Becoming aware of the quality of the images you use to illustrate your businesses communications is just as important as the branding you use. The style of images you choose form a part of your brand experience.
An obvious good example of this would be the Apple Retail website which consistently uses bright, high key (low contrast) lighting to communicate the minimal and clutter-free nature of their brand and products. Apple are consistent with this look and as a result feel stronger and more trustworthy for it.
Now imagine going to a website where the images look orange because the white balance was not corrected, or they have busy backgrounds or inconsistent crops. Would this affect how professional you felt the company was?
It's not just product shots that are affected by poor quality control. No matter how modern, crisp and clean your new website design may be, using conceptual imagery to illustrate a message that looks muddy and awkwardly cropped would be the equivalent of turning up to a meeting wearing a modern crisp and clean suit and bowling shoes.
So how do you become more ‘image aware’, what constitutes a high quality image and where can I find them?
It's easy to start seeing poor image quality for what it is, once you’re informed and understand what is worth looking out for. Check back here next week for a quick checklist of the important areas that matter and how they may be achieved.
In the meantime, if you need help with your images give us a shout and one of our experienced designers can advise you on imagery to suit your site :)
