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Use of Image in Web Design
Powerfully and silently, pictures effectively express ideas and thoughts. Pictures are worth thousand words and have a telling impact on the viewers mind. Since time immemorial, pictures have been used increasingly to communicate message. The World Wide Web also makes use of pictures extensively like the print media and other audio- visual medium which have been using static as well as dynamic images for effective communication.
Images are an integral part of web design. It is very much significant to note that images does enhance the look of a website and invites in more and more traffic but if it is used derogatively, it’s sure not to let visitors turn for the next time and eventually ruin the website.
Use of image in Web 1.0 and Web 2.0
It is very difficult to clearly draw a distinction between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. To speak briefly, the very definition Web 2.0 gave rise to the definition of Web 1.0. In fact, Web 2.0 entails most of the features and is only an improved version of the old system.
With regard to the usage of images it highly important to note that in the past i.e., Web 1.0 consist of static web page and as such the images were static in nature. With the dawn of Web 2.0 design, a series of dynamic images were used in the new dynamic websites.
Hot Debate over Content and Image
It is point of great discussion over the significance of the content or image. “ Content is King “ is a hype which has grounded itself surrounding the web arena for a long time. The very phrase brings home the fact that content is much more superior to other elements in web design. In this context, it is noteworthy to mention that animation; sounds are in no way extraneous elements but are very much of equal importance.
Content gives information and is constructed keeping in mind the needs and desires of the visitors. The images in the website are used to aid the information visually to the web users. Erroneous usage of images and unnecessary or inadequate content will end up in ruining a website. On the contrary, appropriate images and content play a defining role building a successful website and garn in more and more traffic.
There has been, however, a change in the orientation of the usage of content and graphics with the rise of the Web 2.0. Flash design and fancy imagery are being used widely in web designs. To speak in broader terms, contents are used within the flash design. No matter the recent developments, the importance of the content has nonetheless diminished. Despite the huge differences with regard to dominance of content or graphics in website design, one thing has become crystal clear that in real practice both the elements complement each other.
Importance of Images in Web Design
Images play a decisive role in web design. Pictures help in forming a lasting impact on the human brain. In the early days of web designing as well as web 2.0, web designers use images in web designing according to the need of the hour.
- Pictures have a great impact on the visitors mind
- It influences the buying habit of the customers
- It demonstrates the products and services effectively
- It helps to create a memorable impression on the user
Kinds of images
There are numerous images which are being used according to need in web design. To mention the images are interlacing, animated gif, jpeg and gif formats.
Interlacing
In the cyber world, interlacing is a process in which the image appears in a series of rather than all at the same time. Interlaced images often appear blur in the beginning which excites the visitors attention or help the visitors decision making either to stay back or turn to another website.
(Source-http://www.doom9.org/images/interlaced_fields.jpg)
Animated Gifs
Computer animation covers a variety of techniques for instance, 2D animation or 3D animation. In the web world, animated gifs are most effective medium when used for small icons and logos. It benefits from the Gif formats, which contains multiple images. Piecing together various separate frames and assigning different times between the displays of different frames make up animated gifs
(Source- http://www.nonstopgifs.com/animated-gifs/games/games-animated-gif-002.gif)
However, it is important to note that not all browsers support animated gifs. Older browsers at times constantly flash messages in the status bar when animated gifs are used.
It is important to mention that in early days of the web both 2D and 3D animation were prevalent. But the rise of Web 2.0 clearly emphasized the use of 3D effects in designing in web as well as logo to give more realistic look.
JPEG and GIF formats
In computing, JPEG is a commonly used technique of compression for photographic images. The name JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the name of the committee that created the standard. JPEG is mostly used for storing and transmitting photographs on the Web.
For this application, JPEG is considered far superior to GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), which uses a palette with a maximum limit of 256 distinct colors for each frame. The color limitation makes the GIF format unsuitable for reproducing color photographs and other images with continuous color, but it is well suited for more simple images.
JPEG is also preferred to PNG(Portable Network Graphics), which produces much larger image files for this type of image due to its loss less compression. PNG was created to improve upon and replace the GIF format. The JPEG compression algorithm is not well suited for line drawings and other textual or iconic graphics, and thus the PNG and GIF formats are preferred for these types of images.
A recent trend has been observed wherein it was discovered that PNG format is the most widely used although it much loading time. Certain advantages of PNG over GIF formats are mentioned below
- PNG achieves a much smaller file size than GIF format
- It offers true color up to 48 bits, whereas GIF uses 256-color palettes
However, extensive use of PNG format has nonetheless not reduced the popularity of both GIF and JEPG formats. Although gradients were used to a minimum in Web 1.0 it became an important aspect of Web 2.0 Design. In the past few years, there is an increasing demand of using gradients, which involves a smooth transition between two or more colors. If the gradient is a simple two-color fade, GIF format is a good choice whereas in complex gradient transitions, JEPG is a better bet.
Image use for advertisement
Advertisement invariably involves use of pictures alongside the copy. Be it print media or television pictures images are an integral part, which aims at influencing the buying habits of the customer by clearly depicting the usability of the product or service. The World Wide Web has been using images for advertisements since its inception. There has been a great change, with new mode of advertising i.e., “Pop ups” with the rise of Web 2.0 design. It significant to note that these images are very much stressing to the human eye.
Image optimization
A website must not only be informative but also be user and search engine friendly. To get noticed by the prospective visitors it becomes essential to be ranked in the good listings of the search engines.
Search engine optimization is the process wherein the search engine robots or spiders reads and performs the indexing but these instruments fail to view images. This results in poor ranking in the Search Engine Page Results (SERPs). So it is a cardinal rule to use images to aid the content. In order to make a website search engine friendly, ALT text are used along side the images. It necessary to observe that in Web 1.0 images were used to a great extent but in Web 2.0 there is less usage of image.
Use of image in background
There is drastic change in the approach of the use of image in the background in the modern times. In the Web1.0 version, flat images with single color were used, on the contrary, in Web 2.0 design it is observed that there is much more advancement with the use of dynamic images with multiple color display.
Use of mouse over image in link
World Wide Web offers the most fastest and easiest mode of deriving information with its hyper linking facility. Hyper links are generally embedded in the text. In both the versions of the cyber world, images are also as link to another web page. When the user places the mouse over an image in a web page then the link to the corresponding page is highlighted from the rest of the other link images.
Images have a mesmerizing influence on the human mind. In the web world there has been a lot of experimentation with images to give a more interactive, pleasing look and thereby enhance effective communication. No matter the differences in the techniques of employing images in Web1.0, Web 2.0 or the coming generation, one thing will remain true in all times to come- images will take one into its magical fold at the first glance.
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