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"In my eyes, using a hero image can be a very emotional, activating or even story-telling way to welcome people onto your site. And as we all know, humans are much more image- than text-orientated."
— Kai Heuser, Creative Director of Jung von Matt/Neckar GmbH

Simply agreed. The "Hero" moniker is not dead...but thriving.

Pre-historic cave drawings, advertising billboard displays hanging outside a sports complex and most likely how we all picked our fourth grade reading assignments by book cover, humans have been captivated through emotions created by powerful and yet simple imagery. Images allow our brain to process and communicate a message. With the average attention span dwindling to seconds - if not microseconds, in our world of bright colors and aggressive advertising, grabbing and holding a perspective consumer can become a challenge.

Design is a cyclical organism. It grows, learns...but always seems to return to what is simple, post the trend apex. Simple, also known as classic, is not old but proven. Taking a classic design and implementing new design strategies is the true test of a merited designer in the new-age world of advertising. Leaning on a proven design standard, with new technologies (FBML (Facebook Mark-up Language), high-bandwidth internet, smart phones), is always a good practice.

Through-out my professional journey of design, marketing, and strategy...meeting new designers, learning from craft-masters, and training a few, I have yet to see a designer from 10 years ago not venture into the world of "web" in one way or another. It is vast technology, moving faster than one can conceive...and can make a client, developer, and designer want to reach for the stars...make something new, big, bold...and yet non-important. How can this be fixed? How can it be explained in a way that the huddled masses, new & old designers and clients can understand and embrace? It is easy - clean and simple will always win out over complicated. Pulling away from layered ideas to leave a core message. Old guard techniques with new age functioning to give a client a brand that can last over multiple design trends and push a campaign to an enormous platform of possible consumers.

Besides a well defined message, designers are leaning heavily on the age-old premise that we like our "eye candy," especially when it's the first thing you see on a homepage, and thus a "hero" image. Hero images can be a good way to present an idea to your consumers, an emotional bridge, but still needs to follow user rules and basic layout, and most importantly meet the branding guidelines. Freedom with faster connection speeds, better computers, software that allows designers to imagine and then create, and an easily accessible media conversion tool (the internet itself) shouldn't overshadow good design. First impressions are the only impressions that are important in web development. The hero image should be the first focal point, visual reminder, and a brand reinforcement asset that people encounter.

How do we (you, me...your marketing company) choose a hero image?

It is all wrapped in your demographics. Who do you want to see this? Who looks at your information? How do you want to be portrayed? If you are a trendy Manhattan shoe store your marketing demands are much different than if you are coffee shop in Seattle. Know what you are first and foremost, then decide what you want to be. After that, make sure that where you want to be will be profitable and can continue to grow. A major hurdle in brand consumption is ordering priorities incorrectly. A good design only comes after a well thought-out campaign or branding message. Too many companies work their brand around a cutting edge design, leaving no substance to the message they are trying to create, and thus creating confusion which directly results in a lack of converting sales.

What are the limits on a hero image?

There are certain elements to consider when using a hero image on your site. Keep important Information above the fold - the fold being the area that separates viewable content from scrollable content. Don't try to overload heavy images with alot of text...it creates a sensation of website claustrophobia, and will make the user leave.

Elements to consider - a first time viewer will interact with a larger image more than a return user who is already invested in your site. These invested users are looking for information. Updating imagery on a constant basis keeps both the new and past users captivated. Images are always overlooked when updating a site. Since a general tendency of a user to see how a site has changed with colors first, imagery second and then content last, it only makes sense to make sure there is an easy flow of recognition for the user to follow new information.

Another important aspect for designers to keep in mind is to use images of high quality. This is utterly important when using bigger images to accomodate larger viewable sources; a bad quality photo can actually hurt your brand more than a good photo can help. If there aren't any images that display how or why your company works, then the rule of thumb is to wonder how the consumer community relates to you; they might be as confused, your message needs to be fixed and then an appropriate image can be chosen.

Hero images are not a fad or a trend; just basic good communication.

Below are examples of current website using "hero" images in website markets.