And then there are times when letters would be nothing without shadows : )

Michael

Know the rules, then break them intelligently.

@Nick Shinn: Are you speaking of the Keyline?

best regards,
daniel

Possibly.

Shadow text as an effect: not good most of the time.

Shadow text as a tool: very useful sometimes to place text on photographs with high contrast. Of course there are other ways to solve such problems, but dimming the background around the type with a shadow is one of them. Though if you can see the effect, not only sense it, you have done something wrong.

The problem with the Google logo is that the type has significant contrast between thicks and thins, and the drop shadow is too far away from the type. The resulting slivers of white impede recognition of the letterforms. It might be better with a lighter shadow, or if it were moved a few pixels up and to the left.

Drop shadows should be used with caution and restraint.