Images and Media

Every image must serve a purpose — convey information, evoke emotion, provide orientation, or strengthen the brand. Images without purpose are dead weight.

Scope

Use this skill when you:

• Develop an image strategy for a website
• Design hero sections or image galleries
• Optimize images technically (formats, compression, srcset)
• Use icons and SVGs or build an icon system
• Write or review alt texts
• Make decisions between stock photos and custom imagery

Principles

1. Images Are Content, Not Decoration

Every image serves a purpose. Images without purpose are dead weight and slow down the page.

2. Quality Over Quantity

A few high-quality, authentic images are more impactful than many generic stock photos.

3. Image Strategy Before Image Selection

Define the visual concept first (style, mood, color palette), then select images.

4. Performance Is Non-Negotiable

Images account for 50-70% of page weight. Optimization delivers the greatest performance gains.

5. Authenticity Over Perfection

Real people in real situations are more convincing than staged stock photo scenes.

Rules

DO: Develop an Image Strategy

• DEFINE a visual concept before selecting images.
• ESTABLISH target audience, desired emotion, and brand image as selection criteria.
• SELECT images with a consistent style (color palette, cropping, lighting).
• ENSURE continuity: maintain a consistent visual language across the entire website.

DO: Use Images Functionally

Every image serves at least one of these four functions:

• Layout element: Header images, backgrounds, patterns for mood.
• Orientation element: Anchors for new sections, breaking up text-heavy areas.
• Content element: Visualization of complex topics, product photos.
• Emotional element: Brand building, mood creation, recognition.

DO: Show People

• USE authentic people in real situations.
• AVOID staged, obviously posed scenes.
• SHOW diversity in age, gender, and ethnicity where contextually appropriate.

DO: Optimize Images Technically

• COMPRESS in WebP (standard) or AVIF (progressive).
• DELIVER via srcset at least 3 variants (400px, 800px, 1200px).
• USE picture for art direction (different crops per viewport).
• SET width and height attributes to prevent CLS.
• IMPLEMENT loading="lazy" below the fold.
• KEEP file sizes under 200KB (hero max. 400KB).

DO: Write Meaningful Alt Texts

• DESCRIBE the image content precisely for screen readers and SEO.
• AVOID starting with "Image of..."
• SET alt="" only for purely decorative images.
• USE descriptive file names (team-meeting-office.webp instead of IMG_4523.webp).

DO: Use Icons Consistently

• ALWAYS combine icons with text labels.
• USE a consistent icon set across the entire website.
• PREFER SVG icons for sharpness and small file size.

DO: Prefer SVGs

• USE SVG for logos, icons, illustrations, and simple graphics.
• INLINE SVGs for interactivity (hover color changes, animation).
• USE SVG sprites for frequently used icons.

DON'T: Use Generic Stock Photos

• AVOID cliche images (smiling business people, handshakes, light bulbs).
• INVEST in custom photo shoots or curated premium stock sources with consistent editing.

DON'T: Embed Unoptimized Images

• DO NOT serve images at original resolution.
• DO NOT use JPEG/PNG when WebP/AVIF is available.
• DO NOT lazy-load hero images and logos (they must load immediately).

DON'T: Place Text in Images Without a Fallback

• DO NOT embed important text information exclusively in images.
• Text in images is not accessible, not searchable, and not responsive.

Patterns

Hero Image with Overlay

On homepages and landing pages: large-scale image with a semi-transparent overlay for text readability. Headline, subline, and CTA on top. No lazy loading for the hero.

Image Gallery / Project Showcase

Uniform grid with consistent aspect ratios (16:9 or 4:3). Hover effect with additional info. Lightbox for detail view. Lazy loading below the fold.

Image Cards

Card with image (upper half), title, excerpt, and CTA (lower half). Consistent aspect ratio. object-fit: cover for uniform rendering.

Responsive Image with Art Direction

picture element with different source elements. Mobile: tight portrait crop. Desktop: full landscape crop. For code examples, see references/responsive-images.md.

Icon System

For 10+ icons: consistent set (line style or filled, not mixed). SVG sprite for performance. Uniform size (e.g., 24px baseline). Icons always with text label or aria-label.

Anti-Patterns

Stock Photo Monotony

All images from the same platform, generic and interchangeable. Users recognize stock photos immediately. Solution: Custom photos or curated premium stock photos with consistent editing.

Massive Unoptimized Images

Original camera photos (3-10MB) embedded directly. Solution: Build pipeline with automatic compression, resizing, and format conversion.

Decorative Image Overload

Too many images with no informational value. Solution: Every image must pass the "What for?" test. White space is often more effective.

Missing Alt Texts

Images without an alt attribute or with "image1.jpg". Accessibility violation and SEO disadvantage. Solution: Descriptive alt texts for content images, alt="" for decorative ones.

Inconsistent Visual Language

Photos with different styles and quality levels mixed together. Solution: Image strategy with a defined color treatment, style, and quality standard.

Checklist

Strategy

• Image strategy with style, mood, and color palette defined
• Visual language consistent across all pages
• Every image serves at least one function
• Generic stock photos avoided

Technical Optimization

• WebP or AVIF as primary format
• srcset with at least 3 sizes
• loading="lazy" below the fold
• Hero image without lazy loading
• width and height attributes set
• Files under 200KB (hero max. 400KB)
• SVG for logos, icons, illustrations

Accessibility

• Alt texts for all content images
• alt="" for purely decorative images
• No important text exclusively in images
• Sufficient contrast for text on images

Legal

• Usage rights and licenses verified
• Image credits properly attributed

Cross-References

• responsive-design -- Responsive images, srcset, picture element
• ui-design -- Visual hierarchy and image placement
• branding-identity -- Visual language as part of brand identity
• accessibility -- Alt texts, contrast, text in images
• color-theory -- Image color palette in context of the color concept