The best way to get the most value out of your next web design project is to find a good designer, then clearly and effectively communicate with them.
The relationship between designer and client very often features a guessing game where we try to find out what’s in your head, and then create the web design project that fits your personal vision. Many clients find it difficult to communicate in the language of design, they know what they like, but can’t describe it. It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, if so, it’s understandable that describing a picture that doesn’t yet exist is awfully difficult.
The good news, is that there is a short cut and it’s really simple and accessible. Show your designer what you want! Show him or her what you like, or even dislike, by sending them samples of existing websites that:
- You find attractive or compelling
- Accomplish goals similar to yours
- Capture a particular element or style that you want to embrace.
Doing so gives the designer an immediate and clear window to your head. We now know generally what you like, and can ask specific questions to further narrow down the best way to get you the best website possible in the most efficient fashion possible.
You may prefer to just browse the web for your favorite sites, but I’ve assembled 3 of my favorite web design inspiration websites below that are great for getting your web design started.
My favorite inspiration website. Hovering over any of the images will display a summary with colors and tags that are characteristic of that design and link it to other sites. Using this technique you can very quickly narrow down excellent samples of web sites that have key similarities to your vision. Visit CSSLine.
Just scroll away! There no navigation, because this site uses a great caching system, you are basically presented with a near endless page. This way you won’t need to click for the next page after every dozen or so entries, and can really plow through a vast array of samples. Visit Dezignspiration.
Clean, easy to navigate site with thousands of designs and useful tags. Visit Designfridge
