How can you compress images to save space in your library?

1 Why compress images?

Compressing images can be beneficial for graphic designers in a variety of ways. For instance, compressing images can save disk space and cloud storage costs, especially if you have a large library of images. Additionally, compressing images can improve website speed and user experience, which can in turn improve your SEO ranking and conversion rates. Finally, compressing images can enhance your workflow and productivity by reducing the file size and processing time of tasks such as uploading, downloading, editing, and sharing images.

2 How to compress images?

Image compression is an important task, and there are various methods and tools you can use. For example, image editing software like Photoshop, GIMP, or Affinity Photo can be used to manually adjust resolution, dimensions, color depth, and quality settings of the image. You can also use online image compression tools such as TinyPNG, Compress JPEG, or Squoosh to choose a compression level and format. Plugins or extensions for web browsers, CMSs, or graphic design software can also be used for automatic compression; ImageOptim for Mac, EWWW Image Optimizer for WordPress, and JPEGmini for Adobe Creative Cloud are all popular options. Batch processing is also available to compress multiple images at once.

3 What factors to consider?

When compressing images, there are several factors to consider, such as the compression type, format, and tool. Lossless compression preserves the original quality and details of the image, but reduces the file size by removing unnecessary data. Lossy compression reduces the file size by discarding some data, but also lowers the quality and resolution of the image. Different formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WEBP have their own advantages and disadvantages depending on the characteristics and purpose of the image. Additionally, different tools have their own features, limitations, and performance. You need to balance between the compression type and quality that suits your needs, choose a format that best matches your image and target audience, and compare and test different tools to find the one that works best for you. Moreover, you should check the compatibility and security of the tool you use.

4 How to test compression?

After compressing images, it's important to test them to see the results and effects of compression. You can compare the file size and quality of the original and compressed images using a file manager or a tool like ImageMagick. Additionally, you can use Diffchecker to compare the visual differences between the images. Furthermore, you can measure the loading time, page size, and optimization score of your website with tools like GTmetrix, Pingdom, or Google PageSpeed Insights. Additionally, you can use WebPageTest to simulate how your website looks and performs on different devices and locations. Finally, you can ask for feedback from your clients, colleagues, or users by asking them to review the compressed images and tell you if they notice any quality issues, errors, or improvements. You can also use UsabilityHub or UserTesting to conduct surveys, polls, or tests with real users.