You only get one chance to make a first impression. With so many websites, apps and games now available, it’s important to give yours a head start. Visual appeal is key to creating the right impression and attracting your audience.
Depending on what kind of aesthetic you’re aiming for, there are some fantastic free resources now available for app and game developers. Open Game Art offers an impressive selection of art collections and sprites packs which will help give your game a professional look. The Betway website has numerous examples of games with good graphics and is definitely worth a look, with more games regularly added.
Image courtesy of flickr.com
The graphics you use will signpost your audience to getting information, subject to what you are trying to sell, promote or portray. Often, this is done subliminally; a lack of images or sober font choice might indicate a scholarly article whereas cartoons could point towards something aimed at children or perhaps an idea to be interpreted ironically. Consider what it is you are trying to achieve. Images can illustrate more than just a picture; they can communicate or encourage emotion, build association between brands and perception or give a visual example of something in your text. Beauty products such as Maybelline typically use pictures of physically attractive models, making their audience desire the potential results of a product.
Colour psychology is increasingly recognised in advertising. Based on the science of light travelling on wavelengths, it is believed that colour reaches the eye at different angles and is processed differently by the brain, leading to different perceptions and associations of different colours. Colour symbolism is perhaps easier to comprehend and is important to any design. Broadly speaking, darker colours are perceived as more serious so would initiate an expectation of professionalism in your audience. A wedding services site would clearly be better suited to pale or neutral colours, flowers and other classic symbols of marriage. Similarly, multiple colours would be seen as less formal, possibly fun or childish.
In designing your website, game or app, there are many things to consider. Using graphics to attract your audience is important if you want to gain an edge over your competitors.