Mastering Photoshop: Noise, Textures,
Gradients and Rounded Rectangles
Marc Edwards
Often, it’s the little details that turn a good layout into a great design;
details such as subtle textures, shading and smooth shapes. Photoshop
contains a vast array of tools for embellishing a design, but choosing the
right one isn’t always easy. Being the obsessive-compulsives that we are,
we’ve conducted a huge range of experiments to determine the benefits
and disadvantages of each technique. Here, then, is an obsessive-
compulsive’s guide to some frequently used tools and techniques for Web
and UI design in Photoshop.
Noise and Textures
Subtle noise or texture on UI elements can look great, but what’s the best
way to add it? Our goal is to find the best method that maintains quality
when scaled but that is also easy to implement and edit. To find out which
is best, we’ll judge each method using the following criteria:
- Number of layers used: fewer is better.
- Ability to scale: if the document is resized, will the effect maintain its
quality? - Can the noise be on top of the Color and Gradient layer styles?
- Can the method be used with any texture, not just noise?