Culture

Coverslike.com provides internet users with endless freedom to “customise your Facebook timeline cover” (just in case no photos of you and your friends seem pretty enough). For serious pug lovers you can have one which states “the day God made Pugs He just sat down and Smiled” next to a pug puppy with its nose in a daisy. There seem to be no limits to the extent of originality with this particular Facebook feature. While most cover photos are not “art” (as much as you try to stretch the definition of the word), there is an art to your choice and the consequences of the impression you leave with those stalking your page. It is a daily, potentially very personal, creative outlet with much to answer for.

Different people devote their cover photos different amounts of attention and care. For many it’s simply a nice, fun or cute picture to fill the gap. For others there are many more considerations. Does the cover photo colour scheme tie in with your display picture? What does your cover photo say about you? Is it too radical/outrageous/politically active? The cover photo hasn’t been around long; however, it has become an ingrained part of our online experience and for many it is a novel phenomenon. It provides an opportunity for people to think about themselves from a creative perspective when they might not have done so before.

Cover photos are rated by their viewers. Mashable.com recently uploaded a slideshow of the “Ten most engaging cover photos” including that from the page of Mitt Romney. People are judged on how aesthetically pleasing their choice of photo is. There is an opportunity for artists and other prolific figures to exploit this space to a further extent. It also provides the potential for an exhibition space where people can display their own photography or art. As an outlet for individual expression, there is a lot a cover photo can say about someone.

Cover photos are mood focused, often changed to fit how a person is feeling even if done subconsciously. Last year, often out of sheer boredom, my cover photo would erratically change multiple times a week – enough for friends to comment. It would range from a close up of Azealia Banks’s face to a stunning photo of intensely blue waves. In this way cover photos are a record, keeping track of how you felt at a particular time and the reasons behind the choice of that particular photo.

There are endless websites providing suggestions on the perfect photo. Embedded in the internet is an infinite world of cover photos to choose from for those struggling to fill this creative outlet with their own intuition. However it can be artistic in being used as an opportunity to advertise or expand your creative capability. Simply uploading a scenic picture of some gorgeous place you’ve travelled to is heading in the right direction.