Creating banner images
Here are suggestions for creating banner images that appear in this web site's header. First, only try this if you are an experienced graphic professional. Lloyd, Ryan and Steve L. created the existing banners. If you are not one of these people, please coordinate with them before uploading a banner.
Creative direction
Regarding photography, I think collages can work even when we don't have professional-quality photos, which is most of the time.
The key is to choose 3-5 strong images that tell a story even when scaled to a small size. Also, it helps to handle the breaks between collage photos with a blend, fade or a natural line within the photo, like a wall. For example, see the banners on the Habitat for Humanity site. Specifically, this is a good example:
http://www.habitat.org/images/banners/worldmap/lac_collague.jpg
The collage we created up at TRTEAR puts 9 photos in the same space where Habitat uses 4. Also, the Habitat version has *close-ups* of happy faces. A smiling face is the best marketing tool. We have plenty of smiles in our photos, but they're small in the collage so they don't have as much impact.
This is my lame attempt at "creative direction" as we develop more versions. You can see the current banners here.
Banner specfications
- 960 pixels wide x 180 high
- Reasonable file size (30-60 KB)
- Upper left side of the image should be dark and clear of distractions. The site will place he words "Floribama Riders" in white on top of your image.
Upload instructions
Here's what to do once you have a banner that's ready for production.
- For the banner to appear in the dynamic rotation at the top of pages, you must specify banner_ at the start of the file name on your local machine. (Note the underscore character.) Warning: Do not upload an image with a name starting with banner_ unless you have ok'd it with one of the people mentioned above.
- Assuming you're logged into the site, click on "Create content" in the navigation.
- Click "image"
- Then click the browse button next to the Image field. You'll want to ensure your banner matches the specifications above.
- For the "Image Galleries" field, choose "Web site banners"
If something gets foobar'd, just edit the image that's causing the problem and delete it. Please do not delete any existing banners you did not personally create.
-Ice T
