One of the most important and hardest things to overcome when designing is to understand when the piece you are designing on is actually finished. while creativity is sometime boundless the end result should always be the result of a clear objective, the end result. I often get caught between creativity and completion and from the emails I've received, I have discovered im not alone .So we asked the experts.

A Design is Finished when... 23 Pro Designers' Opinions from Abduzeedo

Zebra striping—also known as candy striping or half-shadow—is the application of faint shading to alternate lines or rows in data tables or forms. Examples of websites that use zebra striping include the currency site XE, the CIA World Factbook, and Monster.com. Zebra striping on the web is actually a carryover from print days: one of the first mentions of the technique appeared in 1961 [1].

Zebra Striping: Does it Really Help? from A List Apart

Thanks for the reminder Jens~

How much time and money gets spent on making things worse is something I find absolutely fascinating. Allow me to elaborate, starting with HTML newsletters: People (let) spend hours on writing supposed content, create and decorate mockups, work around ridiculous email client implementations, and finally send mails that aren’t read at all, and, at the end of the day, harm the sender.

Less Is Still More by Jens Meiert

Despite what you’ve read, the volume of text on your page in and of itself has no impact on the success of your site. Statisticians will tell you otherwise, because they observe specific behaviors and perceive patterns and think that their perceptions easily translate into concrete conclusions. They’re usually wrong on this score. The fact is it doesn’t matter what volume of copy you have if the copy is well designed.

Volume Doesn't Matter by Andy Rutledge

Regular readers of my articles know that I have no qualms or fear of offering criticism. Criticism is a vital component in what we do and in how we learn. In fact, critical evaluation is mandatory in design work. Without approaching, or at least finishing, every step of our work with a critical eye the results are likely worthless. And we’ve much to learn from what design criticism can teach us. Yet the more articles and criticism responses I read, the more I’m led to believe that too many designers misunderstand criticism.

Criticism: Myths and Childishness by Andy Rutledge

When asked recently about using a CSS reset stylesheet, I readily admitted that I don't use them. I don't use them for my blog or for any project that I work on. Admitting such can raise an eyebrow or two. Reset stylesheets are definitely becoming commonplace — as you'd expect with companies like Yahoo and industry leaders like Eric Meyer actively using them.

Interesting! I personally use CSS reset because I like to be in control.

No CSS Reset from Snook

Poynter released their EyeTrack ’07 study findings some months ago and while this effort was not a completely useless study like their previous one, I thought it would be good to revisit how these sorts of studies can unnecessarily distract us in our design efforts.

I have to agree with Andy with this one. Designers have the power to control how users focus using strategically designed elements.

Poynter's Eye-tracking Follies from Design View

LukeW has posted points from the "Why Logos are Irrelevant" panel at SxSW 2008.

To set context appropriately, these points primary pertain to early stage Web products and services and tee up some interesting questions to consider when deciding to invest in a complete logo design project or not.

SxSW 2008: Why Logos are Irrelevant from LukeW

I'm a big fan of Andy Rutledge. If high caliber web designers were ninjas then this guy is like an advanced ninja from the future; I suggest you check out his design articles at Design View to gain superior knowledge. Andy talks about "creativity" in this A List Apart article.

“Creativity is technical and analytical, not expressive (as in self-expression). It is a filter through which perception and output pass, not a receptor or an infusion (as in the case of inspiration). Creativity may require or be enhanced by inspiration, but the two are distinct forces. (These facts are vital in discriminating between appropriate and inappropriate descriptions and applications of creativity.)”

On Creativity

Samuel Ryan of Wake Up Later has five predictions on the next five years of website freelancing. I think this is a must read for all aspiring web designers.

“First, there will be greater demand for people who know and operate within the online culture. Second, you must stay relevant and informed if you want to keep your opportunities and career paths open. Back in the late nineties, "knowing some HTML and graphics" could still get you good work. Of course, that just doesn't cut it nowadays -- so as you look to the next several years, beware of the the same pitfall and always continue assimilating new technologies.”

The Next Five Years of Website Freelancing

The Immutable Laws of Web Design and Development on Blue Flavor. Good read; especially check out Fitts' Law and Jakob’s Law of the Internet User Experience.

Check out the post by Stuart Brown "There's no such thing as web design", oldie but goodie.

“With this diversity, calling a web designer a 'web designer' is much like calling a plumber a 'labourer'. While technically true, it hardly scratches the surface of what is involved in the scope of web development, and to a specialist, the term is mildly insulting.”