digg

Join DiggAbout

The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.

See the original image at justcreativedesign.com —

7 Most Overused Techniques & Elements Used In Graphic Design

justcreativedesign.com — Is all design looking the same too you? Are you following graphic design trends subconsciously?

show profanity settings
expand all
  • YoctoYotta, on 09/08/2008, -3/+14It's like the late 60's and early 70's all over again, except computer-aided. Smoke textures and ink blots are lame though, those are actually trends?
    • WebmasterNeal, on 09/09/2008, -0/+8Or the smiling customer server girl with headset on:

      http://www.huebsch.com/files/images/support/home/s ...
      http://www.lakeland.edu/livechat/images/livechat.j ...
      • sasper, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1The stock images look like they are going to be in another article on justcreativedesign.com. Good call though!
      • crossmr, on 09/10/2008, -0/+2I think the better one is the girl or guy who is freaking out because they're so excited. Usually for some horrible semi-malware site or something of that nature. "unlimited bittorent downloads only $70/month" and then there is some token black guy off to the side who is so excited you're not sure if he's blown it in his pants..
    • RichardSwingman, on 09/18/2008, -0/+0he actualy mentioned almost all of design fundamentals...

      swirls, flowing lines, funky circles, smoke textures?

      those are not trends
  • joshuawest, on 09/09/2008, -5/+16People silhouettes. Just slightly better than the smiling-white-people-shaking-hands stock that's been beaten to death on unimaginative websites everywhere!

    Leave my sunrays alone :)
    • ch33sehead, on 09/10/2008, -0/+2I love how the silhouette example has sunrays as well.
    • 4thddev, on 10/03/2008, -0/+0I'll second the smiling white people comment! I work on corporate designs, and getting the managers away from the stock images of "people in suits leaning over desks" is incredibly hard.
  • jimmaculate, on 09/09/2008, -2/+3yeah, we've definitely had a lot of flowing lines in stuff. I could actually handle more smoky images in designs though.
  • booUSA, on 09/09/2008, -8/+23wtf. some "designer" telling me not to use "funky circles"? where the feck does he get off?!
    • JustCreative, on 09/09/2008, -2/+6Where does it say not to use any of these design elements?
    • pitchaikovsky, on 09/09/2008, -1/+5Yeah booUSA, he's not saying you can't, just this is the most used, overused elements and techniques that he's seen thus far in the industry. We aren't saying you can't. Use them, don't use them, what do we care, it's your design.
    • punkcat, on 09/09/2008, -0/+52i'm using all 7 in one design now. should be killer.
    • artfiend77, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1I think boo was just kidding.

      That being said, I love my swirls / flourishes / ornaments!

      Timeless I say!
    • clsslc, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1"wtf" "feck"

      Hey, watch it with all the GRAPHIC language!
    • 4thddev, on 10/03/2008, -0/+0How about font only logos with different colors... Oh wait, where did I just see that?
  • unco, on 09/09/2008, -8/+15not to mention grids.. damn grids.. lots of people using those.. and then theres all those designs that don't use grids.. damn them too
    • banmeagaindigg, on 09/09/2008, -11/+3are you retarded? Grids are an essential building block of close to all well done print work. (and web work)
      • danmarek, on 09/09/2008, -0/+11are you retarded? he was making a joke.
      • iericg, on 09/09/2008, -1/+1Yeah we need a sarcasm tag for html comments : )
    • xlax1814, on 09/10/2008, -1/+0Grids are timeless, and if over used it doesn't matter, most amateur design doesn't use a girl and you can tell, things that use a grid seem organized and well ordered. I wouldn't mention a gird in this article because the fact that they are not trends, they are for the most part basic building blocks of graphic design, like typography and color.
      • iamtrist, on 09/13/2008, -0/+2I don't like the word 'gird'. BTW I know plenty of armature designers who use girls.
  • jeffclark, on 09/09/2008, -4/+4The issue is that they're all pretty easy effects to do.

    With the ability to create a website or blog or whatever becoming increasingly easier, lots of people that have had "a" class in graphic design or a cracked copy of Photoshop 6 (thank you, Y2K) are able to do these simple effects and post them around their terrible blog content and and Twitter spams.
  • Doomsan, on 09/09/2008, -3/+31aaaaaaaand it's down.
  • Manifesto420, on 09/09/2008, -4/+5the link is dead - anyone have a copy?
  • zerhynn, on 09/09/2008, -1/+12It's down so I can't tell, but I really hope it brings up how Papyrus is a font that needs to keel over and die. It doesn't even look good, graphic designers.
    • wanderingsun, on 09/09/2008, -1/+10I think most designers are aware of that, at this point.

      The people who still use it are too cheap to hire real designers.
    • bunneh, on 09/09/2008, -1/+1I don't like when people use standard recognizable fonts in graphic design. There's a lot of bead shops and daycare places around here with that jokerman font for their signs.
      • artfiend77, on 09/09/2008, -0/+3Curlz FTL!
      • danmarek, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1I think the problem isn't using recognizable fonts, but poorly designed recognizable fonts. I see Futura and Helvetica everywhere, but they are shining examples of sans serif fonts. Papyrus and the standard script fonts that come on most computers (Edwardian Script, Dakota Handwriting, etc.) quickly age and look bad.
    • seantubridy, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1But then what font will I use for the tea shop I'm opening?
  • seantubridy, on 09/09/2008, -3/+80Server error pages are TOTALLY overused in graphic design.
  • mikephimikephi, on 09/09/2008, -4/+2That 'more information' dropdown isn't very informative
  • dalectrics, on 09/09/2008, -3/+61I concur, 404s are far too overused nowadays
  • sunilvarma, on 09/09/2008, -2/+1used is overused!
  • bradkovach, on 09/09/2008, -9/+2http://duggmirror.com
    • juliohm, on 09/09/2008, -0/+7duggmirror got dugg?
      can't view it :(
  • Sommerlost, on 09/09/2008, -3/+3there is a time and a place for everything.
    • banmeagaindigg, on 09/09/2008, -4/+2...and its called college.
      • bindermichi, on 09/09/2008, -2/+4No, that's just a place for drugs & alcohol... in that order
      • Frozo, on 09/09/2008, -2/+5Your mom goes to college.
  • mrpatrickg, on 09/09/2008, -0/+20I guess this is the "i do that exact same thing, but lets hate on it anyways, because then it will seem like im better than they are". convention?

    Its design, you cant be wrong. Excuse the world for liking something harmoniously.
    • banmeagaindigg, on 09/09/2008, -11/+0uh im sorry to say but yes you can be wrong. If there is no reason or direction for using a technique why is it there? It detracts from the design and therefore it weakens it.

      How are those thick black framed glasses treating you? Trendy enough? Are you a C.D. yet?
    • Synapsid, on 09/09/2008, -1/+7Wow you are personally attacking someone just because they have an opinion. GTFO
    • JibberGeorge, on 09/09/2008, -3/+10I agree DESIGN SNOBS really turn me off when I am looking for a designer or even worse, trying to learn something myself.

      Get over yourself please.

      And guess what, these so called overused or unacceptable design practices you speak of look good to everyone who is NOT a designer. A.K.A The target audience of the design.

      SUMMARY: No one cares what you think.
      • danmarek, on 09/09/2008, -1/+3I think his blog was targeting designers, not random everyday people on digg.
    • cyberwiz01, on 09/09/2008, -1/+3I think you're confusing art and design. In art, you can't really be wrong. It's all subjective. But in design there are things that work and things that don't work. I like to say design is applied-art. It has to be functional above all else. Design has to accomplish something. If the styling you use detracts from your purpose, then it's not good design.
      • xlax1814, on 09/10/2008, -0/+1I agree 100% with you. Many people think that design is art.

        yeah, i have nothing to say other than i agree with you.
    • Swerengen, on 10/01/2008, -0/+0Bring back MARQUEE
  • Gargoyle, on 09/09/2008, -2/+11Buried because your server can't take the load!

  • PrometheusZero, on 09/09/2008, -1/+10It's like lens flare all over again!
  • JustCreative, on 09/09/2008, -2/+44Sorry everyone for the site being down. I upgraded servers just last week to semi dedicated and it still can't handle the traffic to all the pages. Virtual Private Server I think is on the way.

    If you subscribe to the RSS feed you will be able to read a copy of the article in an RSS reader.
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/justcreativedesignblog

    • Mtbeaver, on 09/09/2008, -15/+2excuses
      • gdehms, on 09/09/2008, -1/+8At least he's trying?
      • elementop, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1...said someone who has never created a web page interesting enough to suffer the digg effect.
    • seraphisset, on 09/09/2008, -1/+4I appreciate the workaround!
    • rollerz, on 09/09/2008, -9/+4Thanks for baiting diggers into subscribing to your RSS feed to boost your readership numbers.
    • seantubridy, on 09/09/2008, -2/+9I think that it's pretty cool that you had the guts to come on here and address the issue about your server. I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that. If you find a good host and a plan that works, let us know. I think it's hard to find a decent server that can survive the digg effect without spending a fortune. I joked about server error pages but I don't think mine would survive either...
      • JustCreative, on 09/10/2008, -1/+1Jacob (another one) runs sixrevisions.com and his articles are always on digg so I asked him what he used, this is what he replied:

        This is the 10th time I've been asked this recently, haha. I host with Slicehost: http://www.slicehost.com/

        It's a self-managed VPS. They give you a "slice" and you select the Linux distro you want to use and the rest you have to configure yourself. I recommend them for reliability, uptime, and quality of service. The community is great - I always say "It's more than a hosting service, it's a community of geeks with a passion for web hosting and systems administration". But they're not for everyone.

        If you want to learn it or have an interest on server management and maintenance, you'll love Slicehost. I would have to say that setting up my VPS is one of the best, most fullfilling and funnest experience I've had. I do - however have a developer background - and have experience with WIMP and LAMP servers before Slicehost.


        I would stay away from A Small Orange. If you want user-friendliness and uptime - try Mosso (but I calculated it and with my amount of traffic it would cost me around 300-500 dollars a month in exess bandwidth). I've moved 4 times in a little less than 8 months Media Temple (crashes - was slow even during peak times, and had server maintenance at least once a week) > A Small Orange (stay away from them) > Mosso (too expensive) > finally and forever in Slicehost.

    • flashingcurser, on 09/09/2008, -1/+1OpenVZ?
    • hahahafr, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1ovh european dedicated server for 19.99€/mo ftw.
  • pathouston22, on 09/09/2008, -7/+3THIS

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mJYtE-fBF4

    Cliche and trend riddled graphic Superbowl Intro. Was very dissapointed, any fool can make a grunge intro like that.
    • neoneddy, on 09/09/2008, -3/+4Really, have you ever tried? Countless hours in Aftereffects, 3D App of choice, photoshop, Editor of Choice, and countless hours of the creative director tweaking it.

      Any fool? No, sorry. I'll give that it is a formula and has been over played, but speaking from experience, that was done by no fool.
      • pathouston22, on 09/09/2008, -1/+3Actually, yes I've done stuff like that. Sure it takes a long time to do, but in the end its realtively simple to make using a lot of stock footage of paint splatters, "evolution", texturizing, and rotoscoping out the players.
      • banmeagaindigg, on 09/09/2008, -5/+5oh yeah lets see it. Im ***** calling you out. Lets see it. I do this professionally for broadcast and would love to see someone saying its 'easy' to do this.
      • pathouston22, on 09/09/2008, -5/+2I don't have to prove anything. If you do After Effects, you should know how realitively easy it is to import grunge textures, ink splatter animations, some evolutions, then throw it all together into a 3d field in AE. Espesially with it being mostly black and white with a few color overlays.

        Now there are some other elements in that video that are more difficult to do, but a lot of it is easy stock footage. Those are the parts I am referring to.

        I'm not linking to my website/demo reel anyways on Digg as it has my private contact info.
      • RobotLeAwesome, on 09/09/2008, -2/+2I admit it's not the most original thing in the world, but I think you're underestimating how much time was put into it.
      • SlpingInsomniac, on 09/09/2008, -1/+2neoneddy never said anything about time.
    • banmeagaindigg, on 09/09/2008, -3/+1LOL no you cant, lets see your motion work.
    • Cronofiend, on 09/09/2008, -0/+3I don't think any fool could make that. Riddled with design cliches sure, but it had some serious production value.

      On a side note, WTF is the obsession with Space Invaders?
      • neoneddy, on 09/09/2008, -2/+1I would be worried if one was not obsessed with some awesome 80's arcade game.
      • RobotLeAwesome, on 09/09/2008, -2/+1Man, has anyone played Space Invaders Extreme on the DS? a bit over-the-top, but still quite epic.
      • saisumimen, on 09/10/2008, -0/+1Dugg down for inappropriate use of the word "epic".
    • stretta, on 09/09/2008, -1/+4That was full of after effects cliches, but it was well-done. Also, keep in mind that the life-cycle of innovation-trend-cliche is much shorter in today's internet-enabled random-access world where everyone is a consumer, content-creator and media critic.
    • pradvan, on 09/09/2008, -2/+2It might be a cliche but it's a very well done intro. All you haters need to STFU
    • eternalsnows, on 09/09/2008, -2/+3That was incredibly well-done! Cliché perhaps, but the execution was stunning.
  • JustCreative, on 09/09/2008, -9/+5Mirror Here Without Images: http://feeds.feedburner.com/justcreativedesignblog
  • gdehms, on 09/09/2008, -0/+371. Sunrays / Rays of Light / Rising Sun

    By far the most overused technique used in design today is the infamous rays of light usually found tucked away in the background of a design or at the very forefront of the design such as in the picture above.

    2. Black (or Coloured) Silhouettes

    Vectorised silhouettes of people and other objects is definitely second on the list. Made famous by the iPod campaign this technique can now be seen everywhere. Notice the combination of the sun rays and black silhouettes?

    3. Ink Splatter

    Closely contending with number 4, ink splatters are everywhere. Ink Splatters do add a cool / trendy look to a design and they do blend well with grunge style designs however ink splatters should be used in moderation.

    4. Swirls / Flourishes / Ornaments

    Swirls seem to be all the rage at the moment as they are quite appealing and generally just nice to look at. Flourishes & ornaments go well together to create organic, fresh designs which is quite ‘in’ at the moment.

    5. Flowing Lines

    Flowing lines generally add motion and fluidity to a design which gives it a certain emotion when combined with other elements (ie. funky circles as seen above) which is generally why they come up so often.

    6. Funky Circles

    The funky circle colour combo is evident in numerous designs across the web and like the name suggests it does give a design a quite funky look however they are being used everywhere!

    7. Smoke Textures

    These smoky effects are not as blatantly obvious as the other ones as they are always in the background of a design however if you look a bit closer, these smoky effects are everywhere.
  • Spankus, on 09/09/2008, -1/+13This describes most of those crappy graphic t-shirts that every store is carrying
    • MACaroni, on 09/09/2008, -3/+5amen
      • h3lx, on 09/09/2008, -1/+2If I had my way, single vectored character about 5" in the middle of the shirt. I color opaque... no coat of arms crap, no skulls, no distress, just a single letter kinda in the middle. No underprint, no flash. No specialty inks. It'd be beautiful. We could run 10,000 pieces an hour and everyone would be happy.

        So if you see ***** like this, buy it up. We have the power to change these trends into something more printer friendly.
  • falkonv7l, on 09/09/2008, -0/+52If it sells, then I am going to use it.
    • jcook793, on 09/09/2008, -4/+18Heroin sells
    • statrick, on 09/09/2008, -0/+17thats how i feel, i went to school to learn all this ***** that is irrelevant when actually pleasing the general public. the world looks the way it does because there are a bunch of non-artistic people over riding the ideas of the artist.

      this happen to almost every artist getting paid to make art.
      you wouldn't believe some of the crap people want me to add to the designs i do for them.



    • gobbstopp, on 09/09/2008, -0/+11you hit the nail on the head. they're overused, not because the designers are all unimaginitive, it's because after 3rd and 4th drafts, the client has begun to specify what exactly they want. and if they have been subconsciously affected by these over-used elements, thats what they're gonna expect in their product/design. no designer with a few projects running is going to be as creative as possible to start a job when he or she knows that the client just wants what everybody else wants; it's a waste of time and energy. we save the flair for our personal stuff, which is what ends up sticking out among the BS, featured on designer sites, or digg.

      well, all this, and there are lots of unimaginitive designers everywhere, just like any profession.

    • dafragsta, on 09/09/2008, -1/+7Clients WANT this *****. I spent the last year trying to work in some more creative elements, but clients want what is proven to be popular for obvious reasons. If you want to break new ground, you have to do it on your website or the client has to be willing to experiment and many are not.

      I also personally dig the fact that our point in time will be marked by acceptably pleasing aesthetics akin to Art Deco of the 30s and 40s and the fins and diner look of the 1950s. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the look of the era.
  • freezerburn666, on 09/09/2008, -1/+2i'd sure like to see these images. blah.
  • walkingcrow, on 09/09/2008, -0/+7So where it the list on up and coming good under used techniques?
    • GalacticRerun, on 09/09/2008, -1/+1You'd like that wouldn't you. So you could overuse it on t-shirts and everything else. You cad.
  • maninalift, on 09/09/2008, -0/+26Reflections?
    • aceslick911, on 09/09/2008, -1/+5i agree.. these seem to be slightly older trends..

      the more 'courageous' designers are going with reflections galore...

      :( im a little guilty anchorwall.com.au
      • adkenc, on 09/09/2008, -1/+1i think they might have been looking for an alternate way to say"mirror?". not sure.
      • sloppychris, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2Good design. I would ditch the reflection on the map, but keep the others.
      • erikcunningham, on 09/11/2008, -0/+2For sure.
    • Hoofd, on 09/10/2008, -0/+1Reflections on black. I remember seeing those somewhere...
  • kierucom, on 09/09/2008, -0/+13I can just imagine what will happen now...

    Designer: "No Mr. Client, I will not use the ornaments that you have requested because in fact, they are an overused aspect of design that is more and more becoming kitsch."

    Client: "Well if that's how you feel about it Designer, we'll just go to your competitor. They don't seem to have a problem with complying to our requests."

    Boss: "You're fired, you half-wit."
    • newbill123, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1You don't even have to have to be fighting about "good" design. The same argument about "trapped white space" will result in the same problems. The client wants something that you know will look ugly before its actually done.

      But if one advice attempt fails to change their mind, you document it so that when you give them the finished work they can see that it's exactly what they asked for.
    • rkiga, on 09/09/2008, -0/+4you can either educate your client, or bite your tongue and produce more of the same. if anywhere in your conversations with the client they say they want something original, then all you have to do is save a bunch of pictures showing how cliche what they want has become. they should get the picture, and if they don't, well that's your fault.

      my friend is opening a restaurant and he wanted me to make a fancy all-flash website for him with an intro movie, lots of motion, and music in the background. i told him what the problems are with that dealing with search engines, but that if that's what he wanted, it could be done. he changed his mind and now wants a very simple site, with an emphasis on it looking "clean".
  • JustCreative, on 09/09/2008, -3/+25PICTURE HERE: http://img153.imageshack.us/my.php?image=overusedu ...

    Here is the Full Article:
    Is all design looking the same too you? Are you following graphic design trends subconsciously?

    These are two questions to ponder over the next six weeks in this six part series showcasing the most overused techniques, effects, icons, shapes, concepts, fonts, stock images and clichés used in design today.

    There will be an article posted every Tuesday at 9am AEST. (+10 GMT). Click here to subscribe so you do not miss out.
    The Six Part Series

    * Top 7 Most Overused Techniques & Elements Used in Graphic Design
    * Top 7 Most Overused Icons / Shapes Used in Graphic Design
    * Top 7 Most Overused Concepts Used in Graphic & Web Design
    * Top 7 Most Overused Fonts Used In Graphic Design
    * Top 7 Most Overused Stock Images Used in Web Design
    * Top 7 Most Overused Clichés In Logo Design

    Below is the first article of six.
    Top 7 Most Overused Techniques & Elements Used in Graphic Design

    Whenever you look for inspiration, you are bound to come across at least one of these techniques / effects / elements. These effects are neither “good or bad” however they are the most common elements found in today’s designs.

    Stock images have been used to portray each element. On that note of stock, there was a great discussion about the use of stock art over at GoMediaZine.
    1. Sunrays / Rays of Light / Rising Sun

    Sunrays

    By far the most overused technique used in design today is the infamous rays of light usually found tucked away in the background of a design or at the very forefront of the design such as in the picture above.
    2. Black (or Coloured) Silhouettes

    Silhouttes

    Vectorised silhouettes of people and other objects is definitely second on the list. Made famous by the iPod campaign this technique can now be seen everywhere. Notice the combination of the sun rays and black silhouettes?
    3. Ink Splatter

    Ink Splatter

    Closely contending with number 4, ink splatters are everywhere. Ink Splatters do add a cool / trendy look to a design and they do blend well with grunge style designs however ink splatters should be used in moderation.
    4. Swirls / Flourishes / Ornaments

    Swirls

    Swirls seem to be all the rage at the moment as they are quite appealing and generally just nice to look at. Flourishes & ornaments go well together to create organic, fresh designs which is quite ‘in’ at the moment.
    5. Flowing Lines

    Flowing Lines

    Flowing lines generally add motion and fluidity to a design which gives it a certain emotion when combined with other elements (ie. funky circles as seen above) which is generally why they come up so often.
    6. Funky Circles

    Funky Circles

    The funky circle colour combo is evident in numerous designs across the web and like the name suggests it does give a design a quite funky look however they are being used everywhere!
    7. Smoke Textures

    Smoke

    These smoky effects are not as blatantly obvious as the other ones as they are always in the background of a design however if you look a bit closer, these smoky effects are everywhere.

    Subscribe to our feed so you do not miss out on the next article in this 6 part series.

    Is design looking more and more the same? Why? Is it because of stock art? Do you think the elements above are being overused? Voice your opinions below.

    • charm803, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2Thanks. I just couldn't picture it without visuals.


  • trixterIreland, on 09/09/2008, -3/+6mirrors
    http://www.duggback.com/design/7_Most_Overused_Tec ...
    http://duggmirror.com/design/7_Most_Overused_Techn ...
  • h3lx, on 09/09/2008, -0/+10Everything on that list clients and customers like and until a client comes to me with something else in mind, I'm going to continue to shove that ***** till the cows come home. It's a trend for a reason.
  • davideparker, on 09/09/2008, -7/+2OH MY GOD! A BROKEN LINK ON DIGG! EVERYBODY PANIC!
  • RobotLeAwesome, on 09/09/2008, -1/+7Some of that stuff is already outdated – and as much as I agree with many of those, the sunburst/rising sun is ***** awesome when used properly.
  • scotchegg78, on 09/09/2008, -0/+7Someone want to do a list of new cutting edge styles then?

    I am sure not to long ago a list with these on it would of been made and called
    "7 Graphic Design styles every designer MUST Know...."
  • rsh28630, on 09/09/2008, -0/+9The really burned out graphic technique is text reflected as if upright before a shiny/liquid surface. Yes, I know Apple did it and it was "cool" the first time... but it's now such a cliché (similar to the use of orange) that it screams mentally crippled creative department.
  • WoollyMittens, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1I know they're very useful and all, but I see those light-box layer pop-ups far too much. It's like they all come from the same example that proved too difficult to restyle.
  • AsianDDRManiac, on 09/09/2008, -0/+4I want to see where these smoky effects are, I don't recall seeing them... anywhere. This is not to say that they aren't used, but they can hardly be "Overused".

    I just started using those rays of light and didn't realize they were everywhere until this :( gotta step back a sec and clear my subconscious. hahaha
  • Frozo, on 09/09/2008, -2/+3Meh, this guys no genius. All you have to do is look through iStockPhoto.com for 2 freaking minutes to see that everyone is copying each other. I'll tell you though, some of these ideas are quick problem-solving techniques that will get your work done sooner. As long as it jives with the target audience, Im going to be saving money sticking with the pack. Moving from mainstream design is saved for when it's truly needed.
  • bigteebo, on 09/09/2008, -1/+6I kind of like the most overused elements in early 1980s graphic design:

    glowing text
    "digital" looking text
    3-D text coming right atcha!
    blocky letters
    venetian blinds
    things at 45 degree angles
    The ever-so-common Yellow-Orange-Red racing stripes
    Rounded-corner rectangles with text/pictures inside

    Looking at the TFA's picture, looks like a few of those trends came back.
    • one2gamble, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2and we should bring back more of them, maybe hypercolor sites that start to change color under server load!
  • sonofa, on 09/09/2008, -1/+26What about these overused design elements:
    Line--- Line is the path of a moving point. Lines define the edges of shapes and forms. This is probably the most overused element EVER!!
    Color--- Color is the most expressive element of art and is seen by the way light reflects off a surface. Totally overused!
    Shape--- Shape is an area enclosed by line. It is 2 dimensional and can be geometric or organic. These are so trendy!
    Form--- Forms are 3-Dimensional. They occupy space or give the illusion that they occupy the space. Oh come on people, get over this overused element!
    Value---Value is the lightness or darkness of a surface. It is often referred to when shading but value is also important in the study of color. Again, overdone.
    Size--- An artist uses large size to make things appear near and of greater importance, and small size to make things appear far away or less important. Used everywhere!

    • Anders, on 09/09/2008, -0/+3rofl

      your sarcasm rivals mine

      +1
      • joe122370, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1and your sarcasm rivals my sarcasm, which actually trumps the previous sarcasm
  • FredFredrickson, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1Well I agree with this - I'm a designer, and I find myself subconsciously following trends at times. Real creativity comes when you recognize this and make an effort to step away from it and do your own thing.
  • AzAkers, on 09/09/2008, -1/+3Heh - everybody's a comedian :P

    @Jacob - As always it was a decent article despite the yuk-yuk hilarity of the Digg peanut gallery :P

    However, I WAS surprised when I didn't see the 'surface reflection' or 'grunge' techniques listed - positioning logos, text and images over a "reflective" surface appears to be all the rage lately - and apparently if your design is lame, all one needs to do is rough it up with some grunge brushes and then call it "distressed" and viola - it's unique and 'beautiful' - heh

    Looking forward to the series!
    • JustCreative, on 09/10/2008, -0/+1Oh well, different crowds bring in different responses. It is always good getting different types of feedback as you get to look at your article in two lights which you don't normally get.

      Grunge is more a style I suppose and reflective surfaces I could have added also.
  • robgarbo, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2Most overused device to boost your blog views.
    LISTS!

  • datajohnson, on 09/09/2008, -0/+37 Most Overused Techniques of Blog Writing

    1. Writing Top 10 Lists
    2. Writing Top 100 Lists
    3. Writing Top 7 Lists
    .....
  • exeprime, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1Dugg for cool site owner who takes the time to interact with diggers.
  • politicalmonstr, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1Dugg because I managed to catch it before the site died :D
  • soopertoll, on 09/09/2008, -1/+2OMG!

    COMBINE THEM AND YOU CAN SEE THE SECRET MESSAGE!

    http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=woooorklo ...
  • tamacurtis, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1I'd like to add drop shadows to the list please. They're everywhere, even when they're not necessary!
  • hendrixlives64, on 09/09/2008, -1/+1wow circles and flowing lines are passe....

    *****
  • thugzilla, on 09/09/2008, -0/+2Sweet! I don't use any of those!

    Oh gawd does that mean I'm out of touch?
    I lose either way. Story of my life. Stupid graphic design.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 65 of 65 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.