Using images of people on Web site...

[suzanne]

Hi,

My partner and I are building a site for our consulting company. We are trying to determine what images to use. In general, what do you think of sites that use graphics of people? Is this a good way to "humanize" the site -- or is it a little risky in that you may turn people off who don't identify with the image.

What does everyone think -- thumbs up, or thumbs down?

Thanks!

Suka

[edited by: rogerd at 12:34 am (utc) on Dec. 30, 2004]
[edit reason] No URLs please... [/edit]

[Rosalind]

It can work well, but it depends on how it's done and who the person is. In those examples the images of people are closely linked to the text, which is a good thing. The way to get that wrong is to use pictures of people, usually in business suits, taken from stock photo collections, and these people have no apparent link with the content of the site. That can diminish the impact of the page's message, and it's not necessarily eye candy if it's been seen before.

[rogerd]

Following up on what Rosalind said, I think people shots are good, but they must be integrated and relevant. If the site is about college students, then, naturally, you want shots of young people in a collegiate environment. If it's a business site, then you want business people - but you'll have to decide what kind of business look you want. You could have suits and briefcases, or casual but professional-looking people, edgy/creative types, etc.

One of the best people shots you can include is the site owner (identified as such, perhaps accompanied by a letter or similar). Seeing a real person standing behind the site's products or services is a major plus for me.