The Timeline Cover Photo: A Great Opportunity for Creativity
For those with a creative bent, probably the most exciting change is the Timeline cover photo, an 851px x 315px canvas that you can fill with the image of your choice.
Inserted into the lower left of the Timeline cover is your profile photo. The fun is coming up with interesting and clever ways to have your cover photo and your profile photo interact.
For Kumar Lekhu, He simply uses the barber shop mirror effect for some radical recursivity! And check how that distant road continues the effect…
Kumar Lekhu cover photo!
Timeline Cover Photo Examples to Kickstart Your Creativity!
Many will use the cover photo to simply put up a beautiful photo or family picture. For example, Mark Zuckerberg just has his dog and his face:
Zuck's use of the Cover Photo is okay, but...
Not that there’s anything wrong with this, but it’s a missed opportunity to have some creative fun.
For instance, Kelly Cromwell’s fairly straightforward family picture becomes:
Here's a great way to get Dad into the family photo!
Creative Approaches to Your Cover Photo
There are several ways to approach the integration of your cover photo and your profile photo to create an effect:
- Show the user observing the “action” in the cover photo
- Create a continuation of the cover photo
- Simply complement the cover photo
- Extend the theme of the profile photo
- Provide “meta” commentary for profile and cover photos.
Get Inspired by What Others Have Already Done
The following examples should help spark your imagination and give you some ideas of the possibilities.
E3 — Milan, Italy
A number of creatives at the E3 digital agency in Milan went to work designing artful and clever cover photo concepts.
Gianmarco Carrieri integrates the cover and the photo, hinting at endlessly repeating recursivity!
Gianmarco Carrieri cover photo.
Giuseppe Draicchio cleverly and beautifully integrates cover and photo.
Giuseppe Draicchio cover photo.
Alfredo Tomaselli positions his photo outside the cover, using his destructive laser glasses to immolate the old personal profile.
Alfredo Tomaselli cover photo.
Fabio Maravilla gets with the recursive barber shop mirror effect.
Fabio Maravilla cover photo.
Ivan Marino cleverly removes helmet and head, and makes great use of white space.
Ivan Marino cover photo.
Maurizio Mazzanti turns his cover photo into a movie screen, which he watches.
Maurizio Mazzanti cover photo.
Annalisa Modotto nicely illustrates a progression of thought, with an edible resolution.
Annalisa Modotto cover photo.
Ekkapong Techawongthaworn’s Experiments
Ekkapong Techawongthaworn, a student in San Francisco, created several great cover photo concepts, which he posted on his Google+ profile:
Creative profile photo integration!
Another very creative combo of cover and profile photos.
Obviously Mr. Techawongthaworn is having great fun coming up with concepts!
Other Cover Photo and Profile Photo Approaches
Below are a few more examples, utilizing various techniques and metaphors to entertain and amaze Facebook friends.
Mohammad L. Azzam creates a clever interaction between the cover and profile photos that resonates with the text content.
Mohammad L. Azzam cover photo.
Hugh Briss uses his cover photo to both say something about himself and promote his business.
Hugh Briss cover photo.
Jeremy Bronson creates a surreal and humorous integration of cover and profile photos.
Jeremy Bronson cover photo
Take Advantage of this Fun Opportunity for Creativity!
It’s time to flex your creative muscles! Have fun expressing who you are in a unique and creative way.
What do you think? And feel free to post URLs to your Timeline in the comments. Leave your questions and comments in the box below.
