Header Text Help

[Csharper]

Hello,

I'm new to paint.net and trying to design a header for a web application. I have to display my company's logo and the applicatoin name in the header. I would like to do something cool with the header text but still have a professional look. Anyone have any ideas on how I can make the header text stand out. I saw a few sites that stretch the header text and others that reflect the text. Can someone help with ideas and how to design it in paint.net? I plan on having the logo on one side of the header and the application name on the other side.

Thanks

Edited January 17, 2012 by Csharper

[pdnnoob]

From a graphics design standpoint, what effects you use depend heavily on the theme(s) you wish to portray. I can't help much farther than that without first knowing a little more about the company.

[Csharper]

From a graphics design standpoint, what effects you use depend heavily on the theme(s) you wish to portray. I can't help much farther than that without first knowing a little more about the company.

My company is in the pharmacy industry. I have a teal, white, and grey website with an empty gray header(teal bottom border). I would like to place my company's logo and application name inside of the header. I would like the name of the application to stand out but at the same time keep the professional look. I would some ideas on different ways to display header text and how to do it.

[pdnnoob]

I would recommend you keep the header simple and soft. Put a minimal number of effects on the text (for example, give it a slight glow, a drop shadow, or a thin outline). What I would focus more on is the background. Again, keep it simple and soft, but make sure it has a sophisticated or flowing appearance. What I have in mind, currently, is a sort of abstract background involving curves and gradients. It is quite difficult to describe properly, to be honest.

As a bit of personal opinion, simple is great when you want to appear professional (if it is too "excited" or "busy" it seems disorganized); but if you make it too simple, it looks...lazy (for lack of better words). I wouldn't try too hard, but make sure it looks like effort was put into it.

Above was my first choice, so here is my second. If simple and soft made the site look too dull, I would go for a bolder look with more contrast. Keep the colors in check, but have dark and light spots to complement each other and give it some life. This allows for more options when you go to make your header (you can use anything from photos to crazy abstracts), but is a bit more difficult than the first. Again, I wouldn't go so much into the text effects as much as I would the background.

My last recommended choice is to be extremely simplistic with the background (preferably completely white, light gray, or light teal) and go all out on the text. I would look through the text tutorials in this forum for ideas, but don't limit yourself. As long as it is easy to read (that means it will have to be fairly dark once you are done). Give the text some shadow underneath it as if it was hovering above some kind of surface. If you go with this option, try to have some separator between the header and the rest of the page. This would probably be, but is not limited to, a dark single or double line

Those are just my recommendation, and are by no means professional (I've only gotten through most of a rudimentary graphic design course in highschool...I'll be finishing it up in a week! ). I'm sure some of the more experienced artists here could add on to my list there, but hopefully, I've given you some ideas to work with. Good luck! If you have any more questions, I usually check the forums about once every two hours after school

[Lance McKnight]

Very sound advice from PDNNOOB. I might add that don't go for fancy fonts either. Keep the text simple as well. Do some research on other pharmaceutical companies and study how their banner, texts, layout looks. It'll give you an idea of how to convey the message you want. Good luck.