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JS libraries can give designers an easy way to implement animation effects and interactivity into their design and, if you’re the braver kind of web designer, Ajax utilities and dynamic manipulation of markup. I mention jQuery here because it’s my front-end web development/Ajax JavaScript library of choice and because it’s known to be friendly to web designers - however, there are loads of other JavaScript libraries such as MooTools, YUI, and Dojo that are equally up for the task. Learn jQuery for Additional Functionality The soft glow at the top center of the homepage is a good additional detail as well. These subtle shadows are wonderful ways to add small details. Slight shadows can be found everywhere on the site: on the content edging, headlines, dividing lines, and so forth.
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This site is subtle in colors, but still powerful and loaded with details. The halftone dotted pattern can be seen throughout the site, not only showing consistency, but also the impression that the designer pays attention to the details. The navigation banner has plenty of details including unique dividing lines, a wrap-around ribbon with depth, and extra lines at the top and bottom that complete the look. This site design shows great personality through lots of textures, bright colors, and great typography. Unique icons and other small details make this design really shine. Small shadows can be seen in a bunch of places if you look closely, as well as hairline highlights too. The shadows behind the large website thumbnails in the middle are also nice for creating depth as well. The banner behind the F6 logo at the upper left corner of the layout has a slight shadow, creating depth and drawing attention through distinction. This site rocks with lots of small details that contribute to an overall great design. Here are three good examples of web designs that delve into the details. These small touches don’t need to be in your face to be powerful and effective details can include a hairline stroke for additional depth, a faint gradient for more interesting surfaces, small icons for added visual appeal as well as to aid visual cognition, and so forth. If you look at most beautifully designed websites, you’ll notice that they are often set apart not because of big things, but the little details that let you know the designer took great care and attention of even the smallest of things. Here are just a handful of ideas you can consider if you’d like to take your web designs the next level. What else can you do to take your web designs to the next level? As you become more proficient in your craft, you start to learn techniques that are more advanced, and you begin to implement bigger and better things in your work until you reach a point where you feel pretty comfortable to step outside the bounds of the ordinary. When you start out as a web designer, you do all you can to grasp the basic design principles so that you have a solid foundation to start your journey on.
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