Effective
Web Design

I’ve decided to make a list of 5 graphical disasters I most commonly see on web sites navigation’s, which don’t look ‘trendy’ at all.

The ugly bevel and emboss

I’m not a big fan when it comes to bevel and emboss; It looks quite ugly. However, if you do need to (or really want to) use the bevel and emboss on your buttons use it quite carefully or your page will begin to catch the pre’ 2000 look, which is bulky and ugly. Try to avoid bevel and emboss, though, if necessary use it sparingly

The massive curvature

Whilst viewing web sites I sometimes notice buttons with HUGE curvatures. It looks much more professional if there is a very small, yet noticeable curvature, as seen on the ‘do’ button. This may not apply all the time, though, in most cases stay far away from the massive curvature.

The huge drop shadow

The drop shadow has been used commonly with a lot of web 2.0 logos and buttons. The problem is when people decide to give their buttons a huge shadow as seen in the ‘don’t’ button. In the picture above the ‘do’ button looks normal and the drop shadow is just viewable creating a crisp natural button. However giving buttons a huge drop shadow takes away the crispiness and gives the button an unnatural look.

The color clash

Fortunately I rarely see this problem, yet, it’s one of the worse out there. Rainbows/spectrum’s look pretty in real life, but they have no place in web graphics. Try and stick with two main colors when creating your buttons. On the ‘do’ button it uses a dark blue and a lighter blue, giving it a smooth crisp effect.

The overriding glow

Glows can look very nice on a dark background, yet like with most layer styles it is important not to over use it. Though the don’t button may bring attention to it, it doesn’t look professional and in many cases be too distracting.

Overall it is important to try to not over use certain layer styles and keep it looking natural. Do all these and you’ve got yourself some very nice looking buttons.