Designer reference: Ten simple and easy to use design skills

Complex design techniques always take time and are really .... Complex (-_-). Advanced effects for the design of a lot of color, but if used incorrectly, will only affect the user focus on the content of attention. Advanced effects may just be the impact of a good design, but even so, there is a need for some simpler effects to work with.

Simple effects and techniques are the building blocks of today's design . For example, if you do not know how to choose the right color and text effects, what is the use of brilliant starlight effect ?

The spirit of "less is more" concept, Web teaching network for you selected 10 simple and easy to use design skills , they can greatly enhance the professionalism and appeal of your design.

Foundation first. Learn to walk before you learn to crawl, let us start with the concept of the most basic simple and effective design.

1. Increase the contrast

Unfortunately, adding extra contrast is one of the most overlooked and deprecated techniques.

Joost de Valk uses a fine, high-contrast sideline to make it easier for visitors to distinguish between different areas of the page. As you can see in the enlarged section of the above illustration, most of the time this contrast is just a 1-pixel highlight line next to the 1-pixel dark lines.

In other words, the "more" and "Go" buttons on this page are too small to be around, even if you are looking for them easily.

WordPress uses contrasting colors for the most popular link in the page, Download (download). This red color jumps out of the cold Gray page. But this red in the lightness aspect has the convergence, avoids affects the page overall effect.

If you hesitate to use contrast, consider this decision process as makeup. What you have to do is not get people to yell, "Look, contrasting colors!" "What you need is a natural attraction for them to focus on the important content of the page, highlighting the already existing emphasis."

2. Gradient

The development of technology provides a variety of tools to create gradients for all who want to use gradients. But is the gradient really good?

Every page in the Media Temple site uses gradients, but the moderation and subtlety of its gradual use is key to the success of the design. Logos, headlines, buttons, and backgrounds all have subtle or mirrored gradients to emphasize content. The most complex gradients are used for simple 120-pixel-wide buttons ("ACTIVATE" and "LEARN more" in subpages), as they are the focus of attention for visitors.

Commission Junction 's gradient usage is far less nuanced than media temple and uses a much richer gradient type:

1. Horizontal gradient from Black to gray, at the top of the page
2. Green radial gradient at the header
3. Fuzzy diagonal gradient above the "CJ" Flag of the landing box background
4. A faint vertical linear gradient in the background of the input box
5. Vertical gradient for navigation bar background
6. A bright linear gradient in Webinar ads
7. Another vertical linear weakening, used in a large heading

This design is a bit risky, and most of the gradients are useful, but there are still some problems. The most striking point is the loss of consistency in the design. As with the choice of a strong color combination, designers also need to select the appropriate gradient combinations for each project.

For example, a large horizontal gradient (1) directs the eye to gaze horizontally at the page. There is nothing wrong with this, but just below the gradient there is a radial gradient (2) that draws the line of sight to the center and a diagonal gradient (3) that directs the line of sight to the lower-right corner. This can be confusing to visitors, and the fluctuating visual stream (visual flow) also weakens readability.

When using gradients, it is important to ensure good visual flow: use gradients conservatively and delicately. The most important point is to use gradients only if they are helpful for the overall design .