The hero images are taking a very high rol on web design trends. They are doing aesthetically pleasing folks on the Internet. The application of hero images can spruce up the design of a web page while also building depth into page content.
On the following information we are going to see how hero images can effectively be applied to the field of web design.
Hero Headers
The trend of hero images may be summarized as large attractive headers, as we explain before this week on the Hero Headers article. Most of these images are photographs which directly relate to the content. But designers have gotten crafty with vector backgrounds, illustrated artwork, and even animated video.
Hero headers are the bread and butter of hero images. Basically, the hero image style is a fundamental concept that can be applied to any large “oversized” header design.
Single-Page Design
Large fullscreen backgrounds and hero images can be used in single page designs with ease. Most of the time these landing pages or parallax websites only have a small amount of information to provide. Therefore, fancy aesthetics can add real value to the page and offer space between the content.
The example found on Gladz is cool because it utilizes a number of different hero images. The very top of the page uses a fullscreen background that contains a fixed navigation bar. Then as you scroll further you’ll notice a smaller image that spans the full width of your browser, yet doesn’t take up the full screen.
It’s almost like a non-contextual heading that designates a new section on the page. This is definitely a great website design and fits beautifully with the single page style.
Fullscreen Backgrounds
Depending on the type of website, a fullscreen image header may just take the cake. A delicious strawberry cheesecake represents one heck of a brilliant idea. It would actually consider fullscreen backgrounds an offshoot from the hero image concept. It’s similar and definitely related, but not quite the same.
Christian Woo has a website showcasing his furniture, interior design, and architectural prowess. Each individual page uses a background photo to expand upon his body of work. The pages themselves are very small and do not require a whole lot of content. Therefore instead of leaving the pages devoid of color, his design uses a photograph to liven up the page.
Featured Post Content
The number of online blogs and magazines has increased tremendously over the past few years. WordPress is currently one of the most powerful open source blogging platforms which many websites use for content management. Ever since WordPress came out with featured images there has been an influx of exceptional magazine themes.
One point to note about these themes is their use of different featured images on the homepage. Yes each article page uses its own image, but the homepage is where most visitors get introduced to the site. By incorporating a large hero image into the header it draws attention to that article and possibly other articles.
DIYMag has a large image tagged onto the top article. Every other article has a similar image but the thumbnails are sized a lot smaller. Granted once you click on the article it’s also used as a large heading display. Definitely a perfect method to draw visitors further into the blog.
Conclusion
By following these trends you should be able to recreate your own hero images that pop right off the page. Web design is a long journey and there’s always more to learn.
By investigating the most popular trends you can analyze why they’re popular and determine their value in your own work. So it’s time to try out and use a hero image on your website!
