One of the biggest challenges a web designer faces is finding new inspiration. What do you think about when designing a site? Where does the idea come from?

Tip #1 - I read a tip many years ago that said you should take one picture a day. Not just of people, but of things around you. A more recent version of this tip mentions uploading said picture to good ol' Flickr. The Flickr part is probably more for accountability, but I like the idea. The secret behind this tip is that it forces you to look at things differently. Instead of just looking at a car, maybe you notice something about the tire, and decide to shoot that. This is a great exercise to get your creative juices flowing, and if you're designing websites, you need all the creativity you can get.

Tip #2 - The second tip came from one of my favorite blogs - Signal VS Noise. It's 37signals' blog, and it's amazing - although, sometimes it's very random (which is why I like it). If you're looking for simplicity in web design, make sure and visit their sites. Their tip was excellent, and I use it constantly now. When designing a site from scratch, you probably head to pen and paper for a draft of the layout. Their tip is to throw out the Bic, and replace it with a Sharpie. Why? Because it eliminates the tendency to go into too much detail, and allows you to focus on the simple design. Give it a try....you'll be surprised how effective it can be.

Website - So, these two tips are geared towards web design, creativity, and inspiration. One more thing worth mentioning when trying to get inspired is to read sites that focus on design. Obviously, that was the reasoning behind the creation of Posh'd, but have a look at Screenalicious. This site features incredible website designs, allows you to rate the design, and gives you the color palette to help you choose colors for your next site. There are many others that do this, and I'll mention them in a future post, but do yourself a favor, and before you start your next site, stop by Screenalicious for some inspiration. By the way, Posh'd and Ekday have been featured on Screenalicious. Maybe the new Posh'd design will make it soon.

Tags: inspiration, web tools