Brainstorm: How do you?

**Baby Boy** · 06-02-06, 07:28 AM

Many designers brainstorm in many different methods, its hard to comprehend how to make a good design so if you really Grade A designers could share your idea's on how you plan out a design (how do you want to design it, colors, text, etc.) --- you'd be helping us little guys out like me (lots of knowledge with Photoshop but can't out a good way to design them.)

Help us "little" people out in design world

Super Mod · 06-02-06, 08:30 AM

I'm not a good designer, but I can come up with good designs in my head... sort of. However, the only way that I brainstorm is by looking at some of my favorite website designs for ideas. I don't try and copy them, but I look at what works and what doesn't work in their designs and then try and come up with something myself.

Michael S. · 06-02-06, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spencer

I'm not a good designer, but I can come up with good designs in my head... sort of. However, the only way that I brainstorm is by looking at some of my favorite website designs for ideas. I don't try and copy them, but I look at what works and what doesn't work in their designs and then try and come up with something myself.

Spencer, I agree with you, it is very easy to find what you want by looking at other websites as inspiration, and once you get a combination of features that you like, then you put it to work.

GlobalWebDan · 06-02-06, 09:03 PM

Hmmm, don't know if this counts, but...I like to just sit down with a Web editor for as long as it takes as I conceptualize a look that fits. I come up with some wacko designs, but eventually, after playing around with things, I find something that's perfect. However, I don't know that you could call this brainstorming - it's more like brute-force.

**Baby Boy** · 06-03-06, 12:41 AM

I generally design my templates in Photoshop and slice and hardcode them out into HTML by using the Slice and Save for Web tool(s).

The hard part for me is to profesionally slice and organize them with such sheer work as Template Monster and 4 Templates and such do. But I guess its safe to say that in the end, I can try and try and try again.

I also sometimes run a small method:

1. Take a piece of printing paper and a pencil and draw some sample header's, body's and footer's.

2. Look at some of my favorite designs and diverse it into my design on the printing paper.

3. Once its complete, I try and design it in Photoshop, substituing the hard and VERY VERY long time consuming (cause I am low patient but realize it takes patience) with other things.

My only issue is that when I design, I design basically just like millions of other designs, a simple header and footer which an advanced or even beginner Photoshop user could do with the right amount of time.

But yeah, thanks guy's... anymore tips and/or advice?

Michael S. · 06-03-06, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Boy

My only issue is that when I design, I design basically just like millions of other designs, a simple header and footer which an advanced or even beginner Photoshop user could do with the right amount of time.

But yeah, thanks guy's... anymore tips and/or advice?

Heh, I do the exact opposite as you, I spend too much time on the header, and once it all looks good, I end up making a terrible design, and I usually start all over, often with a new theme. I spend too much time trying to create one feature and make it to perfection, instead of trying to develop in gradual stages.

I don't know if you do it, but any time I develop a website, and know that I might try to sell it in the future, I often include notes inside of the HTML so I can easily find a certain section. Now on sites I make for myself, I don't usually do that, because I change things quite often.

For anybody that doesn't know how to place a note in HTML, you do the following:

Code:

<! NOTE HERE>

It's quite simple, just replace NOTE HERE with your note, it's a one sided tag.

**Baby Boy** · 06-03-06, 07:20 PM

Yeah, I do that as well but I believe the tag is actually

Code:

<!--- NOTE HERE -->

or so I've seen many times.

GlobalWebDan · 06-03-06, 07:22 PM

Actually, both will work!

**Baby Boy** · 06-03-06, 07:46 PM

Yeah, its useful to comment a majority of the things... header, all the way down to the slightest detail of things to give a better understanding.

Michael S. · 06-03-06, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Boy

Yeah, its useful to comment a majority of the things... header, all the way down to the slightest detail of things to give a better understanding.

Yep, and the best part is, the time it takes to insert the tag can save you hours of work especially if you have a lot of common words on your page and need to edit one bit of content.