In a recent post, I wrote about jQuery plugins that let you easily add a stylish galleries and slideshows to your site. Today, we have six plugins that let you add some cool functionality and interesting effects to images. As a designer, I found plugins like this to be so useful because I would never be able to write or develop functionality like this myself. So thank you generous developer community for sharing all this great work. And now on to the plugins…
jParallax
jParallax turns a selected element into a ‘window.’ Through this window you can see a number of absolutely positioned layers. The layers move in response to the mouse, giving a parallax effect. The parallax effect was utilized on the popular Silverback application website last year.
To download the plugin and see working demos, visit the plugin website.
jQuery 360 Virtual Tour
This is a really nice plugin that allows you to add a panoramic image to your site with additional interactivity. Users can pan around the image and also click on hotspots for a closer view.
Illuminated letters is also made by the Open Studio. They created the 360 Virtual Tour plugin.
This plugin lets you add a decorative drop cap to your text. The drop caps are images provided in a zip file with the plugin. I imagine it would be reasonably straightforward to replace the provided images with your own letter images if you wanted to use a different style.
Download and view working examples on the website. Just to mention, most of the info on this page is in French.
jCrop lets users choose part of a large image and crop it to produce a second smaller image. This would be ideal for situations such as creating an avatar or thumbnail image for example.
Image Annotation lets you choose hotspots on an image where you can add tooltips or notes which display with a mouse rollover. You’ve probably seen this effect numerous times if you use Flickr.
Demo here.
Download here.
jCaption plugin lets you easily add a caption to an image. As simple as that.
Demo here.
Download here.
Maybe not one you’ll use too often but it could be a fun feature on a certain type of site, maybe for children, jQPuzzle lets you turn an image into a sliding puzzle.
Demo here.
Download here.
Have you any image related jQuery plugins that you love? Please feel free to share them.
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Jennifer FarleyJennifer Farley is a designer, illustrator and design instructor based in Ireland. She writes about design and illustration on her blog at Laughing Lion Design.
