Creating a theme for your website with Photoshop

Hue/Saturation modifications

I first want to make the image a bit lighter and the simple way to do this is with the Hue/Saturation options: With the file open in Photoshop, I add a new layer with the menu path Layer | New Adjustment Layer | Hue/Saturation and then click OK. The Hue/Saturation dialog box opens and the settings are modified as shown.

Adding a drop shadow to the image

Be sure that Colorize is checked, the settings are Hue: 43, Saturation: 28, and Lightness: +16. Of course, you can adjust these settings as you see fit for your application. Now the old paper image looks a bit lighter than the original, and not quite as aged; I also toggle the Hue/saturation layer off and on to compare the difference.

Next, I am going to add a new layer with some drop shadow to the image, following the menu path Layer | Layer Style | Drop Shadow with the following settings -- Blend Mode: Multiply, Opacity: 65%, Angle: 120°, Distance: 5px, Spread: 2%, and Size: 5px, as shown.

Modified background image

Nothing too ornamental, just fine details that produce better results. The resulting image is shown.

Create button backgrounds

Next, I am going to create some button backgrounds from the same background texture. With the background layer active and using Polygon Lasso tool, I am going to make a selection from the bottom of the image similar to the one shown.

Button layer

Then we will make a new Layer via Copy (Ctrl+J), creating a new layer of the selected piece. I will rename the new layer “Button”, as shown.

Move button layer to background

Select this button layer then modify the positions and orientation by adjusting from the menu bar Edit | Transform | Rotate 180°. Then using the Move Tool, position the button layer at the top of the background layer and on the far left side as seen here.

Positioning button layer

Now, move the button layer below the background layer so that it is positioned behind as displayed here.

Button layout

Continue with these steps to create as many different buttons as you desire for your particular layout. I also used the Edit | Transform | Rotate and Skew options to manipulate several of the button placements; have fun with the settings to create your own button layout.  Once all the buttons are in place I also go to each button layer individually and add a drop shadow as I had done with the background layer previously. I have added five all together as shown here.

Adjust Hue/Saturation for button layer

Now I am going to adjust each button's hue and saturation the same as I did with the main background layer so that they can be distinguished from each other a bit more than the current settings. Select the button layer you need to adjust, then CTRL+U to make the Hue/Saturation adjustments.My results are displayed here.

Merge layers

Now, I'll merge the Background Layer with the original Hue/Saturation layer by highlighting the two layers and then right-clicking over the selection. Click Merge Layers as shown so that color replacements for the buttons will be visible.

Replace Color options

With the first button layer Button 1 selected, I will use the Replace Color options from the menu path Image | Adjustments | Replace Color, resulting in the Replace Color dialogue box highlighting the settings for Button 2.

Color replacement on buttons

I continue with all the other buttons with these results.

Adding button text

Now that the button colors are individually replaced, we can add text layers for each. (This is a PSD example only; in part two of the series, we'll get to the coding in HTML and the CSS will handle the button text.) Here, I am using the font Viner Hand ITC, Regular, 48px, and strong black. Make sure the button layer is selected and active, then select the text tool, and enter your desired text. I’ve added “Home” on the first button.

Add text and image elements

I continue with adding other text elements throughout the remaining buttons and the main content background, creating content based on a restaurant website for example purposes. Then I added in some images onto the layout as well.

Adding another background layer

I need to add another background layer behind the content body to fill the rest of the page. I think some wood grain or quarry tile type of texture would be appropriate, any grainy surface to add some contrasting effect to the overall appearance, as shown here. Any texture with dissimilarity that helps to draw a distinction to the main content will do; you can pick online from many available textures.

Modifying the new layer

I’ve added a new layer at the very bottom of the layer pallet order and added the 1600px x 1600px wood texture. Now, what if that particular texture does not have the real divergent quality that I had hoped? Making a few adjustments with the Shadows and Highlights, I can achieve a darker richer contrasting body background; the settings are displayed here. Stepping through from the menu path: Image | Adjustments | Shadow/Highlight… you can adjust the dialog box settings.

Final layout

I made just a few more minor adjustments with the food images at the top left to spread them out a little more and overlapped them into the body background; the final layout is seen here.