Projects/Usability/HIG/Layout/Image

Purpose

Images can convey meaning and emotion. Preserving these characteristics is the primary focus of this guideline.

Ensure images have the appropriate resolution for their containers. Try to not scale images up beyond their native resolution - the result will be fuzzy or pixelated.
Don't be afraid of larger image sizes. Images are most effective when they can be seen. Tiny images lose much of their meaning (unless they are specifically crafted for small sizes).
For example, consider a large contact photo (left) instead of a tiny thumbnail image (right). People recognize faces faster than names.

Captions can be placed on the image (left) instead of outside of the image (right) allowing the image to be larger and the content to be more immersive.

Use a semi-transparent background behind the caption text to preserve contrast for legibility.
Try to preserve the image aspect ratio. If preserving the aspect ratio is a challenge, consider cropping the image to fill the container instead.