Welcome to the chat, where we discuss the ever-nefarious “pixelated graphics.” Quick one, what is it? Every digital picture or graphic is made up of tiny dots or squares that determine its quality (a.k.a. resolution). These are known as pixels.
We measure image or graphic resolution in megapixels (MP), which means one million pixels. In essence, the more pixels an image has, the higher its quality.
How to determine if you have a pixelated picture:
- Eye test: Examine your photo. Is it fuzzy, blurry, distorted, or obscure? Can you see little squares (pixels)?
- Stretch or zoom test: If tiny squares or fuzziness appear after a quick zoom or when the picture is stretched, that’s an instant giveaway.
So why is this important?
Here are 5 common downfalls associated with using pixelated graphics:
- Questionable professionalism – When your graphics are blurry or blocky, they make the project look low-quality and even careless, which strongly impacts your business’s credibility.
- First impressions suffer – First impressions matter, both in real life and in marketing. Clients associate sharp visuals with trust and attention to detail. Images that don’t connect well with viewers lead to lower engagement rates.
- Printing nightmares – If pixelation issues are ignored, they become even more noticeable once printed on corporate materials (magazines, brochures, banners, business cards, pens, or vehicle decals).
- Scalability issues – Pixelated images can’t be resized or reused across different media (especially billboards and websites) without losing quality.
- Brand inconsistency – Imagine this: your services are top-notch, but your content doesn’t match up. When visuals aren’t crisp, it creates inconsistency—and breaks brand cohesion.
How to Improve or Fix Pixelated Graphics:
- Smart devices: Capture photos at 24 MP to 48 MP. This provides a good range for scaling without losing quality.
- DSLRs: High-end cameras can produce images in RAW format (very large files), which are ideal for post-editing.
- Vectorized graphics: For graphics or logos, consider having them vectorized to ensure scalability across different branding materials.
- Professional graphic artists: Some professionals can expertly refine and preserve image details, though this varies on a case-by-case basis.
What Not to Do:
- Too good to be true: Some software and websites claim to enhance images by making them sharper or crisper, but they often compromise quality—resulting in grainy, sandy, or overly smooth (motion-blurred) images that lose crisp details.
Notes:
- Resolution impacts file size—the higher the resolution, the larger the file. Consider your device’s storage capacity when saving large files.
- Social media content can use anywhere from 12 MP to 24 MP.
- Use higher megapixels (48 MP and above) for professional projects and publishing.