Everyone wants their web design to stand out. They want it to be an expression of their creative abilities, a place where they can show off … even just a little bit. Certain elements continue to crop up in some of the more stunning, trendy website designs and these are the elements you’ll want to take a stab at incorporating in your layouts.

Glossy buttons, well-placed gradients, and vivid images that tie into an overall color scheme are what you’re looking for. Here’s one method to help you create a great design specific to your site’s subject using Photoshop.

You’ll want to look here for the tutorials on slicing your image in ImageReady and defining the actual site using Dreamweaver. This guide focuses solely on the creation of the art that will define your design.

This is not a beginner’s tutorial. I can’t go into minute detail, so you’ll want to have a working knowledge of Photoshop before you begin.