3 Easy-to-implement tips to choose perfect images for your next presentation
When you’re dealing with the design stuff by yourself, you might be asking yourself a question like: “How to find a right presentation images for my blog, or my website, or for a social page cover?”
This kind of question is not particularly helpful - lately, we had a chat about this with Meg Ward. And it even can make you more frustrated, if you start with some vague google search like “coaching practice catchy photos”, and then you find yourself surfing through tons of similar photos with no idea, how to choose from them.
What helps me? Setting boundaries is key.
There are obvious boundaries like the blog post title, but typically that’s not enough.Because when we switch from the verbal communication to visual communication, we switch the alphabet, the vocabulary we use. Like switching to another language. And the boundaries, which seemed tight – like the blog post title – suddenly become blurred.
So, what’s the algorithm?
A good starting point for me is to sit down with pen and paper and create a short list of associations. Most often I do mind mapping out of the idea, or title, or concept I need an image for.And with this mind mapping process, you have three options to choose from.
1. The first way is to end up with a list of actual material things you expect to see on the photo. This is a precise boundary. This will be the criteria for your search. Like “I want a photo with a maze” or “a piece of a puzzle” — it’s my associations with the “being stuck” concept.An important thing here is not to stop yourself from writing things, that seem to you too obvious or overused. It will block the creative process — I mean, if you don’t allow yourself to write down everything, that comes to the top of your mind.
2. The second option is to define the style you want, the form of the graphics. Here we need to be precise as well: by defining the style I don’t mean just saying “cartoon animation”, it’s too vague. No.We need something like “an outlined monochrome vector illustration”. A good filter. That’s it!
3. The third option is to choose a “metaphorical sibling” for the topic you need a visual for. This means that you come up with a concept, that pairs well with your topic and can be used with different meanings in different contexts. For example, you can come up with something like “Ropes and knots”. There may be a sailor’s knot, a running knot, two parallel ropes, broking rope… what’s else? I’m not really good at knots classification.
This gives you a solid foundation, especially when you need series of pictures.
And remember: you don’t need to have a detailed articulated plan here – just stay nimble enough and the proper image will pop out.
PS: sometimes looking for the presentation images and the overall design work might be overwhelmingly frustrating. A good solution is to outsource the thing, that frustrates you too much, and I’d love to take this pain away from you! Let’s schedule a call and see, how I can help.
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