Have you ever come across an image somewhere only to see it crop up again somewhere else unexpectedly? It may be an image of a dog with a Frisbee in its mouth on a beach adorning a veterinary flyer, and then you may see the same image of the dog with the Frisbee, albeit this time in a park, featured on a website that sells pet toys.

This image of the dog is called a stock image – a purchasable image taken by a photographer that you can buy and use as you need (and according to the permissions of the seller). As more and more websites go live every day, there is a chance that you will begin to see duplicate images purchased from these stock image vendors.

To stand out from the crowd and really utilise imagery that is targeted and specific for your business, we would recommend that you avail of graphic design and photography services. This achieves exactly the images, graphics and designs you want and gives you the scope to use them in whatever way you see fit (some stock images cannot be used on physical products, for example). In tandem with this, you use these images safe in the knowledge that they are fully yours and should not be seen anywhere else online except when connected to your company. Should somebody else use your images and/or graphics without permission, you are within your right to ask them to remove them and pursue further action if they do not.

Availing of the skills of a graphic designer also means that you are not restricted as to what stock image vendors have to offer. If you desire a particular shape, colour or layout, simply relay this to the graphic designer and they will make this a reality. It may also be possible for them to edit and manipulate images that you already have taken yourself to cohesively fit in with your freshly designed graphics. This also extends into logo design in that a graphic designer is the perfect person to create this for you and ensure that it works for your entire business and branding needs.

At Ireland Website Design, our expert graphic designers can create exactly the graphic imagery that you would like to use in your business and on your website etc. We also recommend when designing your website to get photographs taken of your staff and premises (if applicable) to add that human touch to your website and social media channels – we of course can help you with this if you so wish.