Only when the design fails does it draw attention to itself; when it succeeds, it’s invisible.
John D. Berry
This blog post is a quick look at some of the more recent trends that are appearing in web design. Some of these trends have been around for a number of years while others have emerged in more recent times.
The Oldies
Rounded edges
Pretty much self-explanatory, rounded edges were one of the earlier elements of so called web 2.0 design. Large rounded edges can give a friendly cartoonish feel to a design. The Thomas and Friends image below demonstrates this example well.
Rounded edges with a lower pixel radius help retain the elegant look of a design without making it look ‘corporate’.
(Subtle use of) Shadows
When used correctly (read subtly) drop shadows give objects a sense of depth. When used poorly with an overly dark shadow or inconsistent lighting angle they can make an object look like it’s got a bad smell hanging round it.
Drop shadows can also give light coloured text a little more pop.
Reflective Surfaces / The Polished Floor Effect
I love reflective / surfaces when they have been well executed. I think they work especially well in a clean and simple design to give it that extra polish, (pun intended) and also some depth. A great example of a website that uses the polished floor look well is apple.com. This look and feel is in line with apple’s philosophy, clean, elegant and ever functional.
Greenhouse Games, (http://www.greenhousegames.vic.gov.au) recently developed by IE for Sustainability Victoria also uses this effect on the homepage of the site.
Some Recent Trends
Letterpress / Emboss Effect
One site where I saw this effect used quite impressively was on the personal site of Romanian web designer Alex Buga (http://www.alexbuga.com/v8/ ). The large fonts with and “punched in” text effect give the design a tactile feel.
Interestingly Adobe also use the letterpress effect on their startup screens for Creative Suite 4.
Huge Type
Huge typography is a growing trend in web design circles. Fonts of 80px and above are used , usually in the form of an introductory statement…
..or in the case of a portfolio site a blurb a blurb about its owner.
In my next blog post I’ll be taking a look at some other design effects being used in modern website design.
