American Flag For a Background

From LoveToKnow Web-Design

Showing your patriotism in small ways, such as having an American flag for a background on your website or MySpace page, lets people know your values and priorities. However, there's a fine line between a subtle statement of personality and an overdone eyesore that makes your website hard to read.

American Flag for a Background

Finding an American Flag for a Background

Here are some quick and easy sources for finding the perfect picture for your flag background:

  • Google – The initial point of almost any search, the images available of an American flag for a background (embellished with [[American Flag Eagle Backgrounds|eagles and other symbols) are more than you could imagine. However, be aware that simply because they are on Google doesn't mean that they are necessarily legal for downloading. Copyright rules apply, and it is important to use something that is licensed or public domain.
  • iStockPhoto and other stock image sites – To be absolutely certain that you are using an image legally, you can always purchase an image from a royalty-free source. These images may cost as little as a dollar each, and are often of a high quality and resolution.
  • Arts Sites – Often artists will try and spread their work throughout the web by posting images and samples for free, such as the repeating background graphic on this page from Castleberry Arts. This page is very simple – you grab the image by right-clicking anywhere on the page and the image becomes yours.
  • Clip Art Sites – One source of images often overlooked by many people is the clip art libraries included with their word-processing programs and on clip art sites. The sites, admittedly, can be hit-or-miss; many are simply banner farms with a few low-quality images that no one would use combined with key words that lure in unsuspecting viewers. However, occasionally there are sites such as the Clip Art Guide. This site stands out because along with the well-indexed inventory of high-quality images, it also includes the HTML code to add the image to your website, forum, or MySpace page.

Not many websites will include that kind of hands-on instruction to put the background on your website – and even more rare is the site that will caution you about using the pictures in the first place.

Reasons NOT to Use a Flag Background

Ask yourself for a moment: why do you want to have an American flag as a background?

  • The flag is a symbol that is sacred to many, symbolic of freedom and also the people who have died in the service of the country it represents. Simply putting it on your site as a whim can be somewhat disrespectful unless you, too, understand the significance.
  • Some people, on the other hand, associate the American flag with intolerance and other values that focus on some of the missteps and more unfortunate episodes in United States history. Someone visiting your site may associate you with an extremist and nationalistic attitude, when all you wanted to indicate was that you love your country.
  • From a purely pragmatic perspective, an American flag is a high-contrast and very active image to have as a background. This can steal focus from the design, text, and other images on the site. While you can certainly adjust an image with an editor such as Photoshop to be lighter or less distracting, it might be better to stick with the clean lines and white space of standard web 2.0 styles.

All of that being said, part of the joy of design is changing your website to match the themes that you like – for example, the 4th of July or Veteran's Day. Google has a policy of changing their home page, usually subtly, to reflect the holidays. Afterwards, they will then go back, and it causes people to look forward to the next changes as they come. Using the American flag sparingly, just to celebrate appropriately patriotic occasions, will give a more respectful and meaningful use of the venerated symbol.

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