Fresh from the fat farm to talk about reducing the size of your web graphics is our resident graphics guru, me. This Nugget O Knowledge will help you to reduce the size or your graphics using both PhotoShop and GraphicConverter. Smaller is better whether you are talking about a hypodermic needle, a pill, a gunshot wound or a cool graphic.
Nothing blows greasier chunks than a long wait for a huge graphic.
Class envy is beyond the focus of this exercise and best left to liberal politics. What is important is to realize that the bulk of your audience will not have the swiftest of connections. A word about file formats first. Use GIFs or JPEGs. These are best for bitmapped graphics like banners or other simple graphics with a lot of color blocks.