FourShadows.js – Time-aware algorithm driven shadows for icons

If the metaphor is that we're looking at the object from above, then the angle of the shadow would depend on the time of day, the day of the year, and the object's latitude. Now THAT would be a neat plugin.

Others have mentioned that Google does it like this in Google Maps...which is even stranger because there is a very clear real world analog in that case. I would have expected that they would take the care to render the shadows as they would actually appear for that location at that time.

Also, I think this generally would confuse users. I visit at 10AM it looks one way, I visit at 3PM it looks another, and I have no idea why as a user. Even if you paired it with other elements, you've still got the shadow all over the place.

I remember about 10 years ago watching a guy in school build a site that had a header that would have full sunrise-sunset based on your time in cute artwork. If you gave your location, it would display current weather too.

So OP, I think this has limited use; but its good to explore and experiment and see what you end up with. Perhaps with more thought/iterations you'll end up with something really amazing.