designdebris

THOUGHTS
I think a lot, I can't help it. You'll find out soon enough.
(normally when doing something mundane)

Inspiration

Everything is an interface. Look at something... anything and what do you see, randomness? structure? soft or hard edges? corners or curves? pastels or primary colours?

At the moment of typing I have a pair of cheap speakers in front of me... rectangular in shape with small rounded hard corners, 2 tone beige front with a sweeping curve spliting the grill from the case. On the light (lower) half.. I have a centered thin dark blue font.

I threw a theory to a friend (a programmer)... and said I could design a site based on a potted plant in the corner of the room. He said 'go on then'... this is what I said.

Ok.. we've got a plant that resembles a mini palm tree, small in stature, yet well proportioned. Simply divided into thirds, we have a uniform ceramic pot with hard small curved edges that's terracotta in colour, filled with random loose brown dirt, next the consistant 'trunk', flakey brown thin straight and evenly round, finally, the random leaves are thin and spikey with the ends going from green to yellow through to brown.

Taking this description, we can plan this style of interface/site:

An overall random design based on earthy colours, yet having a solid navigation system. The flavour of the plant is foreign, so I would consider a non-traditional font, maybe slightly flamboyant... the terracotta colour would be the most striking tone that lifts the site from natural into manmade. Using it for highlights, maybe button rollovers, area indicators like headings, pointers and clickables (links or otherwise). 'Natural into Manmade' is a nice theme that could be used in photograph selections and any image manipulations. The use of thirds, could help with the natural layout of the site, leading the thoughts towards a 3 column/row layout, one strikingly different (like the pot) and the other 2 different but connected somewhat.

See how things can quickly develop? From something random and non-web-like... we end up with a mental structure that can be applied to a website.

Try this approach yourself... from a simple object to a complex one... or you may find it easier to start with a complex object, as this will have more elements to it for you to interpret in to a web interface. Simple objects will probably require more thought and vision.

Whether you use this approach or not, try and find cool stuff in something simple... then figure out how to recreate it for the web... it'll teach you how to be one step ahead of everyone else and create a style all of your own.