The gradient is the only one (for me) where the coin immediately draws my attention. With the other 2, I have to mentally subtract the background to focus on the coin. (Love your choice of coin for this demo!)
I voted for white. Many, if not most, website backgrounds are white, and thus your photo background effectly disappears, leaving 100% of the focus on your coin (as you demonstrate in the first post). Whenever possible, all I want to see is your coin. I don't want to see a background. As every good graphic designer will tell you: less is more. Edit: of the three options you posted, I found the gradient background most distracting. Which probably isn't surprising since it's the busiest of the three.
My thoughts on the gradient were that because some coins look better against a light background and others against a darker one, the gradient lets you see it both ways. It also gives some illusion of depth, but eschews the busier spotlight/reflection/shadow effects of the older templates I used. I was also tempted to go with a "dark seascape" background but have restrained myself (except for this sample). Too busy and twiddly, I know. But fun. Been having a lot of fun with the remove.bg tool.
I'm probably gonna go with the gradient, but save versions of all three for each coin, so that I (or someone who buys one of my coins in the future), will have multiple options. "Slab label" variant, too, where applicable.
Yeah, I'm still "all in" on the gradient. Comparing the 3 options, the black background makes the coin look darker & completely obliterates the edge. The white background leaves the coin a little washed out, but worse, the edge looks like those GTG posts, where the poster blocks the slab, leaving only the tabs showing & no discernable edge. (Sometimes less really is less.) I still think the white is too harsh. The gradient shows good contrast & the coin actually looks like it has an edge, almost 3-dimentional. In the end, it's how each individual sees it & I prefer the gradient version. There will always be a Jeannette Rankin...always! (& I'm not saying I'm the Jeannette)
I agree with your take on it and favor the gradient. Those will likely become my primary display images for the set. But I'll keep all three versions.
I have to say, I really hate white backgrounds. Most coins don't look good on a white background. I also *really hate* pattern backgrounds, such as that seascape. It distracts from the coin, and you want the picture to be all about the coin. I usually prefer a solid black background, because that shows the coin and isn't distracting. Dark coins can sorta get swallowed up in a pure black background, but bright silver or gold really looks good dressed in black. Kinda like a beautiful woman. All that being said, for this particular coin, I think a subtle gradient actually looks really good. I wouldn't make that a standard or default, but for certain coins it looks cool.
I agree with you most of the time about white backgrounds. That's my least favorite of the three simpler options shown here, but they can have their uses. I recently abandoned my old "shadowbox" templates in favor of solid black. But I kept thinking a very subtle gradient like this could be effective. You're right about the twiddly textured backgrounds, of course. They're usually too far over the top, and too distracting for default use. I still think they're fun to play around with, though.
Yep, as mentioned, that's the tool I've been using to create them in the first place. Somebody on the Ancients forum pointed it out a while back, and it was a "Eureka!" moment for me.
