We are  going to start this week by tackling the issue web designers (and developers) for that matter always face at some stage in their careers; a loss of creative juices. Sometimes losing your creative juices can’t come at a worst time; i.e. you have an appointment to go through a concept with your boss in 1 hour and you haven’t started! Oh Oh!

So let’s get going and look at a couple of ways which have helped me get my creative juices flowing in the past.

Web design inspiration: Getting your groove back…

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CSS has become the standard for building websites in today’s industry. Whether you are a hardcore developer or designer, you should be familiar with it. CSS is the bridge between programming and design, and any Web professional must have some general knowledge of it. If you are getting your feet wet with CSS, this is the perfect time to fire up your favorite text editor and follow along in this tutorial as we cover the most common and prac

1. Do not use more than three colors.
2. Get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary.
3. Type must be easy enough for your grandma to read.
4. The logo must be recognizable.
5. Create a unique shape or layout for the logo.
6. Completely ignore what your parents and/or spouse think about the design.
7. Confirm that the logo looks appealing to more than just three (3) individuals.
8. Do not combine elements from popular logos and claim it as original work.
9. Do not use clipart under any circumstances.
10. The logo should look good in black and white.
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Web designers face unique set of challenges to generate client leads. Since most of us are freelancers, this means that we need to have trust base with our clients. This is not easy, as we need to find The Client, Build Trust and Keep this client.

We have put together some ideas to help you find the right client and keep. There’s something for everyone to try and I guarantee there will be a return.

Here they are, your 101 hotkeys to Find, Build and Keep:

1) Start and Write Your Own Blog.

First comes first………PORTFOLIO. You need to build yourself a very convincing portfolio website to be a showcase for your best only best piece of work. A blog is one of the most effective forms of self promotion. If you write an effective blog, you can get thousands to your blog.

So today I've put together my 9 principles for good Web design. These are only my opinions and I've tried to link off to more reading on subjects so you don't only hear my voice. Obviously, I have lots of disclaimers: rules are made to be broken, different types of design work differently, and I don't always live up to my own advice. So please read these as they are intended--just some observations I am sharing...

Capture the Valley uses bars of color to guide your eye through sections from top to bottom...

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When I asked what the most important aspect of design was, many of you replied that it was readability; how easy it is to read your content.

People come to your blog to read articles, and the easier they are to read, the better. A design that obscures the content will only turn visitors away.

So what can we do to increase readability, and keep those readers reading?