There are several blogs online, and many of them may discuss content that is very similar to yours. By paying attention to the design of your blog, you can make it unique and appealing to your viewers.
Read ahead to find out how you can make your blog more interesting by using images and text.
Table of Contents
Adding Text and Details to Your Images
When you design a blog, you tend to get your images from the same sources, as many other bloggers do. Many of these images on blogs are from Unsplash. To set your image apart, you can use Photoshop to add some relevant details.
(Source : Google Images)
One of the ways in which you can do this is by changing the background color. You can use the color picker tool to do this. You can fill in the background with, say, a blue color. You can use Option + Backspace to fill in the background.
You can now de-saturate this image. For this, you can go to the Image options and choose Adjustments. From this menu, you can pick Desaturate. You can set the mode to overlay.
You will see a little color on the image. If you want to, you can change the tone and shade of the color. Fill the new color in.
Using the Eraser Tools for Details
For a few more attention-grabbing details, you can add a new layer.
(Source : Google Images)
You can now click on Option + Backspace and fill the new layer with black. You can then switch to the eraser tool. You can set this at 1000 pixels and set the hardness at zero, and click once on the image.
You can now change the opacity of this layer a little bit. This creates a good fading effect.
Adding Text On the Image
You can now add some text to the image. Type in the title of your blogpost in the center of the image. Change the font type and size so that it is relevant to your content and the image at hand.
(Source : Google Images)
You can place this text anywhere on the image. With this, you will be able to make some interesting custom graphics for your blog.
This is also useful for designing infographics for landing pages and different types of promotional materials for your business, and not just for your blog.
How to Combine Photos and Icons?
Another interesting way in which you can enhance your blog post is by combining photos and icons. To find the icon, you can use a website that provides you with some useful graphics like thenounproject.com.
(Source : https://thenounproject.com)
For instance, your post may be about the best way to purchase any product. For such a post, a great graphic element that you can use is a tag. Look for an image of a tag you like. This is usually a PNG file.
Do note that the size of the window you use can be equal to the header on your blog. With this, you will be able to easily estimate the space that you have to work with.
You can go ahead and drag and drop this onto your Photoshop Window. Using Shift + Option at the same time, you can go ahead and scale it to the right size. You can now add an image that you want to combine with the icon
For this, you can pick an image from your browser. You can Copy and Paste it into the Photoshop window. Once you do this, click on Command + T to bring it to free transform. You can now hold Option + Shift and then scale the image to the dimensions you like.
As you drag, hold down shift. With this, you can maintain the aspect ratio well.
Working on the Icon
Double click the icon and add a color overlay. You can pick any color you like. You want your viewers to be able to tell that there is a difference between the image and the icon. To prevent the icon from looking flat over the image, you can add a drop shadow to the icon.
(Source : Google Images)
The nature of the drop shadow is determined by the angle you use. If you use 90 degrees, the shadow will appear right under the icon. You can pick the distance of the shadow from the icon as 0 pixels. You can also increase its size so that it’s more visible.
You can also go ahead and tweak the opacity. Ensure that the opacity is always less than 75%.
How Can You Make the Icon Stand Out?
Another way of making the icon stand out is by shifting the focus from the image to the icon. You can do this by blurring the image in the background a little.
To do this, begin by duplicating the image layer by clicking on Command + J. Now you can click on the filter tab. Click on blur and pick Gaussian Blur from the menu that appears. You will find that this blurs the image to the point that you cannot see it clearly.
(Source : Google Images)
You can decrease the blur by a little bit so that you have a better image.
Shading the Corners of the Image
If you choose to keep the blurred image, you can add a few more effects by shading the corners. For this, you will have to add a new layer. Once you have it, use Options + Backspace to fill in the black foreground color.
You can then use the eraser tool to get a large eraser before you. Make it big enough so that the corners are just peeping out. Set the hardness to 0. You can click once on the image. You can click V to get your move tool activated.
(Source : Google Images)
Following this, use the number keys to alter the opacity on the erased image. To bring the focus on the middle, you can change the opacity to about 45% to 50%. Feel free to experiment at this point.
Use overlay, soft light, and other features to enhance your image and shift the right amount of focus to the icon at the center.
Blending Out the Blur
Not everybody wants an even blur on their image. You may want to add a little variance, and you can do this by adding a layer mask. Once you do this, switch to a brush. Change the size of a brush so that it is large enough to cover most of the layer beneath.
(Source : Google Images)
Select black as the foreground color at this point. When you pair black with a layer mask, it makes the result transparent. Click on the image with the center of the large brush aligned more or less with the center of the image.
With this, you will find that the edges are blurred, but the center of the image peeps through clearly. You will find that the icon in the center is focused upon.
Once you do this, you may realize that you wanted more of the area on the image blurred. You can do this by simply using a smaller brush size to cover a smaller area on the image. The area not covered by the brush is now blurred. These are mostly the edges.
How to Format Your Text for the Blog?
By using advanced formatting methods, you can make your text look a little more interesting. This can set your blog apart from the regularly formatted text on other blogs. You can begin by adding any image you like in the Photoshop window.
(Source : Google Images)
Using the shape tool, add a new box to this image. You can set the background color of this box to white. Adjust the box well so that it sits just right on your image. You can select the move tool and then use Command + A to select everything on your screen.
(Source : Google Images)
You can now use the alignment options so that the box is centered on the image. You can go ahead and add your text to this box. You can press the Shift key down and type down the title of your blog post.
You can add all your text in a single text box or add them in different boxes. This also depends on the kind of formatting you want to apply to your text. You can now align the centers so that the text has a centered flow.
(Source : Google Images)
Play with the font type and sizes as you like. Ensure that it is compatible with the rest of your blog post. If you have chosen to put your text in different text boxes, play about with the font size of each. Make the most important part of the text a slightly larger size than the rest.
You can also switch between the case, Italics, and color for the font. You can add the color of the background image to one of the text elements. This will make it pop up and add some continuity.
Adding Lines to Text
Now that you have formatted the text, you can add a few extra elements to it. One of these is a line. Using the shape tool, create a line just under the last line of your text. You can name this layer ‘line.’
Duplicate it and make it sit a few pixels before the first line. This adds an interesting double-line effect. It is a good idea to group these lines now. Click on Command + G to group these lines and name the group, say ‘group of lines.’
(Source : Google Images)
You can put the two lines as close together or as far apart as you like. Closer lines add more intricate detailing. You can duplicate this and add it just under all the lines of text that you have.
You can also go ahead and place the lines evenly across the text. Let’s say that you have three consecutive lines of text. You can place the first ‘group of lines’ just beneath the last line of text.
You can then duplicate the ‘group of lines’ and place this right at the center of the area so that it passes through the center of the second line of text. At this point, you may see that this line passes over the text.
You can correct this by creating a layer mask. Use the marquee tool to create a boxed area around the text at the center. Fill this in with black. You will see that the line over the text disappears.
Making the Outer Shape Interesting
You have now tweaked the text and added a few graphics around it so that it stands out. At this point, you can go ahead and add a few interesting details to the outside of the box. You can begin by changing the dimensions of the box so that it matches the text and graphics in the center.
You can pull the sides a little to the inside so that there is not too much space between the edges of the box and the text. You can also add a few interesting details to the corners of the rectangular box.
(Source : Google Images)
For instance, you can add a few folded notches to these corners. You can click on the shape tool and select the circle. Press down the Option key and later Shift key so that you can resize it and place it, so that tip of the rectangle is at a point close to the radius of the circle.
Note down the pixels of the circle as you will have to replicate it for each corner. You will see a raw shape before you.
Adding Drop Shadow for Finishing
For finishing the image and text graphics that you have, you can now use drop shadow. This will also add some detailing to the notch corners that you have cut out. You can add a drop shadow at a 90 degrees angle on the image.
Lay around with the size and opacity to get the right drop shadow that suits your image, box, and text.
To bring most of the focus to the formatted text, you can duplicate the image in the background. Add a Gaussian blur to it. You can play with the opacity to adjust the blurring on the image. Because it is duplicated, it will show a clearer image in the background through the new layer.
Endnotes
You now know how to use text, images, and graphics to make your blog more interesting. By using a few tools on Photoshop, you can easily add some attractive graphics to your blog. Go ahead and use advanced formatting, blurring, and other techniques to make your blog’s design stand out among the noise.
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