Week 13 Page 7: Graphics Guidelines -- Visual Interest

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Guideline #4: Visual Interest

Images can really spice up your design if you work on making them visually interesting. You can do a lot better than a bunch of rectangular photos scattered on the page!!!

  • Experiment with creative techniques to spice up images (Photoshop filters are great!). For example:
    • edge/frame effects
    • oversized graphics
    • dramatic backgrounds and sidebars
    • interesting navigation icons
    • eyecatching navigation bars and top banners
  • Break the boring horizontal linear look of web pages by using angled images or a rhythm of small/large images. 
  • Try out effects such as feathering, drop shadow, inner bevel, outer bevel and glow. Drop shadows give images a 3 dimensional look and make them stand out in a page. 
     

Graphic Design Trend: The Hero Image!

A recent trend in web design is the use of a huge, striking image often referred to as a "hero image" to create visual interest. Here's a quick optional video on the use of hero images in web design:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyzc6DBGz5c Links to an external site.

The opportunities for creating visual interest are endless! However... remember not to overdo it!!!

Visual Interest site examples:

Here are a couple of site examples that demonstrate visual interest in their graphics:

  • Site #1: You can't miss the huge image in this example!

graphics create visual interest

visual interest site

Other Visual Interest Examples:

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