Images are everywhere you look. From massive billboards to small screens. Images aren’t just a decorative element, one image can lead to a bigger impression on users. However, using it incorrectly can break your design and leave a bad impression on your brand.
If you’re a noob who needs some design advice or you really don’t know how to use images, don’t worry about it. Here are some helpful tips on using images for the better.
If you work in a company with design guidelines, it’s best to stick with them. Usually, in the handbook, there are rules on how and when to use images. Most of them will be talked about in a sec.
Branding Style Guides website (brandingstyleguides.com)
If you like to learn more about it, refer to your handbook or find some inspiration on the web. Branding Style Guides is a good archive of branding handbooks if you’d like to get started.
Most of the screens we use today are high-resolution. Seriously, the laptop I’m using right now (Macbook Pro M1) has screen dimensions of 2560×1600.
Because of high-resolution screens nowadays, you’re seriously not gonna use low-quality images. People are gonna leave a bad impression if a very small image like that ends up in a card background.
Can you see the difference? (Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash)
In any case, the higher the resolution, the better. Try all possible resolutions and see if it’s not pixelated or blurred. If it’s blurry or pixelated, try choosing a different image or use a free image upscaler on the internet.
Let me ask you a question: how many times have you seen a few business peeps look like they’re in a fake meeting?
A cliché stock photo (Photo from Pixabay)
[counts the number of imaginary raised hands]
I assume maybe a lot of you, and that’s one common example of a clichéd stock photo. Everyone has seen it multiple times, and they absolutely hated it.
Nowadays, people prefer images to be as authentic as possible. That means people prefer an image of people in a real meeting with real emotions. Take the image below as an example.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Compare that to the image from before, you can see that this image is better than the other, because it shows people doing an actual meeting. Not like people in suits and ties shaking hands or whatever.