Image lightbox design examples

An image viewer, or lightbox, puts a single photo front and centre while keeping navigation and details close at hand. Our examples show a full-bleed dark viewer with previous and next controls, a filmstrip, EXIF details, location, like, save and share actions and comments, designed for web and mobile across eight visual styles. Every example is an original design that comes with its HTML code and a DESIGN.md of colour, type and spacing tokens, in light and dark. Free to use and adapt.

DeviceAll Web Mobile

StyleAll Minimal Editorial Brutalist Luxury Playful Corporate Retro Monochrome

Theme

16 examples

Web · minimal

Web · editorial

Web · brutalist

Web · luxury

Web · playful

Web · corporate

Web · retro

Web · monochrome

Mobile · minimal

Mobile · editorial

Mobile · brutalist

Mobile · luxury

Mobile · playful

Mobile · corporate

Mobile · retro

Mobile · monochrome

See it in a flow

Browse and open a photo · Explore a place on the map

Image viewer design tips

Use a dark backdrop behind photos so colours read accurately and the interface recedes, whatever the app's normal theme.
Support arrow keys, Escape to close and swipe gestures on touch screens, and return focus to the thumbnail that opened the viewer.
Let people hide the controls with a tap or click, so they can see the full image without buttons sitting on top.
Preload the next and previous images so stepping through a set feels instant rather than waiting on each photo.

Questions

What is a lightbox in web design?

A lightbox is an overlay that shows an image, or a set of images, at large size on top of the current page, usually against a darkened background. It lets people view detail without leaving the page, then close the overlay and return to where they were.

How do you make an image lightbox accessible?

Treat it as a modal dialog: move focus into it when it opens, trap focus inside, close on Escape and return focus to the trigger. Give every control a label, provide meaningful alt text for each image and make sure navigation buttons are reachable by keyboard.

Should a photo viewer show EXIF data?

For photography-focused products, camera, lens and settings information is valued by enthusiasts and helps credit the work. Keep it in a collapsible panel rather than on the image. Strip location data by default unless the photographer chooses to share it.

Browse by pattern

App screens

Dashboard
Data table
Analytics charts
Login
Sign up
Forgot password
Two-factor code
Welcome
Onboarding step
Permissions request
Home
Feed
List view
Detail view
Kanban board
Calendar
File manager
Search results
Editor toolbar
AI chat assistant
Chat list
Chat thread
Video call
Image viewer
Map view
Video player
Create post
Class schedule
Booking details
Booking confirmed
Product detail
Cart
Checkout
Order confirmation
Settings
Profile
Notifications center
Team members
Roles permissions
Audit log
API keys
Integrations
Billing plans
Invoice
Paywall upgrade
Cancel subscription
Empty state
404 error
Loading skeleton
Success confirmation
AI workspace
AI settings
Version history
Approval queue
Doctor directory
Telehealth visit
Clinic home
Music player
Playlist
Portfolio home
Case study
Security dashboard
Project tracker
Course dashboard
Multi-step form wizard
Bank onboarding
Product scan
Split view (master-detail)
Canvas editor
Floor plan
Voice call
Toast / snackbar with undo
Confirm dialog (destructive)
Side drawer
Command palette
Date range picker
Form validation errors
Sign-in error
Card declined at checkout
Find a pro (home services)
Book a home-service visit
Job tracker
Account email
Order email
Shift scheduler
Leave calendar
Time-off request
Multi-location operations dashboard
Inventory stock
Savings goal
Onboarding carousel

UI components

Tabs
Cards
Pagination
Popover
Tooltip
Dropdown menu
Accordion
Radio buttons
Breadcrumbs
Toggle switch
Stepper
Sidebar navigation
Loading spinner

Website sections

Website templates

Building with an AI coding agent? Every screen here is also in the free Made Good Designs MCP server: ask Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT to search_ui_screens (e.g. “billing settings, editorial style”), get_ui_flow for a whole journey, and get_ui_screen_code to pull the HTML and DESIGN.md straight into your project.