In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to create a sleek and modern button in Photoshop. You can then easily simply adjust the layer style to create a multitude of button styles in seconds.

The key to creating a sleek and modern button in Photoshop is to hold back on the effects - keeping it simple and stylish is key.

Final Result

This is what the final result will look like.

Step 1

Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool with a radious of 6px. Then draw a rectangle that is about the same size as the example below. The color is not important at this stage.

Step 2

Now make sure your foreground color is set to #c0c0c0 and your background color is set to #efefef.

Step 3

Right-click on the rectangle layer you created and select Blending Options.
Then choose Gradient Overlay and choose Foreground to Background.

Step 4

Choose Stroke under Blending Options with the following settings :

Size : 1px
Position : Outside
Blend Mode : Normal
Opacity :100%
Color : #999b9e

Step 5

Choose Inner Shadow under Blending Options with the following settings :

Color :#ffffff
Blend Mode : Normal
Opacity : 100%
Angle : 90% (with Use Global Light)
Distance : 2px
Choke : 0%
Size : 2px

Step 6

Select the Text Tool and type in some text for your button, using a darker color like #666666

Then, right-click on the text layer and under Blending Options, choose Drop Shadow, and use the following settings:

Blend Mode : Normal
Color :#ffffff
Opacity : 100%
Angle : 90% (with Use Global Light)
Distance : 1px
Spread : 0%

Size : 0px Finally, make sure Anti-aliased and Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow is selected.

Final Results

By playing around with the layer styles, you can easily achieve a wide variety of button styles in a matter of seconds.

Download the PSD for Free