The Graphic Design Hound

What is a “Web Graphic”?

A web graphic, in many cases, draws the viewer into some kind of interaction with it.

While graphic art is often interactive, it is usually geared toward artistic use (web backgrounds) or spreading a message. Graphic images help to enhance a website’s appearance. The use of graphic images on a website or webpage also allows users to easily identify a specific section on a page or site. Graphics may direct users or simply make a site more alluring to a user.

Where Can You Find Stunning Web Graphics?

You might ask yourself “Is including web art on a website or page truly worth it?” Well you can find the answer from your own experience.

Would you enjoy looking at a site with only lines and lines of text? Or would you rather a site provide relevant information AND enough images to support the topic and give you a break from reading?

Finding website graphics isn’t a hard thing to do. There are many free web graphics available online in addition to designers who professionally make graphics. You can find buttons, characters, objects, and other things in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.

Just What is A GIF Web Graphic?

While most graphics you see online are normal images, GIFs, or Graphics Interchange Format, are interspersed throughout the Internet. GIFs are those animated images that last a few seconds and usually loop.

GIFs, much like other web graphics, are used mostly for logos, buttons, drawings, cartoons, maps and charts. GIFs are animated similar to how movies are, by using a series of still images, each image having something in it varied a little bit each image. While using line drawings is the best way to produce a GIF, using photographs is not out of the question.

If using other people’s graphics isn’t your thing, then don’t worry. There are computer graphics software like Abobe Illustrator CS5 and CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 that allow you to create your own graphics.

Even Backgrounds are Important

Graphics for web include not only images and GIFs, but web backgrounds.

Most websites have a background image in association with their content. The image, much like other images on a site is there to provide some variety and uniqueness to the site. It keeps the reader interested in what the site has to offer. That doesn’t mean you need to have a “fancy-schmancy”, flashy, shiny, or busy background.

In fact, those kinds of backgrounds tend to distract users or give them too much and then the message is lost. Even simple backgrounds can serve the same purpose, if not a better one, than flashy backgrounds. In addition to free web page graphics, there are plenty of free background web graphics online for your use.

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