Whether you are planning a marketing campaign or simply putting together a communication element, you need to begin the creative process with an idea. And as they say, ideas are dime a dozen. You must know how to execute them well. A good execution calls for right images, copy and other elements that help convey right meaning of the idea conceptualized. You may not always have the time to create an icon or illustration from scratch. You can buy ready images off-the-shelf. But how do you select the best one? Here are some simple tips.

First advice is that you be sure of the purpose of buying the image. Will you be incorporating it in a poster or is it going to go on a huge hoarding. Depending on the type of communication element, you can go for high or low resolution files. Files bought for website or digital use must be of lower resolution and should weight less. Light weight images upload easily and the user does not have to wait. Second advice is to buy vector images. For instance, if you are looking for animal pictures, you must search for bear vector or lion vector. By definition vector images are versatile. They can be stretched to any extent without losing on the picture quality. In other words, do not go for raster images if you intend to blow up your design to a bigger canvas. Raster images are made up of pixels which can get distorted on being zoomed beyond a point. Vector images work on a formulation that uses lines and hence are multi-purpose.

That was some basic guidance on image selection. If you have been in the creative field for long, you will have no trouble identifying a vector image. For you, the bigger challenge is to close upon an appealing idea. Some creative guys can to sip some coffee, look at the blue wide sky and let their mind wander. They hope to fall upon an idea within the given time limitations. But if you are under serious time constraints, it can make sense to search an image library for a given theme. When you look at a few pictures, you will know how to creatively modify them to convey a message. For instance, the upcoming Christmas holidays will have lot of your clients asking for unique greeting card ideas. You can simply buy a pack of Christmas vector from online websites. A theme based pack will give you everything from Christmas trees to Santa Claus images in vector form. A bulk deal like that will not burn a hole in your pocket. You can then use different ones for various clients. So, next time you feel stuck in your creative thinking process, look for off-the-shelf vector files for ideas. It will help you get cracking in a few minutes.