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Here's how I tackle layout and workflow concepts. Do something. Anything. And do that thing knowing that it doesn't have to be good. It just has to exist. It's not an end, it's a beginning. It's just a way to stop you from staring at a blank page. Then do an alternative design. Quickly. Don't think about it too much. Then another. Don't despair if ...

Ask yourself these questions: How many UI layouts/options can you explore in 30 minutes by coding? How many can you explore by sketching? How often do you get a UI design exactly right on the very first try? If not very often, how quick/easy is it to change a sketch versus a coded mockup? Can you instantly identify a color just by looking at its hex/rgb ...

Specially if you work on your own and you haven't done that many logos, the process can be quite straightforward: One or two main ideas, some alternative executions, and a final agreement. Maybe you are happy with the result, maybe it doesn't really seem to mean that much. When I came across these examples about a year ago (had to regoogle it), it ...

Well since you all are leaving the question open here's my genuine answer: When I run out of ideas I like to do things like booze, sex, go to the beach, read, write, paint, sculpt, dance, travel. My mind has never been expanded less then when trying to force expansion while stuck. //Edit Wanted to clarify the booze - I mean among friends at a bar, lounge, ...

5 simple steps for producing ideas James Young's A Technique for Producing Ideas outlines a deceptively simple system that requires great discipline to complete. I followed pieces of his approach instinctively before discovering it but keeping Young's five steps in mind has helped me expand my output. Gather raw materials: Flood your brain with the ...

Look and feel is a brand thing Your visual decisions should not only be based on information architecture but an essence, a personality that's unique the brand in question. Your first steps should have nothing to do with execution. No type, colors, images, graphics. That will come later as a logical extension of the brand. Start with Demographics ...

I'd vote for "drawing" first. In GUI, proper layout/presentation is the key and it calls for visual means to be designed. Designing GUI visually lets you rapidly change your design without having to "imagine" each change, "translate it to code" and finally test it. The other way is also possible, but it's rarely better (e.g. project is extremely small, like ...

Welcome to GD.SE, and thank you for a great question. It's one that challenges designers often enough that I'm guessing there will be plenty of answers. Based on what you say, I think the key is, "I'm confused because they are." The way to reduce any confusion, in design or anywhere else, is to pick ONE item out of the morass and start with that. It almost ...

Transfer the problem to something completely different. For example, if you are stuck with a webdesign, sketch what the design with similar brief could look like were it a building, a dress, a wallpaper, a airplane, ... -- The idea here being that you can forget about the actual limitations of your media and technical requirements and think about the ...

What would I go over? Selection of font for a brand? Colour palette? Yes. Typography color spacing positioning movement Line Shape Mass texture Balance Proximity Consistency Contrast Once all of that is considered, you then must consider the technical aspects of output. Output aspects can vary. Essentially, you are asking how to be a designer. ...

Beware, this is more of a 'sentimental answer'. I'll try to be concise. This still happens to me and will probably continue to happen, or at least I expect so. For me, it's not only the things I created five years ago, but those I finished last week. I always think there's something else I could have done to improve it. I don't actually think there is a ...

“Half of art is knowing when to stop.” - Arthur William Radford I always remind myself that I see everything 50,000 times more than anyone else ever will. It's very, very important to have fresh eyes on things regularly. I try and work on a variety of projects which entail different designs entirely. This way, if I feel one design may not be up to ...

The most helpful (and most entertaining) answer to this problem I've ever seen is John Cleese's lecture on creativity: http://vimeo.com/18913413 He gives many practical suggestions, backed up with research and anecdotes that explain why they're helpful.

Get out of your current headspace. Go express some creativity on your own terms for a bit. Doodle a cartoon, paint something etc. Play some videogames or whatever. Just get your mind wrapped around something thats interesting just for the sake of being interesting and not work related for a little bit. Once you've purged the work thoughts from your head, you ...

well you can also try applying AGILE coding principles too. it has worked great for us. Whether you are creating pixels or coding.. its basically the same thing. Up until the last few years..the software industry has for many years been building things in a linear fashion, ie generate a HUGE spec ( usually based on a lot of assumptions ) and then build that ...

Since you're looking for affordability I would suggest using Inkscape. I'm not sure if you're on Linux that you're using Gimp but this would be a good option since you're flyer is presumeably going to be printed and need vectors since you have multiple sizes. Find some stock photos which can be located for free at http://www.sxc.hu or better yet if you have ...

A good place to look for fresh approaches is find other contexts that have the same problem. One is courses for established professionals: these will fail unless the group of experienced people on the course step out of their fixed ways of working and embrace new approaches. Tricks that work which I've seen used well, which could be used to loosen up an ...

I find that Google Drive is my friend. It's easy to set up folders for each project, and then share specific files and/or whole folders with individuals using only their email address. Drive also offers a lightweight app to integrate with your OS, much like Dropbox. The advantage that Drive affords users over Dropbox is that Google Docs integrates so ...

Morning @MDMoore! First off I'd like to apologize knowing first hand it is a bear to have multiple people's input on a design process. Your first idea, have one primary contact is a great idea and I would definitely go this route but knowing first hand when multiple people have a say it can still back fire down the road. That said I would require one ...

There is no right approach to this, obviously, but one thing you can try to get some visual ground work going is to look at every possible visual element and compare to the information you have. For example: Color - what color palette could reflect my clients vision, mission, core values Typography - if my client were a font, what would he look like, ...

The standard design process applies: Research Think about your target audience and examine professional designs for other programming competitions, programming events, programming organizations. Make note of common themes/motifs and aesthetics. Copying has a very negative connotation, but it's also the way we learn and an effective shortcut. If you're not ...

In terms of handling all the ideas that bombard you throughout your day, while you're sleeping, when you wake, when you fall down the stairs and hit your head really hard ... The best technique is to capture everything. Everything. None of it is junk. At least not until you've analyzed it after the fact. Then you can call it junk. Maybe. After your head ...

If you need ways to come up with more ideas, then check out the post referenced in the comments. If the question is more about having ideas and getting them turned into reality, well, this is a big challenge of being a designer. Sketch out your ideas. Get them out of your head and onto paper or on the screen. Do it with the mindset that the sketches can ...

This is a very broad subject but I'll try to give you some kind of helpful answer. First off, I'd go with designing the layout of the project (I'm guessing it will be some on screen app, either web or native.) Regardless of color, this is the most important thing. A well thought out layout with easily interpreted elements is absolutely key in this type of ...

Answers will depend on how complex/formal you want to make this process but here are my recommendations from a web developer's point of view. File Format: The usual practice is to send PSDs. For a web developer it will be useful to measure the different layers on top of each other if there is more than one page design like for a website. PSDs also make it ...

Theres really no way to answer this specifically. It all depends upon the dynamic. But in general here's how I handle "committee" assignments..... It's a given with most designers that "design by committee" is no fun. However, input from a committee is much better than input from a single individual. As a designer I find that having as much input from every ...

A few suggestions: your first idea is excellent. Have them elect a single point of contact for you. have them prioritize all requests. That gives everyone a chance to have their say, but also requires them to think pragmatically and really decide what is critical vs. what is just nice to have. sell HARD. You need to come to the meetings where you present ...

Have you tried running a design charrette? This works really well in situations where the design process is very egalitarian/democratic. Here's an article to get you started: http://mblongii.com/collaborative-sketching Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about running a charrette. Good Luck!

theres also a concept called modular based design as we do in programming. whole design of site can be separated into modules and assign the different mudules to each individual. its like a new concept. but the great team work can make its result outstanding. and yes Committees = great for brainstorming, terrible for implementation.

I am my front end developer. If working with another developer I send them what they request. Whether it's .psd, .png, .html, .css... what they request is what I'll send. It's then on their desk to integrate changes based upon what was previously sent and what they may have already constructed. I customarily have a full front end mockup of any home page, ...