Text Plus Photo Equals Powerful Visual Story

One of the most satisfying things I do as a graphic artist is design small visual blurbs that combine a photograph or graphics with text. It is like a neat little visual package that can convey a message like nothing else can.

They can be very powerful with its message and does not take much time to get its point across to the viewer. People do not have a lot of patience to read a lot anymore because of how much information we all have to digest on a daily basses.

These little visual blurbs are perfect.

Do not take me wrong. I still love designing websites, newsletters and writing blogs like this one but there is something about these little morsels of graphic design that is on a different independent level.

They are much harder than they look.

This is a selfe I took of me, my son and grandson. Cell phones do a great job of capturing images for these graphics. I used a filter on the image in Photoshop to blur the photo and give it a different feel to warm it up to match the quote and red text.

Many times I use a photograph that I took sometime in the past. I was a photographer for more than 40 years so had built up a library of images that I can use but more often than not, I use a great image from a photostock agency.

Sometimes, my inspiration will come from a photograph itself and then look for a quote, or I might just save that image until I run across something suitable to match. Other times, I find a great quote or even scripture and then hunt for just the right image.

I love this hunting phase because it takes me on a journey of discovery within my own self.

Social Media Graphics

When it comes to the text, the quote is a big deal but so is the type of font that is being used. Do I use something modern (san serif) or something more gothic or traditional (sarif).

Fonts also tell a story and will either help the story line or make it less effective. This is where my graphic arts schooling has come in handy.

Color combinations are also very important and how they relate to one another. Element placement can also make or break the message.

A selfe my son took of him and his son so I could use it for this graphic. 

I use a number of different software programs that Adobe makes. For these little blurbs I use both Photoshop and Illustrator.

I use Photoshop to get the image just right and Illustrator to use text and fonts in very creative ways.

Small, compact and full of zip is what these blurbs are and perfect for social media messages.