Graphics Tell Your Story

By Paula Mariedaughter and Jeanne Neath

The graphics on your web site tell a story to your visitor before they read any text! If you were selling Harley-Davidson motorcycles you would show pictures of the “souped-up” motorcycles and pictures of folks riding and having a great time. You can do the same!

When we design the opening screen of the Home page for a quilting or sewing client, we work with them to create a “visual signature” that they really like. For example we recently completed a web site www.freemotionslider.com for Pat La Pierre, a quilter who invented a tool to assist in fine machine quilting. The “visual signature” we created for her Home page includes a picture of a sewing machine with the free-motion Slider installed and a dramatic cut circle quilt with a spray of quilted orchids Pat designed. The visual story here is “this fine tool will help you machine quilt with your home sewing machine and enable you to make outstanding quilts like this one.” All this happens as the screen opens and before the visitor reads anything! When you create a visual signature for your site, your visitors will identify that visual signature with your company and your products.

Careful selection and editing of each graphic to be used on your web site is an important step in defining yourself as a reliable business. If your web site looks like your brother-in-law did it over the weekend as a favor to you, it may have fuzzy photos of all the cars parked outside your storefront, then long shots of the interior cluttered with products, and the pictures take five minutes to load. With these sloppy graphics telling one story, it may be hard to convince your visitors that you value your business reputation.

Be clear about the story you want to tell as you take the photos. Take close ups with a clear focus on a product or group of products. For great quilt photographs pin the quilt to a design wall smoothing out any wrinkles. Provide even lighting. Take the picture straight on to avoid turning a rectangular quilt into an awkward distorted shape. Usually a cloudy, bright day is the best time to take any outside photos. Strong sunlight produces a glare and shade leaves part of the photo in the dark.

Inexpensive graphics software, like Photoshop Elements, or more fully featured software like Photoshop, allow you to edit and modify your photos before showing them to the world. If a graphic is taking too long to load it may be too large or it may have been created using a high resolution. Because most computer monitors cannot display graphics at higher than 72 ppi (pixels per square inch) you have no need to use a higher resolution. Higher resolution images take longer to load, yet still display at only 72 ppi.

Photos on the web are usually tiny—two inches or less to make them load quickly. Crop out all superfluous or distracting elements so that your visitors will be able to see and understand the message of the photos. Learn to use the valuable tools of your graphic software programs which allow you to crop, to lighten or brighten a photo, to produce better color or more contrast. Additionally, add a professional touch to your graphics by adding a “drop shadow” which gives the illusion of depth.

Don’t let your graphics overwhelm visitors with flashing, irritating pictures and don’t “underwhelm” your visitors with cluttered, fuzzy pictures that take too long to load. Careful attention to all the visual details of your website convinces visitors you are a trustworthy business worthy of their business dollars.