Incredible optical illusions in design

Mach strips

Placing shades of one color was a common trend in the era of flat design. You may have noticed fake shadows, appearing between the edges of each contrasting shade. This illusion is known as Mach stripes (a phenomenon named after the psychologist Ernst Mach). No shadows have been added to the image, just so perceived by our eyes!

Photo courtesy of olivia mew(CC No Derivatives)

The technical explanation for this effect is related to lateral inhibition, which means that dark areas look wrong even darker, and light - mistakenly looks even lighter.

Photo courtesy of olivia mew(CC No Derivatives)

Although this effect is quite insignificant for the world of visual design, the influence of Mach stripes can be a real obstacle for dentists. X-rays of the teeth generate shades of gray, which are used to analyze deviations. Mach strips may cause a false-positive diagnosis 🙂

Hering’s illusion

Photo courtesy of olivia mew(CC No Derivatives)

Have you ever come across a logo that contains very thin lines or a background image with tiny dots that seem to move or pulsate while scrolling? And what about watching a video that has wavy lines in the background, which also do not seem to stand in place? This is due to an effect called the Moire pattern: two grid patterns overlap, creating an erroneous impression of movement.

Photo courtesy of olivia mew(CC No Derivatives)
Source — designtalk.club

Peculiarities of styles in web design on the example of a water delivery site

We decided to consider and compare several styles that have already managed to become trends this year.

Web design trends of the second half of 2023

Ten interesting trends you should know about.

Modular grids in UI

Grids were first used to organize handwritten text on paper, and then were used to compose manuscripts. From the first days of publishing books, the grid helped designers to c ...

UX Laws

UX Laws focuses on making sophisticated psychology heuristics available to more designers through an interactive resource that includes those relevant to the design experience ...

How to choose a color for the site

Color design can be an effective marketing tool if used properly. By directly influencing the subconscious of the user of the site, color in web design can form a positive att ...