honestly, i'm going to disagree with at least half of what's been said here.

One way to get ideas is to read some tutorials, get ideas from real sites/templates (templatemonster.com would be a good start) etc.

i couldn't disagree with this more.

tutorials usually lead to bad designers, because they're limited. more often than not, people just think "i thought tutorials, a, d, f & g were all really cool" and they all clash with each other. web2 gloss doesn't match textured materials.

you might be able to figure out how to use the tools, but there's a fine difference between knowing how they work and being able to use them well.

templatemonster might seem cool in the internet bubble of $100 templates, but in the design world, they're mostly trash. personally i think they're downright ugly.

I advise viewing other peoples portfolios, and other peoples work. You can then get inspired, new ideas generate and your designs will improve.

this is mirky water. if you go to someone's portfolio and breakdown all their work, you'll be able to identify the key characteristics of their style, but in the end that's all you'll do.

if you want to progress as a designer, develop your own style. web2 is nobody's style - everyone's web2 all look the same. there's nothing at all to distinguish them from each other. there's a difference between being a good designer and being able to use photoshop tools.

on one hand, developing your own style is a result of taking small characteristics from a wide array of sources and molding them into a new image, but on the other hand it's not looking at 5 and saying "i like the header on that one, the footer on that one and the menu on that one". pay attention on why you like the object, not what the object is.

I have created a portfolio, started in at 2am yestarday and finished it today, the layout anyway. www.stevenfergus.co.uk I have been told it's too simple; although that was what i was going for, simplicity. Appartly it's too simple though.

it is too simple. there's no personality. upon first glance what's going to make me think "this is a steven furgus design" ?

there's no quick guide to becoming good at something, and design is no exception. it involves a lot of study. if you really want to progress as a designer, the best option is just practice, experiment, breakdown, repeat.

make a design for something. identify what it's for (industry, IE consulting, manufacturing, art etc). experiment with new ideas derived from preferably non web items (nature is the ultimate inspiration) break it down: do word association. what are it's main characteristics of your design? do they relate to the subject matter? does it match the perceived image -> manufacturing != web 2, if it doesn't, why not? what needs to change in order to make it happen. repeat.

if i remember my theory right, there's 7 main elements to design: line, colour, object, shape, shade, contrast and form. line refers to how the lines direct the viewers eye. colour refers to the colour scheme, object refers to physical objects like a camera or computer. shape refers to the shapes used: rectangles with crsip edges, rounded corners, circles, etc. shade refers to light/shadow and depth. contrast is self explanitory (is there contrast, yes / no) and form refers to the layout of all said elements. i would have included typography as an eith item but it might be grouped under form.

just looking at other people's stuff and copying it is probably the worst thing you can do. when you're looking at things for inspiration, analyze why you like it based off those 7/8 items. eg. you like how designA uses lines to direct the viewers eye to all the important pieces of information. if you approach it like that, you can flat up steal the idea - i'm going to use lines to point my viewer where i want them to go - and your final outcome won't look anything like your inspiration source.