[c]

i'm working on simplifying my page (test version) and photographing some new stuff to put, but i'm not sure how large i want the images to be. i know i don't like visiting art pages with tiny images. something like a max width of 750 (to accomadate 800x600 res users) seems about right. but i'm not sure. should the max height be the same as max width as well? that way a super tall image isn't too large.

i was also thinking of providing a high resolution version for the few interested. i wonder if this is a good idea or not. when i visit sites with great artwork, i always wish there were a high resolution version available, but it's never the case. i'm usually lucky to find something beyond 500 pixels in height or width. so there's got to be a good reason. bandwidth concerns probably?

pretty inane topic, i know, i guess i have too much free time on my hands.

regards.

[ October 30, 2001: Message edited by: c ]

[JoeKool]

I guess theres probably about a million approaches to this, but what I seem to like the best is a slew of small thumbnails..like 100 x 100 pixels or so (or even smaller) and then if the subject matter in the thumbnail is interesting, the user clicks to the larger image. Common sense. As for keeping your full high res images online..well..wouldnt it take up a chunk of your online web space? beats me.
as for the thumbnails, some people seem to take a snapshot of just a part of the image..like a teaser..for their thumbnail. and in some ways i like that style better..and other ways not as much..but just an idea for you to consider.
good luck

[Gort]

First of all, this is a great question. There are many designers out there that do not take in account good standards for web design.

Definitely create a thumbnail list of your images, but also make sure you label each thumbnail with its destination size when opened; it's just plain courtesy to see what the file size is before clicking on it. You can also label the thumbnails with low rez and high rez versions.

As for page widths, it's really a matter of who your target audience is. ECommerce sites, because they're trying to reach a broad audience, will typically have a minimum page width of 590 pixels; that's because there are some users out there using 640 by 480 resolutions. They might be a small number, but they have money - make the user experience simple so they're inclined to spend - all of them! If you're an artist or designer, there isn't anything wrong with blowing out of the conventions, but make sure your site is easily navigable and simple to use - the defaults - ya know?