CodePen Monthly Challenge: August Recap
This August, our theme was Light and Shadow — a subtle yet powerful playground for designers.
Honestly, when I think of shadows, I immediately picture those default presets in Figma: harsh, flat, and often overused. Shadows can be tricky—they either elevate a design, ruin it entirely, or make it blend into the endless sea of “just another card.”
Working on this, I found that small tweaks—adjusting opacity, spread, and color temperature—can completely change the mood. That soft LOFI vibe I was chasing? Shadows became my secret amplifier, giving depth and a sense of presence without stealing focus.
As always, AI had a role in this journey, suggesting variations and helping me experiment faster. But in the end, it’s about subtle, deliberate choices that play with light and shadow to bring your work to life.
Week 1: 🌞 Shine
Shine… Truly a topic open to interpretation. And yet, not much guidance is provided—after all, shining is basically sparkles. If you look at it semi-bluntly, it’s just a play of light and darkness, which can easily become flat in pure CSS.
For this month, I decided to stick to a single color scheme (Coolors palette) across all challenges.
For this challenge, I built a “tablet of pebbles” that shift slightly on hover, imitating the subtle glimmer of light.
Week 2: 👤 Shadow
As mentioned above, if we consider an interface as a 2D plane, light or shadow is still just some blur-ish preset. Depending on the context, it’s either one or the other—but essentially the same.
Sticking to the same color palette and exploring Lofi vibes, this time I went for something basic: a moving sign with layered shadows to add some subtle dynamism.
Week 3: 🪩 Reflection
Continuing with the same color scheme and theme, I decided to take a little stroll down memory lane and aim for a bit of a Winamp player vibe.
Creativity wasn’t flowing too impressively this month, so I adopted a “let’s just try it” attitude, keeping things simple and experimental. Sometimes simplicity leads to the best discoveries.
Week 4: 🌗 Light & Shadow
As in the previous weeks, this final challenge ended up being a semi-remix, semi freestyle mix-and-match experiment. I decided to keep it completely plain and simple.
The result: a sign with a framed border and a mirror-like reflection. Nothing particularly special or flashy—just straightforward execution.
Overall
This month wasn’t particularly creative on my side, and honestly, maybe it’s a signal to take a short break. But from another perspective, creativity finds those who work. Sometimes, simply doing something for the sake of doing it can get the ice moving and bring ideas that otherwise wouldn’t appear.