Avoiding The Cliché
When I file through stock images laden with more handshake photos or world globe images than I can shake a stick at, I groan audibly. Check this post at Just Creative Design with another in his series on over-used graphic elements, in this case cliché stock images used in web design. You’ll probably agree with most of them as I did. Its important to note that cliché is not necessarily bad. In the right circumstance a cliché image may be the best choice. But don’t go there immediately if a little thought will cultivate a better alternative.
If you need to find cool, compelling images for your next web design or corporate brochure think more metaphorically and see where it takes you. Adopting a theme that fits the client’s business activity or identity is a good way to go about that. Below is the cover for a corporate brochure and matching web page I designed for a law firm. We chose the theme of “Focus” due to the firm’s specialization in a particular segment of law. Being able to depart from the gavel and scales of justice sameness was OK by me. If you have to use a more cliché image look for the treatment of that subject that stands out as unique. Better yet take a stock image and put a little time into making it unique with some of your own customizations in Photoshop or Illustrator.
