Facebook Timeline draws love, hate … and creativity | CNN Business

"Disclaimer: <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-765134">I'm a fan of Facebook Timeline</a>," writes Rudolfo Nobre of Lisbon, Portugal. He works in digital marketing and social media, so he says he was "eager to start playing with the cover pic as soon as it came out." He describes his image as sort of like the film "Inception" -- a picture of himself holding up a picture of himself holding up another picture of himself. Nobre says he appreciated Facebook's previous visual simplicity but likes Timeline as well: "With the cover pic, you now have a canvas that you can use to tell everyone, upfront, a bit of who you are, what you're using Facebook for, or how you're feeling."

Creative Facebook timelines —

"Disclaimer: I'm a fan of Facebook Timeline," writes Rudolfo Nobre of Lisbon, Portugal. He works in digital marketing and social media, so he says he was "eager to start playing with the cover pic as soon as it came out." He describes his image as sort of like the film "Inception" -- a picture of himself holding up a picture of himself holding up another picture of himself. Nobre says he appreciated Facebook's previous visual simplicity but likes Timeline as well: "With the cover pic, you now have a canvas that you can use to tell everyone, upfront, a bit of who you are, what you're using Facebook for, or how you're feeling."

Courtesy Rudolfo Nobre

Fabio Pisano, a graphic designer from Milan, Italy, also created a kind of <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-765233">never-ending chain</a> of him holding a photo of himself holding a photo of himself. The 26-year-old, who uses a different last name on Facebook, says he likes the new layout "because with my cover I have the opportunity to express my creativity."

'Inception'-style design —

Fabio Pisano, a graphic designer from Milan, Italy, also created a kind of never-ending chain of him holding a photo of himself holding a photo of himself. The 26-year-old, who uses a different last name on Facebook, says he likes the new layout "because with my cover I have the opportunity to express my creativity."

Apple tribute —

Timeline reminds Emanuele Bartolomucci of Apple's interface so the Modena, Italy, resident decided to make over his profile, OS X style. "The Timeline interface reminded me in some ways ... of Time Machine in Mac OS X, a visual, gorgeous way to navigate back in time and bring to life the various stages of our lives. So, being an Apple fan, I tried to kind of merge these two features in an Apple-ish image that reminds one of their ads when a major product rolls out," he says.

Patrick Duffy of Atlanta decided to <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-767203">re-create Michelangelo's fresco</a> "The Creation of Adam" for his cover photo. He combined an image of the famous painting with a photo he shot of one of his hands, putting himself in Adam's place. "I was resistant to (Timeline) at first," Duffy says, "but I've seen so many changes over the years in Facebook that I realize people are just resistant to change, we will get over it quickly. I have actually found great uses of the Timeline so far. ... It makes it easier to locate certain updates you made in the past or photos."

The (re)-creation of Adam —

Patrick Duffy of Atlanta decided to re-create Michelangelo's fresco "The Creation of Adam" for his cover photo. He combined an image of the famous painting with a photo he shot of one of his hands, putting himself in Adam's place. "I was resistant to (Timeline) at first," Duffy says, "but I've seen so many changes over the years in Facebook that I realize people are just resistant to change, we will get over it quickly. I have actually found great uses of the Timeline so far. ... It makes it easier to locate certain updates you made in the past or photos."

Scan it —

Lawson Hembree's cover photo is ever-changing -- because it's a QR code! Hembree, who lives in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, cleverly made his cover photo into a thought bubble extending from his profile picture, with the QR code inside the bubble. He links it to different content every week.

'Timeline within a Timeline' —

Marty McGuire's cover photo is his "Timeline within a Timeline." It's a series of images of him from childhood until the present day. He says he really likes the new format: "It's a digital scrapbook and makes it easier for me to browse past events." But the Allentown, Pennsylvania, resident says he's skeptical about one thing: "I wonder, though, if anyone browses my own Timeline, or just keeps up with me using the Newsfeed."

Timeline protest —

Andrew Grojean of Kirksville, Missouri, says he loves Timeline and switched to it as soon as it was available. But he knows a lot of people don't feel the same way. "So I tried to think of a way that people could protest the change without quitting Facebook. That's where my vintage or 'old school' cover photo design comes in," he says. Grojean styled his cover image to look exactly like his old profile. He says he was hoping to make other users do a double take.

Passport picture —

"I'm probably one of the few people who liked the Facebook Timeline immediately," says Antonio Fadda of Sassari, Italy. "Sure, at first sight it may look confusing, but it took me just a little to get used to it." The new square profile picture made him think of a passport photo, he says, so that's the theme he used for his cover photo.

Natalie Montanaro's cover photo is a little meta -- it's her standing in front of an <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-767322">illustration of Facebook's homepage</a> she spotted in Skopje, Macedonia. She says she liked the image because it "represented the basic idea of Facebook's creators, which was to exchange information across the miles." Montanaro isn't a big fan of Timeline, though; she says it makes it harder for her to see day-to-day updates. "Can you go back in time 54 years and recapture all that has happened in my life? I think not," she says of the new format.

Facebook illustration —

Natalie Montanaro's cover photo is a little meta -- it's her standing in front of an illustration of Facebook's homepage she spotted in Skopje, Macedonia. She says she liked the image because it "represented the basic idea of Facebook's creators, which was to exchange information across the miles." Montanaro isn't a big fan of Timeline, though; she says it makes it harder for her to see day-to-day updates. "Can you go back in time 54 years and recapture all that has happened in my life? I think not," she says of the new format.

Mini-resume —

As a designer, Jerome Vadon of Reykjavík, Iceland, wanted his Facebook profile to reflect the fact that he does more than just "make nice pictures." "I had to find a way to express the essence of what the design is for me, not only function and shape, but the sum of all the designer's background," he says. His cover photo serves as a sort of mini-resume, explaining what he does and linking to his about.me page. He also made his profile image spill over into his cover photo to "provide a predominant visual point" and show that he thinks "outside the box" (get it?).

Welcome mat —

"I believe the best way to get a strong friendship, is by making a great greeting," says Mustafa Al Shehri of Saudi Arabia. He designed his cover image as a bit of typography art that welcomes visitors to his Facebook page in many different ways. He created the image himself in Photoshop and says he was trying to "take the most advantage of this huge space."

Filmstrip —

Eduardo Calvo is a professional photographer so he wanted to use his cover photo to show off his skills. "I thought the lefthand side, showing the profile photo as a square, would perfectly fit a negative/slides strip," he says, so he visited an old-school photo booth to get some images. To complete the look, he used the right side of his cover photo to show off a great picture he took of some friends in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland -- the panoramic aspect ratio really fills out the space.

Behind the scenes —

Alfredo Tomaselli works at a Web agency in Milan, Italy. He says he and his colleagues all wanted to do something creative with their cover photos, so they decided to "describe our life in office, where we work the whole time together, but sometimes we want to punch and kick (each other)." Tomaselli combined his profile and cover photos so everyone could see him "kicking down my account manager Annalisa with great satisfaction."

Big events —

Niena Sevilla is the rare Facebook user who was a fan of Timeline from the beginning, and she likes it for more than just the large cover photo. "By uploading my certificates, images of my achievements and experiences on life events, I can reminisce(about) those exciting moments," she says. "What I love the most is the cover photo because just by looking at it, it tells everything about you!" Her cover photo is a collage of pictures of her parents and children. "It makes me feel closer to them," she says. And she's uploaded all kinds of important events (with photos) to her Timeline, such as her baptism and even the first CNN story in which she was mentioned.

Facebook Timeline draws love, hate ... and creativity

Story highlights

New Facebook layout features larger images, life events

Timeline fans and foes are using the new design to express themselves in creative ways

Take a look at some of our favorite profiles in the gallery above

See more creative Timelines on CNN iReport

CNN —

It’s one of the most polarizing issues among people today. It’s drawn online protests and immense frustration. And once you’ve formed an opinion about it, it’s hard to change your mind.

Nope, it’s not the 2012 election. It’s another Facebook redesign.

Facebook Timeline, currently rolling out to all users, is one of the biggest design changes in the site’s eight-year history. Timeline, an interface that encourages users to make Facebook a kind of online scrapbook of their lives, has been optional for all accounts since December.

Timeline features larger “wall” photos and a huge cover photo in addition to a profile picture, and it emphasizes major life events.

Timeline has plenty of naysayers, who say they think the new layout is confusing and reveals too much personal information. But among fans, the larger photos and ability to navigate events by year are some of the favorite features.

And they’re taking advantage of those features. The last time Facebook redesigned its profiles to include more photos, artists got creative, and they did it again again with Timeline.

Whatever your opinion of the new site, you’re sure to appreciate the imagination and originality of the Facebook users featured in the gallery above.