
Ask HN: When designing a personal site, how to get through creative-block? - nicksergeant
I'm a front-end guy. I've done design here-and-there, but I'm no "designer". Still, I want to design my personal site.<p>My biggest fear is the blank canvas. Staring at a completely-white Photoshop canvas yields nothing but frustration.<p>My question is this: as coder, programmer, whatever, how do you get past the initial creative block?
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stephenou
Go out on the wild and get some inspirations:

Dan Cederholm: <http://simplebits.com>

Spencer Fry: <http://spencerfry.com>

Mike Rundle: <http://flyosity.com>

Sam Brown: <http://sam.brown.tc>

Matt Mullenweg: <http://ma.tt>

Tim Van Damme: <http://maxvoltar.com>

Meagan Fisher: <http://owltastic.com>

Adii Pienaar: <http://adiirockstar.com>

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percept
Do you already have ideas when you fire up Photoshop? If not, how about some
inspiration?

<http://inspirationti.me/>

<http://minimalexhibit.com/>

<http://beautifulpixels.com/>

If you already have several ideas, I recommend getting something down on the
canvas as soon as possible. Just start with one element, like a menu for
example.

You might also try prototyping with a simple HTML page with embedded styles.
This lets you concentrate on one file in your text editor and then move the
styles into a stylesheet later.

I also recommend writing some copy before you start designing; that way the
content will help dictate the form of the site (e.g., do you need to present a
lot of text or only a little?).

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kingsidharth
The best way to design a personal site is go minimal - bare minimum.

But problem is you need a designer to handle white space well. Non-designers
fear it (yes the blank canvas is white space)

So just go with one column layout. Use Georgia, seif; typeface stack. Use
variations of size and italics to differentiate high-lites. Use shades of
gray. Don't make it wider than 1000px.

Bonus Tip: Keep line height of text (css propery: line-height: 1.5em;) to
1.5em and text size to 14px.

If you can pull this one off. You will have a side that even designer will
envy.

Inspiration: <http://netspencer.com/> <http://www.kingsidharth.com>

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HackrNwsDesignr
Marissa Mayer (Google Head of Locations, formerly Products) touched on this
problem in a talk she gave. I vaguely remember, but I believe she talked about
how a painter was always overwhelmed by his blank white canvas so he would
paint a small stroke on each canvas to start with that. Often times having a
start point can help spur you into motion.

One way I like to get started with design is by working on the logo first
(which is relatively simple, since its plain text at first), and then continue
to build around it until I'm past the block. Hope that helped.

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stevelosh
Start with content. Don't even make a stylesheet. Just get some content in
there with the appropriate HTML tags. Then start a simple stylesheet that
makes the content readable. Then you can start actually designing.

Starting from a blank slate is painful, but if you have content to work
"around" it's much easier (for me at least). It turns out to be more like
molding your design around your content than coming up with a design and then
shoving your content into it.

(Note: I'm Nick's coworker, and I know he has plenty of content to start with)

~~~
nicksergeant
Right. I had considered this, but somehow shoved myself into wireframing mode,
which turns out to suck just as much as staring at a blank PS canvas.

~~~
stevelosh
You're a frontend developer. I'm coming to your site for the content, not the
design. As long as it's pleasant to read I'm happy. Anything else is just a
bonus.

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marckremers
You have to come to photoshop with a BIG idea that really excites you. Don't
open up photoshop until that idea comes.

Form follows function. But function follows Idea.

The way I see it Photoshop is like the desert part of the process anyway. It's
fun designing the site once you have a strong idea leading it.

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Jonasd
Let yourself experiment for a while. Just put some crap on the page, don't be
afraid to throw it all away. Try different styles and have fun. Also it helps
to sketch on paper before committing to a screen.

