It is my belief that the Web 2.0 craze (as far as web design is concerned) is coming to a end, and if its not ending it should be. The styles and trends associated with that buzzword are getting old and way overused. I know I’m getting tired of them. That is why I minimize my gradients, drop shadows, and my cute little glossy icons in my work. Here is my list of certain practices that need to stop or be used sparingly:

Things that aren’t cool

- Gloss/shiny

- Reflections (good in some cases ie: The Lighthouse logo)

-Those stupid little glossy icons that say beta, or worse is when they say web 2.0 certified, I didn’t know you had to be certified : /

-Big rounded font, or big in general, I personally like things smaller

- Drop Shadows

-Stripes (this one is ok when used properly)

-Rounded corners - they are good but can be used too much

So what ideas behind “Web 2.0″ are good? Here is my list of things we should continue to do:

Things that are cool

-Simplicity

-Lots of whitespace

-CSS - no more tables

-Clean/minimalistic

Now I’m not saying you can never have a gradient or a drop shadow, all I’m saying is you should use it a bit more sparingly. It seems like an automatic thing now a days (for me too) to go right to the gradient option for ever image you create. Next time give the solid option a try it’s really not so bad. Use borders more often to give a sense of depth.

So what are some of my design practices? Well lately I have been going with the idea of, “The fewer images, the better”. I am finding my self using less images and more CSS. Which again goes back to gradients, if I make it solid then suddenly I don’t need to use a image. I just can use CSS, which is a lot easier and cleaner. Borders, they are another thing I find myself using. I think people need to take advantage of the ability to style the right, left, top, and bottom border individually. I don’t use rounded corners as much, once again this way I don’t need to make a image. I believe everyone develops their own personal style of designing and that changes as we get ideas and inspiration. Obviously design is subjective, and people like and dis-like different things. Still there are common trends that go around the web, then they get overused and new trends are created. So find some inspiration and start setting new trends.

This is just the beginning, there is more to come on this topic, but in the mean time feel free to post your design philosophy.

Update: Here is My Design Philosophy part two