I just found a terrific site for web designers, and basically they just feature a site a day that has a good layout, good use of Flash, nice menus, great shopping cart, etc, etc. What they believe is really really true: nothing helps you get ideas faster than looking at other people’s sites. Whenever I’m unbelievably stuck on a design project (not necessarily web), I go thumb through a logo book, brochure book, layout or corporate identity book. If you don’t own any graphic design collections (I know, they’re expensive, that’s why we only own a couple), go down to your local bookstore and sit on the floor in their design section and look at them. If I may be so forward as to suggest a few of my favorites:

• Absolut Book — Absolut Vodka has produced some of the finest, most ingenious ways of incorporating their corporate identity into an ad. It’s absolutely mind-boggling. I especially like the “Playboy” ad with the unlabeled bottle.
• 1000 Chairs — This is a small but fat book with, you guessed it, 1000 pictures of chairs: traditional, modern and abstract. Great photography, always enjoyable to flip through.
• Letterhead and Logo Design 6 — Every single one of these books is worth owning. Most pages feature complete corporate solutions (letterhead, business cards, logo, etc) and the designs, colors, even the material the designs are printed on, offer endless design-idea-fodder. I remember seeing a letterhead solution printed on lined paper and green engineering pad paper that was just divine. Business cards were printed on manilla hole-punched labelling tags. Sweet stuff.
• What Logos Do And How They Do It — If you aspire to graphic/print design, you simply must own this book. It is the most useful treatment of the whys and wherefores of logo design that I have ever come across.
• White Graphics: The Power of White in Graphic Design — Again, this is a fantastic book for designers because it focuses on what we normally shy away from — usage of the color white. The designs, ads and product packaging featured here use white and negative space for emphasis, and it’s a treat to look at. Marvelous ideas abound in this book.

Well anyway. Before you ask, yes I actually own a couple of these and aspire to purchase the rest soon. I have Letterhead and Logo Design 5 and What Logos Do And How They Do It. Hubby-kun (my partner in crime) and I have other resources as well. For great instant color combinations and collections of complementary shades, we surf all hardware stores/sections and look for paint chips. Not really the strips, but the “Kitchen” and “Bedroom” and “Family Spaces” booklets? I can guarantee you will find something you can use later. He has a whole binder of them. Why suffer with finding colors that work together when someone’s done all the hard work for you? You can even scan in the bloody things!!

Another thing I try to make a habit of is ripping out ads I like, when I’m throwing away magazines or cutting out articles. I have a folder of pictures, photos, illustrations and interesting ads. I have to admit, I often get inspired (not necessarily to design, but hey) by the Martha Stewart Living magazine, and Martha Stewart Weddings. For one thing, there’s good ads in there, nothing tacky (I suspect you have to have your ad approved by them! Now there’s a turnaround!!), and there’s all kinds of design ideas in every issue.