VIsuals - Don't overdo the background! Part 6

Any time a background graphic is used, it needs to be subtle and not interfere with the text or other content that goes on top of it. Here are the two tricks that I most commonly use when a picture is going to be used... 1 - Fade When I fade a picture for a background, I fa-a-ade the picture for the background. My goal is for visitors to feel the picture, not look at it. That's all I want then to do. It's about the website's content, not the pretty picture on the background. Fade the photo as far as needed so that the text on top of it is very easy to read. This could mean that the photo is displayed at a 10% opacity in some cases. If there are high-contrast areas in the image, take that into consideration when deciding how transparent the image should be in the background. 2 - Color Making the whole image different shades of the same color (light and dark blue, for example) can work wonders in the feel of a website. The key to making this work is being subtle. Avoid stark contrasts and go for smooth transitions. This will help maintain the text's legibility. If the whole photo can be kept to about 30% of a color's light to dark range, then it should be fairly simple to place text on top of it that as very easy to read.