14 min read
What is online proofing?
Many elements on interfaces tend to mimic real-world objects. Drop shadows are one of them. These are helpful cues to indicate whether a window or panel is floating. Floating surfaces signify a temporary or momentary state that requires user interaction.
For users to interpret floating surfaces correctly, your shadows must look natural and realistic. There’s an art to drop shadows that most designers don’t know.
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
Figma can’t directly contribute to our agile team goals of building, testing, and improving by incremental product iterations for a simple reason: it generates a design artifact and doesn’t contribute to the product itself.
Everyone can understand a website, not so with a mockup. Figma’s outputs also require accompanying descriptions and documentation of intent to be understood by all parties, or we risk creating comprehension debt.
Figma’s front-loading of design is more aligned with waterfall processes. I am not anti-waterfall, it is a great pattern when specifications are known up front and change is unlikely… but that does not describe any software project I have ever worked on.
Programmers who rely on assistive technology are blocked out of the process until Figma has been translated to code. Figma projects are born inaccessible, the opposite of what we are working towards. Figma’s accessible prototypes are in beta, but even when completed AT BEST they will deliver a very limited version of the accessibility that HTML already offers.
Another consequence of siloing the design process is that programmers are left holding the accessibility hot potato. Designers should be deeply involved in the building and testing of accessible layouts, too, and the project is weaker for fragmenting building and testing a product from designing it.
Lastly, Figma is a tool for visual design and, while it does not dictate a polished outcome, it certainly encourages it. A good-looking artifact too early in the process shifts attention away from requirements and usability and towards layout. Design is a powerful tool of persuasion, but achieving buy-in too quickly kills discovery.
Traditional vs. online proofing: what’s the difference?
Notice how these two surfaces have different drop shadows. The difference may look subtle, but it affects how users perceive the interface. An unnatural shadow like the one on the left will make your interface look less professional. Making your shadows more natural will give your interface a more sleek and polished look.
Files are shared over email as attachments, transfer links, or presentations
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
The five key features to look out for when comparing online proofing software
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
Traditional proofing
Tracking is handled manually with spreadsheets to mark approvals
Reviewers need to be chased after missing emails or forgetting to give feedback
Feedback is shared in emails with timecodes, screenshots, and long descriptions
Comments include lots of conflicts because stakeholders aren’t communicating
Versions fly back and forth in email chains and nobody knows which version is the latest
Online proofing
Reviewers need to be chased after missing emails or forgetting to give feedback
Feedback is shared in emails with timecodes, screenshots, and long descriptions
Comments include lots of conflicts because stakeholders aren’t communicating
Versions fly back and forth in email chains and nobody knows which version is the latest

The six-step online proofing process and how it works in Filestage
When you cast light upon a real-world object, it creates two distinct shadows. The first one is the core shadow, the thin, dark ring closest to the object. The second one is the cast shadow, the lighter and thicker shadow behind the object.
Most designers fail to display these two shadows correctly. They tend to use only one drop shadow with a large blur and high opacity. Doing this makes the surface edges too fuzzy and harsh.
Applying a core shadow and cast shadow is the correct way to display your drop shadow. Make the core shadow dark and tight to the surface. For example, a 1-pixel Y-axis and 3-pixel blur with a 10% opacity works well.
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
Who manages online proofing tools in agencies?
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.
The specifics of enterprise online proofing
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Then make the cast shadow lighter with a bigger blur and deeper Y-axis. A good default is a 6-pixel Y-axis and 12-pixel blur with an 8% opacity. The result is a surface with two different drop shadows that mimics a real-world shadow.
Now you can apply this drop shadow to your interface components and get a more natural and polished look. Notice how the menu looks more professional after the change in shadows. It’s these little details that matter when it comes to designing a visually appealing user experience.