With the build up to the festive season already under way and many Christmas lights  being switched on in cities and towns all over the world, it is no wonder that lighting effects have crossed over to design and are playing a big part in current web design trends.

Lighting effects within web design come in a variety of different forms, from creating subtle shadows and dim glows that produce a peaceful tranquil mood to multi coloured and faceted light rays that give across an energetic mood. More and more websites are utilising these lighting effects to give websites a dimensional interest, coming away from flat designs that can often look bland and seem uninteresting.

Visually, employing light and shadow effects enables us to better understand and relate to what we see on screen by creating texture, aspect and perspective. Therefore we are able to make web pages appear more natural, existent and intuitive by utilising these effects which in turn makes the design  stand out on screen creating a true sense of depth, layers and realism.

These lighting effects can create interest to areas on a page that are seen to be more important. By highlighting specific aspects within a web page with lighting, you can subtly draw the viewers eye around the page, guiding them to the parts of information that you desire. Creating these prominent areas not only gives interest to the page but give the page a defined purpose.

With all these reasons and plenty more, it’s no wonder that lighting effects are playing a large role within web design at the moment. And we are sure that with the festive cheer set to continue it will only amplify this trend bringing light not just to streets and trees, but to web pages as well.

Below are some exquisite examples of lighting and shadow effects being employed within web design:

If you fancy trying your hand at creating lighting effects here are some resources:

16 Photoshop Light Effect Tutorials >

Creating Lighting Effects with Brushes >

30 Lighting Effect Photoshop Tutorials >