[brooks]

Upon starting something new, a fresh idea. Do you sketch layouts down on paper? with ideas of colours and type? or do you do what I do and do a bit of research and then open up notepad and frazzle away. 20minutes later finding by per chance 'that looks alright, time to develop it' and produce a skeleton for a site & then hop into photoshop?

I'm starting to think I'm taking things all wrong. Just wondered how you begin things, especially for your own portfolio.

Cheers.

[mikhail]

I've been having the same thoughts but I was to lazy to strat a thread... thanks!

[bluesage]

i always start on paper. brainstorm general structure Im thinking of. Then if I need some extra inspiration (ideas for menu, banners, colors possibly) look at other sites.

think its logical and easier to sketch things out on paper before coding

[skyrocket]

For website projects the 'inspiration' should primarily come from the brief surely. Just ask the client some juicy leading questions and let them brainstorm themselves while taking notes & nodding occasionally. 10 minutes later - voila - they have designed the website for you. Well, sort of. From there I sketch ideas on paper, research competitor websites then take it to Photoshop to start laying down the colour palette, page layout, typography, nav architecture etc... I don't touch the markup until the design comp has the green light.

[seraphlm]

i personally just run around website trying to look for inspiration den psd it and show to the client if its ok, then i jsut start coding. I don't normally draw that much. But i do draw it if it's going to be a vector. =) but then again what do i know?