Hello everyone,

 

so I got my second assignment as a webdesigner. It's a website for an exclusive restaurant so they are looking for something very classy. I was wondering if there were any good resources out there? restaurant websites you know that are very classy. Or maybe some template ideas?

Hello everyone,

 

so I got my second assignment as a webdesigner. It's a website for an exclusive restaurant so they are looking for something very classy. I was wondering if there were any good resources out there? restaurant websites you know that are very classy. Or maybe some template ideas?

 

Sorry to sound 'elitist' or 'purist', but I am sickened by the fact you call yourself a web designer.

 

A web designer—as I would employ—would not be asking on forums for inspirations on just their second work!!!

 

Your mission as a designer would be to do this yourself... hence the term 'design'. Otherwise, you're just a computer jockey. ANYONE with a copy of the latest WYSIWIG stuff can put a cloned or template site together these days... but a DESIGNER will create a bespoke solution.

 

And, BESPOKE is where the money is.

 

Because, BESPOKE isn't easy... it's 'real' design.

 

As a *designer* this would involve me personally visiting the client. I usually take a decent digital camera, a notepad, and sometimes even a dictaphone. Visit the client ON PREMISES and take reference shots.

 

Look for the client's unique selling points (USPs) and capitalise on them in the design if you can, i.e. elements of the character of the place.

 

Discuss with the client what they believe in, their goals, their ideas. Discuss what they WANT from their site, and then, as a *designer*, explain to them benefits and features which the site could have... CMS driven 'daily menu', or even a 'testimonials' page.

 

At the end of the day, as a *designer*, they are PAYING you for your knowledge and expertise. And part of that extends into getting under the skin of their own needs, visualisations and marketing potential.

 

But...

 

You sure as eggs are eggs are not going to do this by using templates or getting ideas from other sites.

 

It is very disheartening for me to see what people are calling 'web design' these days. And worst of all, people are making money out of it.

 

Please, I am not trying to single you out personally or be rude... I see you're a 'coder', and that's fine. But I am generalising I guess. Don't take it the wrong way... please see it as advice.

Sorry to sound 'elitist' or 'purist', but I am sickened by the fact you call yourself a web designer.

 

A web designer—as I would employ—would not be asking on forums for inspirations on just their second work!!!

 

Your mission as a designer would be to do this yourself... hence the term 'design'. Otherwise, you're just a computer jockey. ANYONE with a copy of the latest WYSIWIG stuff can put a cloned or template site together these days... but a DESIGNER will create a bespoke solution.

 

And, BESPOKE is where the money is.

 

Because, BESPOKE isn't easy... it's 'real' design.

 

As a *designer* this would involve me personally visiting the client. I usually take a decent digital camera, a notepad, and sometimes even a dictaphone. Visit the client ON PREMISES and take reference shots.

 

Look for the client's unique selling points (USPs) and capitalise on them in the design if you can, i.e. elements of the character of the place.

 

Discuss with the client what they believe in, their goals, their ideas. Discuss what they WANT from their site, and then, as a *designer*, explain to them benefits and features which the site could have... CMS driven 'daily menu', or even a 'testimonials' page.

 

At the end of the day, as a *designer*, they are PAYING you for your knowledge and expertise. And part of that extends into getting under the skin of their own needs, visualisations and marketing potential.

 

But...

 

You sure as eggs are eggs are not going to do this by using templates or getting ideas from other sites.

 

It is very disheartening for me to see what people are calling 'web design' these days. And worst of all, people are making money out of it.

 

Please, I am not trying to single you out personally or be rude... I see you're a 'coder', and that's fine. But I am generalising I guess. Don't take it the wrong way... please see it as advice.

 

Actually I was way ahead of you. After posting this I started to think that I should stay with the stuff that I'm good at and that's coding. I was thinking along the same path as you that if I need to ask for this on a forum then maybe I should think twice about the fact that I call myself a designer. I would really love to learn how to do this properly. So I went out and started looking for some courses and I found one at the university. So, in a few months I'll be able to do this stuff myself. I do understand your anguish. I have the same thing with people who call themselves coders and use Joomla out of the box for building a website. Same thing actually.

I am so glad you didn't take offence.

 

You are so right about coders too. And, I've discovered that coders are most likely to 'lie' on their CVs...

 

For example, we took on a guy purely because of his credentials and 'experience' with PHP, SQL and eCommerce solutions.

 

It turned out that the extent of his knowledge was CREloaded. In fact, when we asked him to write a simple web-based databased email signup form, it took him 2 days before he finally admitted he'd 'found a solution on Hotscripts.com which may just work'.

 

I'd say that if you want to get into web *design* then you're either a naturally creative arty-type to begin with, or you need to study.

 

My advice would be to look at sites and don't EMULATE what you LIKE, but rather, learn what YOU DO NOT like about sites.

 

Build a 'hate table' and when you are designing your own sites, make sure to avoid items from the hate table. That is a great step to becoming a more discerning 'builder' of websites.

 

Alas, perhaps you may never become a 'designer', but your honest approach will certainly get you far.

 

Perfectly functional and workable sites can be 'built', but 'design' involves a heck of a lot more than just making it all look nice.

I am so glad you didn't take offence.

 

You are so right about coders too. And, I've discovered that coders are most likely to 'lie' on their CVs...

 

For example, we took on a guy purely because of his credentials and 'experience' with PHP, SQL and eCommerce solutions.

 

It turned out that the extent of his knowledge was CREloaded. In fact, when we asked him to write a simple web-based databased email signup form, it took him 2 days before he finally admitted he'd 'found a solution on Hotscripts.com which may just work'.

 

I'd say that if you want to get into web *design* then you're either a naturally creative arty-type to begin with, or you need to study.

 

My advice would be to look at sites and don't EMULATE what you LIKE, but rather, learn what YOU DO NOT like about sites.

 

Build a 'hate table' and when you are designing your own sites, make sure to avoid items from the hate table. That is a great step to becoming a more discerning 'builder' of websites.

 

Alas, perhaps you may never become a 'designer', but your honest approach will certainly get you far.

 

Perfectly functional and workable sites can be 'built', but 'design' involves a heck of a lot more than just making it all look nice.

 

Most of the time I do know what makes a great design but most of the time it's the photoshop stuff that f***s things up with me. I have ideas but don't know how to translate them in a template.

 

And that story about that coder is the most funny thing I've ever heard

Well, the great thing is, if you've got the ideas, then you just need to get them on paper!

 

I was lucky enough to take my formal design schooling before a time of computers being used for art. I learned the old fashioned way... pencils, sketchbooks, Rotring pens, French curves, Magic Markers, Letraset, Rubylith, Bromides and CRA. I had the ideas in my head, but I *still* needed to somehow get them from my mind's eye down onto paper, or any other medium, in order to be able to communicate the ideas with other people.

 

Photoshop/Illustrator etc. are just *tools*. They're not going to make you an artist or a designer—no more than a pen/pencil/paintbrush will. A piece of work done by a none-creative type in Photoshop stands out a mile off—usually they use all the 'tools in the box' in an attempt to be clever.

 

Similar with typography: a sure sign of a non-creative is over use of typefaces, poor consistency, and awful use of UPPER and alllowercasemixes.

 

I can rant all day about how the advent of the computer age has made designers lazy. I still prefer to see a designer getting through pages of a sketchbook with a pen/pencil for hours before hitting the computer... as sketching on paper is a far quicker way to translate an idea into a reality.

 

Keep at it. If there's creativity inside you waiting to get out, you just need to learn to use the tools. Good luck!

Well, the great thing is, if you've got the ideas, then you just need to get them on paper!

 

I was lucky enough to take my formal design schooling before a time of computers being used for art. I learned the old fashioned way... pencils, sketchbooks, Rotring pens, French curves, Magic Markers, Letraset, Rubylith, Bromides and CRA. I had the ideas in my head, but I *still* needed to somehow get them from my mind's eye down onto paper, or any other medium, in order to be able to communicate the ideas with other people.

 

Photoshop/Illustrator etc. are just *tools*. They're not going to make you an artist or a designer—no more than a pen/pencil/paintbrush will. A piece of work done by a none-creative type in Photoshop stands out a mile off—usually they use all the 'tools in the box' in an attempt to be clever.

 

Similar with typography: a sure sign of a non-creative is over use of typefaces, poor consistency, and awful use of UPPER and alllowercasemixes.

 

I can rant all day about how the advent of the computer age has made designers lazy. I still prefer to see a designer getting through pages of a sketchbook with a pen/pencil for hours before hitting the computer... as sketching on paper is a far quicker way to translate an idea into a reality.

 

Keep at it. If there's creativity inside you waiting to get out, you just need to learn to use the tools. Good luck!

 

I've been drawing since the age of 5. Mostly pencil drawings but I'm actually quite good at it. I do some painting in my free time too so the inspiration is no problem. It's just getting to know the tools like photoshop that's bugging me but that's only a matter of time.

 

By the way, not all photoshop adepts make great webdesigners. My first assignment was based on a template made by a graphical artist. See what I mean?

By the way, not all photoshop adepts make great webdesigners. My first assignment was based on a template made by a graphical artist. www. theresource.be See what I mean?

 

 

Nobody said being good/bad in photoshop made a great designer That's what I was trying to say above.

 

I think you've just proven it

Nobody said being good/bad in photoshop made a great designer That's what I was trying to say above.

 

I think you've just proven it

Yeah that whole website is a big mistake! It all starts with the content. Pages are way too long imo and too much content on one page. I told the person who was responsible (not the client) this but he wouldn't let me change the structure.

 

Then came the template; well... enough said.

We all have to start somewhere - every web designer has had a "second client"

 

With designing you develop your own "style" as you go, but that's really down to practice, practice and more practice. You don't have to be a whizz at Photoshop to produce great designs either, after all, look at a site like http://www.dominos.co.uk/, it uses very few images but is very very functional which is always the main priority in my book.

 

I'm totally with seige in saying Photoshop is just a tool, and it makes me laugh how many people think that the PS/Dreamweaver combination is the be-all and end-all. There's a huge choice of excellent graphics and coding software available for a fraction of the huge Adobe prices with which you can achieve the same results.

 

Rant over

The Dominos is a great example of forgoing the overkill of graphics and letting functionality win.

 

And when I said about pen & paper being the *start point* of design, I didn't just mean the 'artistic' side. I've just walked a designer through a project and realised the benefits of planning at the design stage, as we've just had a fifteen minute conversation over a simple 'form to mail'.

 

The advice that comes from that would be, carefully plan WHAT THE PAGE IS GOING TO DO... it's a VERY old design theory, but here's a quick way to make your designs much more effective.

 

Step 1: Sacred cows: (and old phrase, but very valid and should never be overlooked...)

List all the necessary items on a page which MUST be there and MUST have weight... list only the ESSENTIAL items which cannot be sacrificed at any cost. The sacred cows of your design are the fundamental building blocks—often unique to a particular site—which need thought.

As crazy as it sounds, people often overlook very simple SCs, such as an alternative text-only navigation, a 'contact us' link, or in extreme cases, I've even seen sites produced that have no way of returning to the home page.

List your sacred cows on paper. You may find yourself revisiting this list before the construction of the site.

 

Step 2: Think about maximum and minimum possible page content, and be thoughtful about navigation

When planning a site layout, try to look ahead at how much, or how little is desired on each page. For instance, if you have a site which requires a long list-style calendar of events for the upcoming year, there's little point designing a contaner layout which is constrained to an 800x450 pixel square—although the container layout *may* work for a site consisting of many pages with short paragraphs or images.

Also think carefully about navigation. If the site is only to have a max of 5 or 6 pages, the navigation can be fancy, graphical and big.

However, if the site has hundreds of nested pages, try to avoid navigation systems that force the user to drill-down through lots of levels to get to the page they want.

Lots of solutions are available, such as drop-down menus which allow lots of pages to be reached from a neat and tidy navigation.

 

As you're already seeing, templated sites aren't always the easy way out, as every website design DESERVES planning.

 

Step 3: Obtain as much source material as you can before even THINKING about laying pages out

Try and get all graphics, images and text—along with the basic site's structure—agreed with the client and readily available BEFORE you begin designing or laying out the site. Generally, designer's aren't copywriters—and neither are clients. It's advisable to ask as all words to be supplied electronically, as editing and spellchecking will be easier. And also, any client-supplied photography or graphics should be supplied at the highest resolution available.

All this has two major benefits, and will put you head and shoulders above the competition...

 

a) it allows you a more appreciative view of exactly what the site is all about, as you can pretty much see the size, content and *flow* of the site before it's even begun to develop. You will also be able to generate the site much more quickly, because if everything you need is with you at the start, you won't have to keep asking the client or your team for words or pictures throughout the design process.

 

and

 

it allows all proof reading, spell checking, picture choosing and even design basics to be agreed *before* you start the task of realising the site on your computer. The HUGE amount of time which can be wasted at site proofing stage can be practically eliminated by this simple pre-work.

 

Obviously, it's not always that easy or even possible to get *everything* in one place before you start. But it's very good practice to be as complete as you can. Get all files, pictures and documents in a single folder on your computer, ready for work. Don't leave emails, discs and flash cards full of relevant stuff for the project dotted around the office, as the old "where did I put that information for the 'Our Services' page???" syndrome is an absolute time waster, and I've actually had a client terminate a job after we lost a 'only one in existence' CD of photography.

 

Be thorough, get all files off external drives and emails, and get them into your work-in-progress folder on the computer. Have all relevant paper notes for the job in one place, and you've just saved potentially hours if not days of scrabbling around.

 

Important to note, at THIS STAGE I would usually advise that any quotations are firmed up and agreed in black and white by the client. If the job seems like a biggy, make sure a decent whack is taken up-front.

 

Also, take time to keep your client in the loop about how long the job is going to take, and the 'milestones' you hope to achieve, and when they will happen.

 

Because, by now, you should have enough information to be a lot more accurate and honest about timescales and costs!!!

 

Step 4: Draft out a plan

All computers have some form of text editor. Use it! After assembling all details and checking it all over for 'missing bits' with the client, draft out a plan. The plan should include notes on anything which is currently missing (because in 4 weeks time, you'll have forgotten!) and also who is doing what. Here's a *SAMPLE OF A REAL* typical plan for a job I am working on right now... (names/details changed to protect clients)

Client: xxxxxx

Deadline: December 30th

Brief description: Simple 5 page post-Xmas 'sale brochure' site

 

Basic site map:

---Home

---Contact

---About us

---Reserve yours now

------Form to mail

 

Client special requests/notes:

Images to be bright and upbeat. Would prefer not to have any purples, reds or greens in there... typical tacky Xmas stuff!

Client doesn't have a logo as such... we've quoted £150 to design a simple 'logotype', so something simple—NOT a full blown corporate ID required!

Form to mail for the 'reserve' page needs to go straight to client, plus have a copy stored on the server in a tiny DB. Nothing fancy, just capture the email addy, name, phone number... this will be used next year.

On the FTM, remember a checkbox to opt-out of marketing!!!

 

Sacred cows:

---Terms & legal page (GTA to supply this, chase if not received by Dec 7)

---Links to xxxx and xxxx for accreditation (Awaiting logos & URLs from GTA)

---NO religious, i.e. Christian, festive symbolism to be used

---Telephone number on every page (GTA to supply us with 0800 number)

 

Waiting for:

---Terms & legal text (C/U Dec 7)

---Logos/URLS for accreditation links (C/U Dec 7)

---Freephone number (C/U Dec 7)

 

Our primary contact:

Mr xxxx xxxxx xxx

xxxxx@xxxxxxx.co.uk

02392 39120399123

Mobile (after 6pm, & do NOT disturb weekends) 2222 88882828

 

(revised Dec. 6th, 2007)

 

Print it out. Revise it often. Then print out a fresh copy and kill the old hardcopy.

 

So, you see, the plan is very simple. And yet, it keeps any key information in one place. You may think it's overkill, but even the smallest web company shouldn't be working off the back of fag packets... it's a dangerous habit not to be organised!!! (Not using plans, AND smoking, for that matter )

 

Step 5: basic layout designs / construction

We usually start by drafting a design for the home page, and a content page on graph paper!!! With pencils!!! (you see, I just LOVE pencils!)

 

By doing it on paper, you can quickly sketch and flesh out the design—much faster than in Photoshop or such like.

 

Once you've got a half-decent idea of what goes where, and you're happy, then move over to the computer.

 

There's no real need to actually CODE the page for the initial designs. We usually get them done in Photoshop as a non-functioning page (see here for a current 'freebie' project I'm doing for a mate: http://www.trickman.co.uk ... it's nothing more than a simple JPEG, which 'mocks' the page.

 

So, once the 'style' and direction are approved, and any ideas come on board from the client, time to get coding!

 

Step 6: making it all happen

Use your approved Photoshop files to begin fleshing out your pages. We usually start with a simple 'csstest.html' and a css file. Bring it all together there, and test the CSS works on a few different browsers. I advise getting an account with www.browsercam.com

 

Because you've 'designed' problems out of the site before you even started, the actual building of the site should be a doddle.

 

Furthermore, because you've liaised with the client before hours of page building, coding and graphics work was done, you KNOW that what you're building is going to be as close to finished work as you can get.

 

 

I hope someone finds all that helpful!

We all have to start somewhere - every web designer has had a "second client"

 

With designing you develop your own "style" as you go, but that's really down to practice, practice and more practice. You don't have to be a whizz at Photoshop to produce great designs either, after all, look at a site like http://www.dominos.co.uk/, it uses very few images but is very very functional which is always the main priority in my book.

 

I'm totally with seige in saying Photoshop is just a tool, and it makes me laugh how many people think that the PS/Dreamweaver combination is the be-all and end-all. There's a huge choice of excellent graphics and coding software available for a fraction of the huge Adobe prices with which you can achieve the same results.

 

Rant over

It was a good rant. I agree that a website can be simple but if your client wants something more graphical, well...

I hope someone finds all that helpful!

 

Probably one of the longest posts ~Ive seen so far lol, but very informative. In that single post, you have managed to respond t alot of the questions that get asked here, and on other forums etc, as well as many of the questions I get from people at 2am who are stuck and decide to email / telephone me

 

**Saving Link to topic for annoying people to read**

 

Many Thanks

 

Scott

I myself do find sometimes I cant get any inspiration, I liek to look over the CSS galleries such as CSSremix and CSSmania, not to copy anything, just to give myself that boost needed to keep going

The Dominos is a great example of forgoing the overkill of graphics and letting functionality win.

 

And when I said about pen & paper being the *start point* of design, I didn't just mean the 'artistic' side. I've just walked a designer through a project and realised the benefits of planning at the design stage, as we've just had a fifteen minute conversation over a simple 'form to mail'.

 

The advice that comes from that would be, carefully plan WHAT THE PAGE IS GOING TO DO... it's a VERY old design theory, but here's a quick way to make your designs much more effective.

 

Step 1: Sacred cows: (and old phrase, but very valid and should never be overlooked...)

List all the necessary items on a page which MUST be there and MUST have weight... list only the ESSENTIAL items which cannot be sacrificed at any cost. The sacred cows of your design are the fundamental building blocks—often unique to a particular site—which need thought.

As crazy as it sounds, people often overlook very simple SCs, such as an alternative text-only navigation, a 'contact us' link, or in extreme cases, I've even seen sites produced that have no way of returning to the home page.

List your sacred cows on paper. You may find yourself revisiting this list before the construction of the site.

 

Step 2: Think about maximum and minimum possible page content, and be thoughtful about navigation

When planning a site layout, try to look ahead at how much, or how little is desired on each page. For instance, if you have a site which requires a long list-style calendar of events for the upcoming year, there's little point designing a contaner layout which is constrained to an 800x450 pixel square—although the container layout *may* work for a site consisting of many pages with short paragraphs or images.

Also think carefully about navigation. If the site is only to have a max of 5 or 6 pages, the navigation can be fancy, graphical and big.

However, if the site has hundreds of nested pages, try to avoid navigation systems that force the user to drill-down through lots of levels to get to the page they want.

Lots of solutions are available, such as drop-down menus which allow lots of pages to be reached from a neat and tidy navigation.

 

As you're already seeing, templated sites aren't always the easy way out, as every website design DESERVES planning.

 

Step 3: Obtain as much source material as you can before even THINKING about laying pages out

Try and get all graphics, images and text—along with the basic site's structure—agreed with the client and readily available BEFORE you begin designing or laying out the site. Generally, designer's aren't copywriters—and neither are clients. It's advisable to ask as all words to be supplied electronically, as editing and spellchecking will be easier. And also, any client-supplied photography or graphics should be supplied at the highest resolution available.

All this has two major benefits, and will put you head and shoulders above the competition...

 

a) it allows you a more appreciative view of exactly what the site is all about, as you can pretty much see the size, content and *flow* of the site before it's even begun to develop. You will also be able to generate the site much more quickly, because if everything you need is with you at the start, you won't have to keep asking the client or your team for words or pictures throughout the design process.

 

and

 

it allows all proof reading, spell checking, picture choosing and even design basics to be agreed *before* you start the task of realising the site on your computer. The HUGE amount of time which can be wasted at site proofing stage can be practically eliminated by this simple pre-work.

 

Obviously, it's not always that easy or even possible to get *everything* in one place before you start. But it's very good practice to be as complete as you can. Get all files, pictures and documents in a single folder on your computer, ready for work. Don't leave emails, discs and flash cards full of relevant stuff for the project dotted around the office, as the old "where did I put that information for the 'Our Services' page???" syndrome is an absolute time waster, and I've actually had a client terminate a job after we lost a 'only one in existence' CD of photography.

 

Be thorough, get all files off external drives and emails, and get them into your work-in-progress folder on the computer. Have all relevant paper notes for the job in one place, and you've just saved potentially hours if not days of scrabbling around.

 

Important to note, at THIS STAGE I would usually advise that any quotations are firmed up and agreed in black and white by the client. If the job seems like a biggy, make sure a decent whack is taken up-front.

 

Also, take time to keep your client in the loop about how long the job is going to take, and the 'milestones' you hope to achieve, and when they will happen.

 

Because, by now, you should have enough information to be a lot more accurate and honest about timescales and costs!!!

 

Step 4: Draft out a plan

All computers have some form of text editor. Use it! After assembling all details and checking it all over for 'missing bits' with the client, draft out a plan. The plan should include notes on anything which is currently missing (because in 4 weeks time, you'll have forgotten!) and also who is doing what. Here's a *SAMPLE OF A REAL* typical plan for a job I am working on right now... (names/details changed to protect clients)

Print it out. Revise it often. Then print out a fresh copy and kill the old hardcopy.

 

So, you see, the plan is very simple. And yet, it keeps any key information in one place. You may think it's overkill, but even the smallest web company shouldn't be working off the back of fag packets... it's a dangerous habit not to be organised!!! (Not using plans, AND smoking, for that matter )

 

Step 5: basic layout designs / construction

We usually start by drafting a design for the home page, and a content page on graph paper!!! With pencils!!! (you see, I just LOVE pencils!)

 

By doing it on paper, you can quickly sketch and flesh out the design—much faster than in Photoshop or such like.

 

Once you've got a half-decent idea of what goes where, and you're happy, then move over to the computer.

 

There's no real need to actually CODE the page for the initial designs. We usually get them done in Photoshop as a non-functioning page (see here for a current 'freebie' project I'm doing for a mate: http://www.trickman.co.uk ... it's nothing more than a simple JPEG, which 'mocks' the page.

 

So, once the 'style' and direction are approved, and any ideas come on board from the client, time to get coding!

 

Step 6: making it all happen

Use your approved Photoshop files to begin fleshing out your pages. We usually start with a simple 'csstest.html' and a css file. Bring it all together there, and test the CSS works on a few different browsers. I advise getting an account with www.browsercam.com

 

Because you've 'designed' problems out of the site before you even started, the actual building of the site should be a doddle.

 

Furthermore, because you've liaised with the client before hours of page building, coding and graphics work was done, you KNOW that what you're building is going to be as close to finished work as you can get.

I hope someone finds all that helpful!

Voted for best post ever! Really informative! Thank you.

Great post seige!

 

one of the best reply posts i've seen so far by miles!!!

 

Excellent!!

Nice one seige, you're on the ball today

 

As for the client wanting a "graphical" design it can be tough coming up with something whne you lack inspiration. As with anything graphical on a web page you have to ask yourself what value each image will add. For a restaurant site you might want to consider the type of look/feel you want to achieve - if it's a candlelight type place you might want something darker, for a kids burger place something colourful - you get the idea. Images of the restaurant itsself incorporated into the design might work, as would be images of dishes!

Many thanks seige for that excellent post. After a break of a couple of months, almost completely away from any css/design/building that was a really refreshing read... particularly as I have a couple of site builds to do over the next few weeks. Superb info. I knew I should have returned to this site sooner...

Good post - very interesting. I like the "scared cows" term.

 

For me I tend to float around various CSS Galleries etc daily and see what's new - even if I wasn't designing I'd still be doing this, I find it interesting.

 

I think the "how did you end up in design" would be another good topic... ?

A very good post, and shouts out the need to plan thoroughly - often overlooked even by some of the companies I've worked for!!

Some good info there.

Im actually very good in photoshop and a good drawer. When i learn how to make sites better, i will sketch and do some photoshop to try and find something i like. Although i will probably do something really simple to start with.

 

The good thing about web design these days is there is alot of inspiration to create ideas. And gaining research and ideas is good. There are alot of people these days who think they are designers because they can p*** about in Photoshop or something. Then they give them selfs a name. fdfdfs designz or something. Im sure you've seen it before.

wow.. I was having a lot of problems with this, such as thinking of designs but once i used that method its came to me. And btw I hope you like amazon.. ( The payment for members of the month). Thanks

 

 

and btw look at www.coolhomepages.com