With so many people working from home to help curb the spread of COVID-19, things around “the office” are a lot different these days. Just months ago, we never could have guessed that “Hey, where’d you get that shirt?” would become “Hey, what’s that in your living room?”
But alas, here we are. And it’s not so bad—Zooming has given us the opportunity to see a different side of our coworkers, which is actually kind of cool given the fact that we’re not able to collaborate in person. But if you’re as tired of wearing the same sweats everyday as you are video chatting from the same corner of your bedroom, why not give yourself, your colleagues and your clients something new to look at with a customized Zoom background—and better yet, one that you’ve created!
Here are a few tips to help create the ultimate virtual ambience that shows off your creative skills while also reinforcing your brand.
Visual Artists—Put Your Work on Display
If you are a painter, photographer or any other type of visual artist, you can transform your work into a high-quality Zoom background with just a few clicks. This not only makes your space look at lot more vibrant and professional, but it also shows the person on the other side of the screen what you can do. Landscapes are particularly conducive to this medium; for instance, posting that great shot of the Rocky Mountains you captured pre-pandemic will give everyone in the meeting a much-needed visual escape. And if you’re Zooming with a new client or prospect, your background could become an important topic of conversation.
Graphic Designers & Illustrators—Create for the New Age
Whether client work has taken a dip or you’ve got some extra inventory in your creative arsenal, why not use this as an opportunity to show it off? If you do have additional time in your day, try experimenting with different shapes, patterns and techniques to create something bespoke. While we don’t have any specific intel here, if we continue on the remote work train, we have a feeling we might start to see postings like “Graphic Designer: Zoom Backgrounds” popping up on job boards.
Executives & Teams—Brand Your Background
A company’s brand is an important part of its culture, and vice versa. Just because we’re working remotely doesn’t mean we should forget about brand aesthetic. Whether meeting internally or with clients or vendors, having a consistent background with your logo or brand mark and other key characteristics helps to create uniformity and maintain brand integrity. However, that isn’t to say you can’t get creative. Have your marketing team or agency come up with something visually appealing, yet professional, then share it with your team along with guidelines for use.
How to Add Your Own Image to Your Zoom Background
As we’re all beginning to realize, being stuck at home all day every day isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. That being said, we are fortunate to be going through this at a time when technology has never been more advanced—case in point, the ease with which you can decorate your own virtual office.
For full instructions, including how to manage backgrounds for a group, check out this helpful article from Zoom on virtual backgrounds. To customize your own background using the desktop app, you can take the following steps:
Open Zoom
Navigate to your Preferences or Settings
Select the Virtual Background tab
Click the + sign
Select an image from your computer
During the meeting, click the ^ arrow next to Start/Stop Video and click choose a virtual background
