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"Success is the sum of details." - Harvey S. Firestone
For some it's the last thing you think of, for some it's the first. No matter how you as a person deals with details you're generally aware of their importance. This applies just as much to web design as it does to print design, interior design and life. While broad strokes will get the information across, the small details can turn a visit into an experience. When the details have been considered and taken care of, it reflects well upon your design and the client you're designing for.
When I talk details I'm talking navigation, buttons, link colors, and the small bits of typography that sometimes get thrown together last minute. These are the bits that are often considered quickly at the end, but including them in the beginning and as part of the process can make it a much more natural integration.
For smaller websites this can make even more of an impact. Without extensive navigation and lengthy content you can make your user's experience a memorable one by rounding it out with little touches and getting playful (without sacrificing accessibility of course).
Buttons are often one of my favourite pieces of a website. There are so many opportunities to really hit your design home with buttons. On a Smallbox site we typically have an array of buttons for navigating articles, submitting forms, and sometimes for navigation. When buttons are considered it brings the site together with a consistent look and feel and also aids the user in effectively navigating the site.
The design for fineweber.com takes the illustrative style and runs with it, integrating it into each piece of the website. The buttons, description text and titles all have a a strong or subtle illustrative feel to them which doesn't overwhelm the site or sacrifice usability.
Navigation can be a big or small design component of your website. While you do have to pay close attention to how easily a user can read and use your navigation, properly styling it and giving it some interest makes a big difference in the overall feel of the environment.
The navigation for greenlightinnovation.com is one of the bigger design components of the website but it doesn't overwhelm the content. It's also a lot of fun to use. A little animation goes a long way and this one is fun without being distracting or inaccessible. The secondary navigation on the left hand side effectively indicates where you are and gives lots of room for tertiary navigation.
Link colouring is a small detail which can make a big or small impact. You can either take a subtle approach to links, ensuring that they look at home in the design or you can use them to give the website a pop of colour and interest (with the bonus effect of giving emphasis to your links).
Malanocheresources.com has a very integrated link style. With a conservative colour scheme the brushes of gold links pulls in both the colour in the logo and the titles bringing the whole site together.
Quitnow.ca uses the opposite technique, using a bright magenta that really stands out and enhances the cooler colour palette of the rest of the site.
If you really want to make a good overall impact with your website and make it an atmosphere instead of just a billboard, consider having more fun with the details. Giving them a higher priority in the design process can make all the difference.
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To Davin Greenwell, I've commented on one of your blogs. I love the sphere that you mentioned, hope we could go there too. :-)