Guest Speaker: Sandy Renshaw
Graphics! Why do we need ’em?
Don’t underestimate the importance of visuals in a post. More than 60% of us are visual learners. A well-placed graphic can express your idea quickly.
They
- Break up the text
- Make life interesting
- Extend meaning
How do graphics impact you when you are visiting blog sites?
Thank you,
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Visit Sandy’s blog, Purple Wren, where discuss visual images as part of life and the tools and techniques used to make visuals that communicate effectively.. –ME Strauss
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Let’s open the Q&A . . .
I’ll go first, Sandy, how do you decide how many and which visuals to use?
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Hi Liz,
Great question. Personally I like to have at least one visual. Usually it’s something that expresses the idea I’m talking about. And the graphic has to evoke a feeling in me – good, bad, happy, sad, etc.
Now we are into an area I am much more comfortable with! When it comes to blog posts, I really like to use 1-2 images.
Hi Char,
Do you usually have two images that are related or does that matter?
It depends. I may have a smaller graphic at the top that is related to the subject matter, or a logo and then use a screen shot further down.
I don’t think there is any rule – what ever works.
Yeah – no rules. 🙂
I tend to have one graphic and sometimes make it the focus of a post. A long block of text is a bit intimidating to read. A visual here and there really breaks it up.
If it looks like the post is going to be long I will add another graphic, use a sub-head, or do some strategic bolding.
Sandy – I love all the fun graphic tools (and tricks) you share with us!
Do any of you have a favorite site where you locate graphics that are free of copyright? I like stoch.xchng at http://www.sxc.hu/
Sandy, since pictures expressed ideas before words, it makes sense to give a quick message in pictures.
I use one or image in every blog. I certainly fun finding just the right one. It has to fit well…just like humor. 🙂
Thanks Char. There are so many neat tools out there. It’s fun to find them and share.
I need to remember to use sub-heads. That’s a good point! Liz uses sub-heads, too. And color.
Hi Robyn,
I agree. And it’s easy to eat up a lot of time finding just the right picture! Often I use a timer.
Sandy, thanks for sharing that site where you can use graphics free of copyright. I found a great image the other day that I wanted to use on an artist’s site. I told him what I wanted to do with it and he gave me permission. And at the same time I got to know a wonderful young artist, so sometimes it does pay to ask.
and you’re right! It is like humor. That might be important to remember so it’s not overdone.
Oh – that’s great! Did you give him a credit line? Sounds like a nice way to spread the word about his work.
My favorite sites for graphics are:
http://www.sxc.hu/ (everyone must bookmark this NOW)
http://www.imagechef.com
http://www.istockphoto.com – they feature 2-3 free ones a week – I usually grab them anyhow and save them to an art folder on my hard drive.
My own collection of photos, too.
There are so many more!
I love that stock exchange site. Since my blog is partly about my toddler and partly about my designs, I usually have to worry about the opposite problem (having more graphics than text). If you have a decent camera and at least a basic photo editing program, you can take a lot of photos around your house/yard/town that would be relevant to a wide variety of topics. You can also ask your friends/family for specific themed photos, or ask for reader submissions if you plan your articles in advance, in exchange for credit and a linkback, of course.
Great links Char. Just last night I discovered ImageChef!
And it’s great fun to collect the free images.
Hi MamaDuck,
Personal photos are a great resource. The idea of reader submissions sounds fun, too.
I should also note that the sxc.hu site does have some images with restrictions, so be sure to read underneath each photo before downloading and using them. Most of them just want to be notified for public usage, if they have restrictions, I just wanted to note that because some people might just go and download and never notice.
I get a lot of unsolicited photos (usually involving ducks ;)) and I find that people love to share things like that, especially with my readership (mostly parents ;)), so it works well for me but your results may vary depending on the demographics/interests of your readers.
Great point MamaDuck.
http://www.flickr.com/ is another resource. Just have to watch the licensing and give credit.
Or use the advanced search and you can search within the Creative Commons-licensed submissions. http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced/
The main idea is to respect others people’s work and not just take any graphic without permission.
LOL – I know where to go when I need a duck photo!
People do like to share. That’s one of my favorite things about the WWW and blogging in particular.
MamaDuck,
Do you ever have any issues using photos of children? I’m always extra cautious to get permission, etc. and tend to use stock photography or the copyright free sites instead of my personal collection. Just wondering how others feel about that.
Sandy, your images are cool and they really add to the content of a thing. They also inspire me! Thanks.
Did you know that we all have a key intelligence for learning through and expressing through images? It’s called spatial intelligence, and we all have it.
Some are born with more – others develop more – but spatial intelligence is steeped when we get around experts like you who exemply communication through images.
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for your nice comments. Love your site. And I’m learning more about the brain from you and Robyn – starting to appreciate my visual tendencies and embrace them. I’ll look for more about spacial intelligence!
Thanks everybody for joining us and sharing! There’s great tips here. I’ll check in occasionally to see if anyone else drops by.
See you at the next session. Looks like it’s already in progress. Let’s go talk about creativity.
I need to remember this! Too often, I just write and post…I forget about adding any pictures!
Thanks for a great lesson!
Hope you have a terrific day!
I don’t post the photos I get of other children unless I’m specifically doing a theme post and have permission from their parents (such as a ducky costume thread or something). For my products, I get permission from my clients before posting their design with photos (other personal information is all changed) on my site. I also have some professional photographer friends who allow me to use their photos (which all have model releases, of course) as examples.
When using graphics, please remember to provide an ALT attribute – a BRIEF text description of the graphic, not just the filename. This helps people with sight impairments using screen readers to know what the graphic is about. Otherwise, they only hear “image”, not very informative!
Thanks Glenda,
That’s one thing that we can’t be reminded often enough. 🙂