I’m a good web programmer by many ramiification. But the problem I have is the graphics aspect. I can’t create a good graphic design to save my life. It’s ironic, because I know how to use photoshot but my end product is not always as appealing as what I see in other sites. Is there any recommended approach of being good in graphic design?
Study and practice. 
Not that I can talk, as I’m no god at it either. But study sites that you like and work out how they did it. Read good books [URL=“http://www.sitepoint.com/books/sexy1/”]on design. Learn more about Photoshop … etc. 
Thanks Ralph,I really appreciate your help.
I suggest that you hire a graphics designer. When I first started I had the same problem. Believe me there is no way that you can design a site with branding and logos like a professional graphics designer that does this every day.
Hope that helps!
You have to sneak up behind it with a bat and hit it right in the head .
On a more serious note , see if it’s work doing this , it takes about 3 years to reach a professional level and even then you can be someone that makes horrid little things . The main problem with web graphic design is the fact that real life (out eternal source of inspiration) is very different then what we need to make .
1st off improve your tools Photoshop , Illustrator and Flash are the tools of the trade and yet they still need help from 3dMax from time to time . Once you have the firepower you need to add the creativity & experience this is the hardest part and one that you can fail time and time again . You simply need to create for the sake of art , not for money , not to improve yourself just for the sake of creation . As you gaze upon your artwork you’ll get more ideas and improve your hand . Once your happy with the quality of the stuff you create then it’s time to move on to workflow and efficiency which ironically is the easiest step and the most profitable .
One question that you must answer 100% honestly is this one : Is it worth it ? Is it worth years of my life and tons of effort ?
There is no end in graphic designing. So never expect you have complete knowledge.
Hiring a graphic designer is definitely the way to go in the short term. Don’t let graphic design hold you back from designing and building sites.
For me, my strategy is to find a few sites that are well designed and try to recreate them in Photoshop. The theory is that you get used to not only seeing what types of elements and colours go together but you are actually placing the on the page. This practice could come in handy when you get to creating your original designs.
A great graphic designer is either a product of lots of experience or pure talent with digital art.
Beside, if you’re smart enough to come up with clever and detailed designs, you don’t have to worry about competition since your design will speak for your own unique techniques.
So, I suggest you keep on working on projects, either paid or not so you’ll develop more of that talent of yours.
design principles are the answers
i guess you can learn it in school - theory wise not technique
some companies have a format to be followed if you can get to that job you can learn why they wanted that design
learning the past is always a good thing you know like if its a sport they will always have a reference from previous athletes. it would be the same get some inspirations from some other peoples works and knowing the marketing side the target market / demographic is always good. maybe the reason why its not appealing is its not right for them. and learning from the feedback that is given to you like why is it not appealing? how can i make it better? im sure you asked those questions.
the design genres is the easiest way to gain appreciation to your work and you know what appeals to these kind of audiences
If it becomes to big of a problem you can always outsource graphic work on freelancer sites for cheap.
From my personal experience, most good designers (at least all the ones that I know) started off as artists, who then got into design as a way to make a career out of visual arts.
The relationship between art and design should be pretty clear. To be an effective designer, you need to know the basics of visual composition, color theory, and so on. So it makes sense that good designers are also good artists.
It also makes sense that someone who learned how to draw on paper first is more likely to be a good designer. That’s because good designers are generally the creative type, and people with creative personalities usually start expressing themselves creatively very early on in childhood. A 7- or 8-year-old doesn’t know what graphic design is, much less Photoshop; they just know that they like to draw or paint. Therefore, few good designers learn Photoshop before they learn how to draw with pencil and paper.
There may be exceptions to these rules, but they’re rare. I think someone who’s never been creative or interested in art and decides in their mid-20s to learn Photoshop is more likely to be in it purely for the money than because they like graphic design—and that’s not a good way to become a good anything.
I’d say the best way to go about it is:
- Buy your artwork on istock or shutterstock. Shutterstock is by far cheaper, but istock provides a higher quantity of quality pictures
- Hire a designer. There are thousands of stunning graphic artists looking for work
Otherwise, it just takes time and effort. Do lots of study, get a touch of art and integration. But otherwise, just hire someone.
How to approach a graphic designer well umm be your self present your awesome portfolio for him to believe in your work and how you do it. Also the best practice there is to learn everything there are tons of videos in youtube or other video tutorials or ask a friend who is into a graphic design to teach you. There are also a lot of sites catering tutorials for a web design you don’t have to be a graduate of arts just study and practice it out.
Graphic design is like any good design. It always begins with a solid understanding of the fundamentals. Once you understand some basic design principles you can start to really examine the world around you to develop an eye for good design. I started my process over 25 years ago and although things change, the basics that just make a design appealing hasn’t. Proportion, color, shape; they all play an important part in creating visually appealing designs. I remember an exercise one of my instructors had us do in drawing class many years ago. We had to draw the negative spaces around objects. This was probably one of the most impacting lessons I learned because it forced me to look at objects in a different way. There are many such exercises that can be used to develop an eye for graphic design but there aren’t really any shortcuts. It takes hard work and continued effort.