Instead of using large blur and spread values to make box shadows more noticeable, add a vertical offset. 

It looks a lot more natural because it simulates a light source shining down from above like we’re used to seeing in the real world.

When you need to create separation between two elements, try to resist immediately reaching for a border. 

While it’s true that vector images won’t degrade in quality when you increase their size, icons that were drawn at 16–24px are never going to look very professional when you blow them up to 3x or 4x their intended size. They lack detail, and always feel disproportionately “chunky”.

If you’re not a graphic designer, how do you add that dash of visual flair to your UI that other designs get from beautiful photography or colorful illustrations?

One simple trick that can make a big difference is to add colorful accent borders to parts of your interface that would otherwise feel a bit bland.

When designing these actions, it’s important to communicate their place in the hierarchy.  

• Primary actions should be obvious. Solid, high contrast background colors work great here. 
• Secondary actions should be clear but not prominent. Outline styles or lower contrast background colors are great options. 
• Tertiary actions should be discoverable but unobtrusive. Styling these actions like links is usually the best approach.