Should Images be Same Size in Listing?

[DoubleDee]

I have an Article Listing - which for each Article - includes an Article Title, Thumbnail, and Summary.

Here is a screenshot...

ImageSizeInArticleListing.png


My question is, "Should all of the Thumbnails be the exact same width, or can they vary in size?"

Most people would probably say, "Well, of course", but to me that seems like oversimplifying things.

First of all, most of the images on my website are from WikiPedia Commons, so I am somewhat at the mercy of the original creators of the media.

Secondly, because everything Image/Thumbnail isn't a perfect square, you have to take that into account. (What if an Image I want to use is rectangular?)

Finally, my personal goal for my Article Listing page is to "wordsmith" things so they look the most aesthetically pleasing. (To me, that likely means varying the Width on a per case basis.)

On the other hand, you could say that "symmetry" is what really matters. (In my screenshot, because every Thumbnail is basically square, it does look nice to have the Text line up evenly.)

Anyways, what is your take on this issue?

Thanks,


Debbie

[ralph.m]

I'd say just keep them the same width and let the height vary. The page would look a bit awkward without the left sides of the text blocks lining up.