Graphics
        Okay, let me recap on my lecture about imagemaps. Graphics in general provide 'eye pleasers.' When people look at your site, they'll most likely remember the overall impression of what they see, not what they read. Of course when designing a website, you should write with percision and not stray off topic (which I sometimes do in these lectures). So, stunning graphics that download fast are crucial to designing an impressive site, which should be one of your priorities.
        Why do you use graphics? Again, your website needs to stand out from others. With the redundant use of clip art, website start looking the same and originality becomes scarce on the web. By designing your own graphics, your website can acheive a look others may not be able to reach. Originality is key.
        Everyone should use graphics, if not your own, then clip art. It's essenssial that everyone learns how to use grphics and place them effectively. When I say 'effectively' I mean placing the right amount of graphics so it loads quickly (most web surfers won't wait more than 1 minute for a page to load) and choosing or creating graphics which catch the viewer's eye.
        Use graphics do spice up pages and bring life to dull, text-only pages. Graphics are great, but use them sparingly.
        I suggest you use graphics as a helper. Designing webpages is similar to writing a poem. You want to get information from your head to someone else's. Use the graphics to help the viewers get to the same place you are.
        Simple. Find graphics that suit your needs or make them, and place them on your page. You may use the <img src=" "> tag alone or place that tag in a table to help place it on the area of page you desire. Now when you design graphics, you should make them fitting for your page. If it's business site, then don't make them outrageous or extreme, unless that's what your business is about. If it's your personal page, then design a graphics which puts a part of you in it. Make your graphics personal.
        A quick guide to chosing the filetype for webpages. If you graphics has many colors and high resolution, I suggest you use the .jpg compression feature on your graphic editor, such as Adobe Photoshop. The .jpg compression will keep much of the quality, but will also take more space, making it longer to download. On the other hand, you can save in .gif compression, which will take out colors which aren't used, but really cut back on the size of the file. Generally, I've found that the file size of a .gif version of a graphic is 50% less than the .jpg version. So when deciding which graphics you want to maintain the highest qualilty, chose wisely.

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