I need some creative help!

[chris8186]

i just wanted to overlay the red over the hdd not the text. I kinda figured it out. There was some sort of a glitch tho but it actually worked out really well. The 1st image attached was how it was suppose 2 be. The 2nd image appeared after the system glitched. I have no idea how that came about but it looks nice.

[chris8186]

ok so i just figured out what the glitch was. For some reason xara reverted the text formatting from font size 28 to font size 16 and from verdana to times new roman.

[chris8186]

final cut!

[chris8186]

final!

[gnurf]

The idea is good, but I would personally skip the drop shadows as they don't add any value to the banner (usually you use use drop shadows to make the text "pop out" and make it more readable).

Another thing you could try is to make the hard drive photo duo-colored in the same color tone as the maroon rectangle and see how it turns out.

[BobInce]

I thought you want it to match the original ‘Academic Affairs’ header? This looks nothing like it.

The font used there is a Garamond, so find yourself a variant of that and type ‘SYSTEMS &’ and ‘TECHNOLOGY’ in it at the same size as the original. Make TECHNOLOGY white and give both a small drop shadow (about 50%, blurred 5pix, quite close to the letters).

Then find a couple of computer-related images and compose them like in the original: cut out a general shape of one, by editing the shape of the image in the path editor, then give them both a faded edge using the feathering toolbar.

Don't optically distort the images like the hard disc in the above header, it doesn't look good; better to keep the relative horizontal/vertical scaling the same. Also ideally you will want to use images with colours that go well with the maroon. (In the original header, note the colours are mostly beiges and skintones.)

Then you can use the path tool to draw the maroon curve shape at the bottom of the banner. There are a few extra little curves there you can draw to duplicate it if you like. Group them, give the lot a transparency (so you can slightly see the photos below them), and move the text to the front, over the top of them.

Finally, use a clipview or simply crop the exported image to keep it within the boundaries of the header you want. (The photos will typically be flowing over the edges, otherwise.)

Tip: when doing web graphics, have the grid set to pixel boundaries (eg. 10pix grid, 10 subdivisions), and use Window->Quality->Very high to ensure images are scaled nicely.

[chris8186]

Bob all of that sounds wonderful! Only 1 problem, im not that good. Im learning but just that basic thing i put together took me a while. But i will continue to improve my skills. I by no means consider myself a graphic designer. I barely know the basics. Thats why i really do appreciate this site and all the people on hear that take time to help others. You guys are great and i appreciate everything you do. Thanks!!!

[iamtheblues]

I'm not suggesting that either of these 2 examples are ideal for what you want, but they are based on the suggestions by Bob and Paul above. Perhaps you could either go along with either suggestion, or create something of your own based on the ideas we have given you. If you get stuck on any of the techniques, we are here to help.
Saludos,
Bob.

[ss-kalm]

The second one that Bob has suggested is very close to what I understood you to want.

In my opinion if the "Academic Affairs" banner is part of the current site, the "Systems and Technology" banner MUST be created to match. If you go with something completely different if will look glaringly wrong.

[chris8186]

Wow the 2nd one does look really nice. Maybe just add more color on the red curve. I think im going to use that as the template. Thanks for that! you guys are really helpful