I thought the articles and Chapter 1 of “The Principles of Beautiful Web Design” were very timely and helpful as we begin work on our final projects.  Beginning with the article on the principles of design we are reminded that “design is not art”.  I have always thought of good design as a form of communication, whether it is communicating a function, as in product design, or communicating an idea as in print media and web design.  The article on 8 ideas to use to help you when you are stuck gave some very useful hints such as seeking inspiration from outside sources and asking for inputs and dovetailed nicely into Jason Beaird’s idea of creating a morgue file.  I thought Mr. Beaird’s first chapter nicely laid out a very thoughtful and step-by-step process for beginning our design process.  I have worked as a designer in several different industries and have always found that initial process of staring at a blank piece of paper to be the biggest challenge.  The readings were very helpful in laying everything out from the first communication with the client, through collecting design ideas and sketching basic concepts, to determining layout and navigational structure — everything we need to do before meeting Mr. Computer head on!