After doing a self-review of my recent web design work I noticed a few little things that I have been adding frequently into my designs without even really thinking about it.
1. Angled shadow
This is something I developed a few years ago to give an area some sense of depth while avoiding the cliche drop shadow tool. The angled shadow is actually something i custom make each time from the edge of an angled, blurred black box. It also gives the depth aspect in a much smaller space than the traditional shadow.
2. Rounded shadow
Another form of custom shadow I developed to give depth, but this one is usually to give the sense of a curved surface. Running this in combination with a reflection gradient on the actual layer help to make the layer feel like it has a slight bulge in the middle.
3. Arial
For about 5 years I refused to use Arial in body copy. I would go out of my way to change type to Tahoma or Verdana, but in the last 6 months or so it’s been all about Arial again. Don’t ask me why, but the kerning seems to be just right and the letter width keeps it easy to read blocks of text. I do go through text phases though, so I think i’m about due to change.
4. The pipe character
You see it around a lot more these days than you used to, but I love this guy |. Its a helpful divider in almost any context, and its part of almost every font. I use it a lot for menus, both in the main navigation and in the footer.
Well, there’s some of my signature moves. What are some of yours? Are there some things you do consistently without realizing it?