Made some banners ^^

[Pandora]

I made a few banners this morning, I'm hoping to get some feedback and I'd like to know, if you were browsing a website, which one would attract your eyes and entice you to click (if any XD).

A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

F)

G)

H)

They are a bit stretched sadly due to the forum, hope you can see them well enough still.

[LemonCrosswalk]

I see no banners.

[Pandora]

Yeah I inadvertently hit enter while making the thread and poll, then I rushed to add them XD

[Green]

Hmm. I'll give a general overview, a bit about what I like/dislike about each, and then a suggestion or two.


General overview: I filled the rest of this in first, and forgot what I was going to up the top here. <<
My favourites would have to be B], for the eyecatching, and H], in terms of actual info, and layout with that info.


A]
This one is cute. The colours/composition work well, and it give the important info, such as the name, rates, and even what game it is (which would attract me if I was seeing it on a non-RO related site).
Only problem is, it doesn't tell/show me what makes heRO different/special/stand out.


B]
Certainly grabs my eye. Of all the pictures/compositions, this is probably my favourite. It looks more professional.
However, it relies on the viewer being able to recognise the game from the viewer. This alienates anyone who hasn't played before, but may be interested, if they knew what game it was. It also doesn't say what makes heRO special.
I think it is also a little top heavy. Perhaps crop a bit more of the bottom off, and use that new space to extend the sky, and put in "Ragnarok Online"?


C]
The most informative of them all. Tells me the server name, rates, what game it is, and a bunch of the features.
The picture is cute, but is dominated over my the large amount of white space. It doesn't catch the eye the way the top two do.


D]
Simple and cute. Server name, rates, and shows some of the custom headgears. Would be nice with a border or some such to contain the white space, on a RO related site.
However, doesn't really tell any of the server features again. There's a lot of private servers out there. You want to entice people to choose your's over all the others. Sellsellsell.


E]
Like the idea, however, same as the above one, I think.


F]
Same as above again. However, I prefer E] over this one, simply due to the empty space in the top right of this one. It stands out, whereas, in E], it is filled in nicely.


G]
A little cliche. A lot of the free-to-play games out there currently are light vs dark, and focus on that a lot when advertising. heRO is so much more than that, and should sell that point more than just light vs dark.


H]
Don't mind this one too much, either. Gives the basic info. Shows customs. Lists other customs.



I don't think any of them sell the server properly. Some do in one area, some in another. I think the best bet, if it is supported on the place you are looking at using these on, is to go animated (or to find a picture with wonderful composition, and not to be afraid to layer text over it in some parts). Use one with a picture and a title to catch the eye, and once you have caught it, flash to a new image, listing some of the custom/special things about heRO. Maybe include a cropped screenie or two. But keeping it simple. Too many flashy images hurt the eyes. XD
The only problem here would be to make sure it animates at a nice speed. Time for reading, but not too long.
Something with te general flow of images like the one in your sig more if good, but perhaps include one of the drawn images for original eye-catching, and, if the site is not RO-related, focus more on the custom features and general look of the game, rather than server stability, etc.

But yeah. A lot of it depends on WHERE you plan to use the banner. What type of people are your target audience?

[LemonCrosswalk]

E is the one that looks the most unique out of RO bannerdom. It catches your eyes the most. The problem is that with HeRO you want to stress how much custom stuff you have, how long you've been around, and your population. The ones that are the most informative are a dime a dozen in banner making. Ask yourself, how many times do you see anime drawings in RO banners?

[Pandora]

Thanks for all the feedback, I've been making new ones with some of the suggestions I received.

Ellie: it's for the top200 ragnarok page, so people should already be aware of RO content and the game itself.

[Green]

Mmkays~ You'd want to be pushing what sets heRo apart, rather than pushing that it is RO.

A lot of areas to cover. People who play for the general environment, those for community, those for PvP/WoE, those for power (whether it be level or finacial).
Eep. XD

[Descent]

A) is adorable, who made the art for that?!

[Pandora]

I made 2 new ones, what do you think? ^^ Just spinoffs of A and B.



@Descent: it's an official art image to present some type of new necklace accessory, dunno who made it, I picked it up while browsing pRO or jRO update (not sure which anymore).

[Green]

I like those. <3

Only suggestion now would to make the "heRO" on the second one larger. It gets lost at that size. I think it's also a bit off of centre?

[Pandora]

Hows this?

[Zelos]

Amazing. I would check HeRO after seeing that banner.

[A92FL0163]

1. Animate the one you choose if possible, but not the information, people dislike waiting 3hrs to read the whole info of the server, make it able to catch people attention.
2. Try to stick to one or two colors on your banner, you could add color balance or something to make it more "Yellow" ish, to combine with the logo
3. I'd say you could add some of the custom hats if you're able to make it a gif, it's one of the HeRO main features(Or I think it is, meh)
4. If possible, add something to catch people attention while browsing, to be honest, if it is going to be competing with a bunch of other servers advertisements, it must be something that makes you look and feel interested on it :p
5. The information fits finely, not too much, neither too little info, just the Nobility should have a "System" after it. :p
6. If you make a gif nuking that Pink novice repeatedly on the H) banner and put it on the top200, I'm sure you would have >9000000 players in less than 3 days.
7. Watch out if you're going to use that G) banner... I believe it's a comission.

Not any related, but since I know you're wanting to advertise your server, you could make a YouTube video (add all that crap tags) and display some epic quest of your server or something of Light VS Dark system. I hope I'm being coerent.

P.S: You should REALLY consider the nuking novice idea

[Pandora]

yeah I might try to animate one, we also got a contest going on my server so hopefully the players come up with better ones XD

And I'll try making a banner which shows custom stuff I guess, just hard to show with a small banner and screenshots which aren't the best quality images.

Leave the poor novice alone T_T

About the H image, any idea who made it? I'll ask permission to use it.

Youtube video is a good idea too, we have some WOE ones, but showing off the custom quests or stuff like Trials of Heroes or Muspel could be neat too, I'll try to get someone on it ^_^

[A92FL0163]

And I'll try making a banner which shows custom stuff I guess, just hard to show with a small banner and screenshots which aren't the best quality images.

You can use fraps to take screenshots as .png, they end up with a little better. Try that if possible.

Youtube video is a good idea too, we have some WOE ones, but showing off the custom quests or stuff like Trials of Heroes or Muspel could be neat too, I'll try to get someone on it ^_^

Do it, it's about showing what your server has that makes it different than others.

About the H image, any idea who made it? I'll ask permission to use it.

No clue, was wandering at DeviantArt and found that art, now I'm unsure if it was really a comission or was just a fanart...

Leave the poor novice alone T_T

d(^_^)b You're going to consider it for future advertisements?