images and then using them out of convenience Assume found images are copyrighted You may have the owner sue you for
infringement Hotlinking: linking to images on the
owner’s server Often done without permission Uses up bandwidth on other web server
Clipart
Many Websites offer free or cheap clipart graphics
Using clipart can make a site look amateurish Try to find other sources of graphical content Some sites may be the exception:
A scrapbooking business A home sewing business K-12 Web sites
If your client insists, you should try to make other suggestions but … they know best!
Presentation Graphical content will
usually have a specific purpose on a page
You may be restricted to a given size determined by the location in the layout
The key is to make the most of the imagery you have created or purchased
Creatively modifying your graphics can raise the quality of your site from plain to exceptional
Creative Cropping
Examine your image for ways to bring an editorial eye to the content
Cropping can eliminate uninteresting elements Cropping can bring a new perspective Cropping can focus attention on a key element If enlarging an image to a detail, make sure
the image resolution is high enough to avoid a pixelated result
Masking and Knockout Text Make use of different image techniques to
frame content in artistic or unusual ways Image masks can be used to add symmetry,
repetition, or highlighted elements Layer techniques can
be used to knockout text and fill it with another image
The knockout technique can be used with images as well as text
Image Adjustments Modify color levels to
add interest Increasing or decreasing brightness
or contrast can bring a mediocre image to life
Add vintage look by adjusting to a sepia tone or black and white
Filters and effects can also be used to add interest
Borders and Edge Effects Adding a border to the image itself can allow
for more unique presentation on your site Images can be made to look like a
photograph by adding a white frame Masking techniques can add special effects
and transparency to edges allowing your image to blend onto a page
Consistency can be reinforced by adding same border around images that will be on the same page
Lesson Summary
Images are a key element in creating unique Web sites
While there are many ways to create or purchase graphical content, be sure to do it legitimately
Creative cropping, and adjusting can add interest and focus to images
Borders and frame effects can be added directly to images to provide consistency