Newbie

[Barry]

Hi to everyone on this forum.

I am fairly new to web design and I am nowhere near good, however I'm just woundering how you guys actually think of a design.

Do you draw it out in paper first and if it looks good go for it on the computer....or do you just mess with it as you go along.

I can't seem to think of good looking layouts, I can always just think of the easy one....a header....content.....footer. Like a horizontal table at top....table in middle...and table at bottom.

How do you guys actually think up a design.

Thanks!

 

[def1]

just whatever comes to my head once I start, I always start with a header and then move on from there. Lately I've been designing a header,a right column and a left column and then a footer. I also sometimes look at other sites for inspiration

 

[LeetPCUser]

I like to browse other sites to get ideas. Sometimes I go for colors, images, layouts, or functionality. Sometimes I also look at different coding styles. Some designers get their own feel and design the same kind of layout each time. I used to draw it out on paper but now that I am more experianced I just design it in my mind/photoshop. I only design headers and buttons in photoshop and design the rest in my head.

 

[vslevin]

I also first create mockups in Fireworks first, where its easy to change everything, and then when I'm happy with it, I go into Dreamweaver and start coding it, by slicing out of Fireworks, using CSS, tables, etc.

 

[Troubled1]

I just come up with an idea for the layout I want, then start coding and making changes till i get what i want.

 

[Laughs Galore]

I used to just make whatever that came to my head, but my designs never looked to well. Now what I do to get better at designing is to go to a website that has a good design, copy it by pressing print screen, paste it in photoshop, and use the tools to outline and color everything, so that I can learn how to make the design and learn how to blend my colors.

 

[khuldun]

lol... who makes one on paper first? its a web layout, put everything on your desktop and start the program u like the most and start messing in it!!