I usually start with some rough pencil drawings and a lot of thinking about the flow of the site, then hack out a prototype. Then I sit in front of it and stare

I usually start with some rough pencil drawings and a lot of thinking about the flow of the site, then hack out a prototype. Then I sit in front of it and stare, tweaking a thing at a time, until I'm happy with the result. Then I leave it there for a few hours or a day and stare some more. Whenever I have an idea that would substantially change the look, I usually sketch it again before implementing it. The pencil and paper thing in my case works as a way to organize my thoughts and define what I'm actually going to do, rather than a formal design process. Usually I have an A4 sheet (or rather several) scribbled with ideas and sketches regarding a single project.