A great designer is one who has ability to craft great designs long time after the latest trends have passed. When you are unsure, always look back to basics & fundamentals you have learned when starting out. Here are some steps useful to become a better designer. These will really remind some little things we sometimes take for settled.
Keeping the eyes on the latest trends in designing is important. However “trends” does not stand for “copying”. Just get inspiration and create your own style in design.
2. Study & Develop
Formula for becoming a great designer is constantly learning and staying fresh on hottest styles. PatternTap is a great resource for finding particular collections for interface design on the web.
3. Use Paper
Sketching a layout or basic wireframe is the easiest way to begin any design project. This will really boost your creativity of productivity of your design. Check out the Importance of Sketching.
4. Use White Space
If your website is easily readable then no one can stop it from becoming successful. So don’t clutter your design. Keep in mind that minimal or simplistic designs are not always boring. For some great examples check out MinimalSites.
5. Upgrade Technology / Applications
Keep up the latest program in web design industry. Mastering latest software or hardware will help you to gain more skills.
6. Read and Learn
Reading the article will improve your knowledge in designing. Here are some great magazine you should read: .Net, Communication Arts, Computer Arts Magazine.
7. Know your Audience
Consider your audience while designing a web layout. Do not design as just designing. You have to keep in mind the age group and demographic target your trying to attain, all these things are very significant and you should take extra steps to not lose your audience.
8. Consider Third Party Opinion
Third party opinion always helps us to get improve. You don’t have to show each person either depending on the content, ask a people you trust. They may figure out problems or errors that didn’t touch your mind yet.
9. Construct a Toolbox
Make a collection of your old work, codes and organize them (such as CSS, Flash, Vectors, etc). Whenever you need something while working on a project, you can use them easily. It will really save your time.
10. Keep Eye on Competition
Keep your eye open for what other web designer are doing. Being conscious about what’s happening in your industry is necessary. Here are some best web design galleries:
http://screenfluent.com/ http://www.lightondark.com/sites/ http://bestwebgallery.com/ http://www.faveup.com/ http://www.webcreme.com/ http://www.designbygrid.com/