Picking the right picture

The definition of Graphic Design is:

“The art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience, especially to produce a specific effect.”

As such, the importance of selecting the right…the “perfect”…images, words and ideas is life or death to the success of a designer’s product. Today, I’ll be focusing on the first of those three elements…the picture.

What’s really so hard about picking the right picture for a design project? I mean, if it’s a pretty picture, then use it, right? Wrong!

Thus, here are several tips for selecting the right picture for designs:

• If you’re designing something that has a large, dominant image, make sure to pick a picture with white space. The image needs to have room built into it for text.
• Closeup pictures are more graphically interesting and pack a punch, visually speaking. For example, if you’re designing something about sandwiches, you’ll want a picture that features the yummy vegetables and nine-grain bread front and center.
• Know the difference between vector images and jpeg image files. Vectors can be re-sized to as big or small as needed without any problem. If you choose a jpeg image file, see my point below.
• If you choose a jpeg image file, make sure that you get the right file size for the project you’re working on. Stock image sites like Shutterstock or iStockPhoto have different download options. Your best bet is to get the biggest file size you can afford…it gives you more to work with and makes for a MUCH better final product.

Anyway, I hope that these tips have been helpful for you. Have a wonderful week and I hope you had a blessed Easter!

Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/graphic+design?s=t