Using images as options (choosing venues, designs, campaign visuals)

When images work better than text

Some choices are hard to put into words. Which logo fits the association, which venue feels right, which campaign visual lands best: you judge that faster from a photo or design than from a description. In ConsensIQ you can upload an image for an option instead of, or alongside, a text label. Participants see the images on their phone and on the presentation screen, and spread their points exactly as they would with text options.

This works well for visual topics: a new building for an association, a house style, a poster for an event, the layout of a shared space. It also avoids arguments about interpretation. With text labels like 'option A' and 'option B', everyone still has to picture something; with a photo, everyone looks at the same image.

How to set up images as options

As admin you upload the images when building the question in the wizard, the same way you would type text options. You can use up to ten options per question, with an image, text, or a combination of both. Keep the images roughly the same style and size, so one option does not look more appealing simply because of the photo itself. A short caption helps if the image does not tell the whole story, for example the name of a venue under a floor plan.

During the session, the moderator can drop or add an image option live, just as with text options, for example if a venue turns out to be unavailable after all. The fallback mechanism also works the same way: if an image drops out, the points on it free up to be spent again.

Practical tips for image options

• Use images of similar quality and size, so the comparison stays fair.
• Keep the number of options manageable: with too many images the screen fills up fast.
• Add a short text label if the image alone does not give enough context.
• Check how the images look on a phone screen beforehand, not only on a laptop.
• Keep source files in high quality, so they still look good enlarged on the presentation screen.

What images show during the session

On the presentation screen, options with more support are shown bigger, and with images that effect is even stronger: the room literally sees which design or venue is pulling ahead, before the final round has even finished. That often makes a visual choice feel a bit more alive than a list of text options, without changing how the process itself works.

Images and accessibility

Keep in mind that not everyone can assess images equally quickly, for example because of a slow connection or a smaller screen. Always add a short text label as well, so the choice does not rely entirely on the image itself. Make sure images have enough contrast and do not look too similar to each other, otherwise participants need extra time to tell the options apart before they even start spreading points.

For larger groups, say a members' meeting or staff event with hundreds of participants, it matters even more that images stay clear on smaller phone screens. Test the question on a phone yourself beforehand, not only on the device you used to build it.

See the how it works page for how to set up a question with options, images included.

Whether it is a venue, a design or a campaign visual: using images as options makes the choice tangible, while the voting process in ConsensIQ carries on exactly as it does with text questions.