Ancestry enables users to upload photographs and images of ancestors. These images then become portraits of the individuals on the graphical tree that Ancestry creates. I do not disagree that it is amazing to be able to find such photos other users have uploaded depicting your own ancestors and your more distant cousins.
However, most are left without photos, and it is rare that any photos (or indeed paintings) exist from before 1850. This leads to the majority of ancestors' portraits remaining the default blue/pink silhouettes. On viewing a tree, that means a huge amount of screen real-estate is taken up by wasted space; even the value of signifying a male or female via colour is debatable, considering names usually make that obvious, and position on the tree or pedigree (males to the left/above, females to the right/below) easily confirms it.
Instead, a number of users have taken to using this portrait space to display more useful graphics, denoting an individual's birthplace or verified DNA links. However, it seems that the fields of genealogy and graphic design do not have a huge intersection.
We are often presented with pictures of village churches, which being built to a similar aesthetic are likely indistinguishable from the next unless the user resides in the county or has come across them before.
Sometimes, a picture of a family crest may have been used; anyone with even a rudimentary interest in heraldry will know that just because a surname is the same as an historic noble house, individuals with that name are not eligible to use the coat of arms unless they can prove titular descent. More often than not, there isn't even proof of descent from that noble house at all.
Finally, with DNA matching now a popular means of family tree expansion, some users mark individuals with a graphic of a double-helix. I'm sure the uploader understands its relevance, but it's of limited use to other genealogists reviewing their trees for research.
To that end, I have put together some graphics that quantify a DNA link and illustrate both country and region of birth, whilst maintaining clarity and showing beautiful heraldic arms. Hopefully, they will also provide a little rewarding education for genealogists who may be familiar with some, but not all, provincial emblems (whether that be county, state, or province).
The example below is appropriate for DNA relations in Kent, UK. The green double-helix represents an individual who has matching DNA, the blue represents a common direct ancestor, and the yellow represents an individual who is a familial (and more than likely) DNA link between those.
These graphics have been made by re-styling and formatting existing illustrations and compiling them for use in this way. They are free for genealogists' personal use in their own trees should they desire. A full library of those I have completed so far can be found on the site here. If you can't find what you need, please don't hesitate to make a request to me directly.
Here is a portion of my own tree for which I have implemented said graphics. The green DNA symbols represent individuals with DNA tests uploaded online. Myself in the bottom-right, my mother, a paternal aunt and a second-cousin. My late father is a yellow link, as we share no other common DNA descendants. My paternal grandfather is a blue link, father's half-brother is on the site (though not on this graphic). His parents are also blue links as they are common ancestors of my paternal aunt and second cousin. Three of my father's uncles are yellow links as they are not my direct ancestors, but they exist on the path to other green links.
All individuals linked by DNA here were born in the UK, so the UK flag is present in the lower-left of each image. The heraldry is the crest of the historic county that they were born in - my maternal side shows mainly Middlesex and Essex; my paternal side shows mainly Kent.
Switching this to pedigree view shows the extent of the paternal line's deep origins in Kent.
Perhaps the most useful at-a-glance observation is that I haven't confirmed DNA links to one set of great-grandparents. This shows how this use of graphics can help the genealogist easily understand where they should focus with their research.
From the records, I was sure that I had been able to describe my Archer/Macey lineage back many generations. However, without any DNA links at all, the situation bears deeper investigation. I would start by looking at the largest so-far unidentified cluster of DNA matches and see if I can link them by name or by location to my paternal grandmother and her parents and if not, attempt to understand adoption or illegitimacy.
Similarly, this graphical representation will make it clear where best to focus investigation as Elder's tree develops.
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