Hot take: I spent 4 hours on a single icon alignment and it was worth it

Everyone says don't sweat the small stuff in UI design, right? Well I was working on a dashboard mockup last Tuesday and spent literally 4 hours nudging one icon 2 pixels left and adjusting its shadow drop. My buddy said I was crazy. But the final layout just felt balanced. Has anyone else ever gone way over time on something tiny and felt it actually made the project better?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley583d ago

4 hours on ONE icon" - bro that is absolutely unhinged and I mean that as a COMPLIMENT. I once spent a full Saturday morning arguing with a CSS gradient until the shadow looked like it was actually coming from the sun instead of a black hole. My wife walked by and asked if I was okay. I was not okay. But when that icon finally clicks, it's like a brain wave hits you.

luna_wells572d ago

Oh man, the sun vs black hole shadow thing is SO real! I actually wonder if we're all just chasing that tiny dopamine hit from finally cracking the code, you know? Like my therapist once told me that "hyperfocus on tiny details is a coping mechanism for bigger stuff" and I was like "nah I just need this button to pop" lol. But honestly, the real flex is being able to walk away and come back the next day. I can't do that, I'll literally dream about the hex codes.