Wayward Web Designer

Suspicious · Share | #1 (**permalink**) 10-17-2003, 06:44 PM

I just guess I'm not that too entirely artistic.

I just have a question, and I'm sure I'm just going to come off as some random whining little kid, but I never seem to be able to pull off any truely original designs... in anything. I guess it's just how my personality is, but I usually result to stealing ideas and code and design ideas from other people and run off creating my own stuff with it. I love designing and figuring out how to get something to work, but I can't start with or come up with anything on my own. Anybody else have this problem? Is there any resources I can look at that'll help? (I've taken 3 different web design classes already. I really enjoy doing the stuff, but it doesn't seem to help my creativity any) Maybe I should quit trying to be a web designer altogether.

Jazzee · #2 (**permalink**) 10-17-2003, 07:30 PM

You could just surf around and bookmark sites that have something that you like on them. This should give you some ideas.

Rick · #3 (**permalink**) 10-17-2003, 07:38 PM

Web development and design are 2 different things. It sounds like you've learned that the hard way. It seems like I always say this, but I'd recommend sketching out designs, color schemes, etc on paper and pencil before working on the computer. Your creativity has more room to breathe in that format, and then you can work on converting your ideas to graphics and code. The inspiration process, IMO, is the most time consuming part of web design... but it also has the potential to be the most rewarding.

Suspicious · #4 (**permalink**) 10-17-2003, 09:08 PM

Oh yea, web design and web development are two different things, I keep forgetting about that.

In that case, I've taken 2 web design classes and 1 web development class. They were both decent, but I ended up breaking into my teacher's web page in web development -.- (I won't use the term "hack" because there were soo many wannabe hackers in my class).

So yea, I enjoy web development but in designing, I'm an infant. I do enjoy playing around in photoshop though, and I have a really good sense of design (colors, know a lot about balance, asthetic stuff). I just...can't design.

Thanks for the tips though.

Rick · #5 (**permalink**) 10-17-2003, 09:16 PM

Hey, you could always team up with a graphic artist! They do the designing, you do the backend.

Suspicious · #6 (**permalink**) 10-17-2003, 10:01 PM

Sounded like a great idea, but my graphic artist friend had a peeve with me and picked up our server and left -.-;;

Ahh well, all I can do now is learn all I can now. So "coding a site" is called backend, never knew that -.- Must learn more...

LazyJim · #7 (**permalink**) 10-18-2003, 04:15 AM

OK looks like you don't even know what the word design means.

I'm not being funny.

If you learn to design, and the processes involved, then learn to apply design in the context of the web, you will find when it comes to creativity, you have a better feeling of direction and find inspiration in more places. Practicing imagination will help too, as your brain will then find it easier to turn sparks of inspiraton into ideas.

To start you off, remember that what you call design is really only graphic design and stylism, and that with out going through the proper process of design, you can't expect to come up with successful results or even any good ideas.

Design Links:
definition
IMR thread
articale on ALA
article on v2

Suspicious · #8 (**permalink**) 10-18-2003, 11:25 PM

I discovered the wonders of a bookstore (again, I got lost in one for 4 hours today). Anybody have any books they think I should read up on?

tigibit · #9 (**permalink**) 10-19-2003, 12:24 AM

dude just fukcin smoke a bing

edbarton · #10 (**permalink**) 10-19-2003, 01:08 AM

tigibit = high

Suspicious · #11 (**permalink**) 10-19-2003, 08:07 AM

*agrees*

I did find a load of design books in this one section. I'm starting to read them all ^^;;

ATLien · #12 (**permalink**) 10-19-2003, 10:19 AM

I get all my ideas from a newspaper magazine here in metro Atlanta, it is called creative loafing, I also look at billboards, and magazines for ideas, try that if you see a advertisment in a magazine that has a kewl border around it, try to think of ways you could designs a site out of it. I also get color schemes from billboards and magazines. Checking out sites is a good Idea to.

LazyJim · #13 (**permalink**) 10-19-2003, 11:37 AM

i get colour schemes from random images on the web, chose a section or whole image that has good and balanced colours, go into a paint program ans pixelate it into big blocks of colour, sometimes it works well.

don't forget in colour you need a good contrast between text and background!