When it comes to designing modern-looking websites, one of the latest trends is to focus—literally—on the big picture. Tiled texture backgrounds, once a standard for website background imagery, are becoming rare as more and more designers incorporate relevant photography as part of their website interfaces. Faster download speeds and the flexibility provided by cascading style sheets have allowed this technique to thrive.
Here are some examples of sharply executed big picture backgrounds in action:
NASA
| NASA goes the traditional route and uses a huge photo as a background for its straight-forward, more traditional based design. Using an outer space image for the the background extends their brand and adds more pop to their layout than a simple color or texture. |
WeTransfer
| WeTransfer sets itself apart from the competition, like YouSendIt and SendSpace, by giving its users a clean,easy-to-use interface on top of a single, full-screen image-based advertisement. |
Yahoo! Mail
| Yahoo! Mail, like WeTransfer, uses the background area of its interface for logging into its mail service to present attention-getting full screen advertisements. |
Ford
| Ford takes advantage of a big picture background image to show-off its line of cars through an eye-catching poster-like presentation. |
MIT
| MIT displays captivating news photos as the canvas for their interface directing its visitors to stories and information about the university. |
HBO
| HBO promotes it programming by making stills from the movies and shows airing on its premium cable channel fullscreen big picture backgrounds. |
Coach
| Coach presents an attractive carousel of product imagery as background images to promote their products. |
SNEAK PREVIEW:
Laurel Hall
| TBH Creative is in the process of launching a redesign for Laurel Hall that integrates a fullscreen big picture motif. Laurel Hall’s elegant new look will go live online soon. Watch for our announcement. |
Would your website benefit from a big picture redesign? TBH Creative specializes in web design that is timeless and contemporary. We are experts at creating visually appealing websites that work for everyone. Whether you are starting from scratch, want a design “facelift” or are looking for a complete redesign, we can help.
