K.I.S.S.

The KISS method is something I learned in computer science.  Keep it simple, stupid.  Don't over think things.  Don't make things overly complicated.

I try to apply the same principle to design.  The design needs to do what it's supposed to do and nothing more.

Of course, that doesn't mean it needs to look ugly.  A clean, smooth, minimalist design can bring out the function just as much as a cold, utilitarian design.  Simple, attractive designs make users more comfortable and can enhance the experience tremendously.

Web Design

Keeping with the simple, minimalist design philosphy, I try to design websites to the lowest common denominator.  If feasible, I like to make sure that sites work in IE 6 at 1024x768.  I try to make and code sites that look attractive without style sheets and work up from there.

When making things pretty, I again try to keep things simple.  I prefer to use CSS for as much of the presentation as possible.  I use images and embedded objects sparingly and only when they are required or enhance the design.  There's no good reason to have 4 or 5 images when you can achieve the same effect with CSS or a single image.

If you have to hack it, you probably don't need it.

Antipracticalism

An antipracticalist design is any design that solves the problem and solves it well, but no person in his or her right mind would even consider implenting it.Antipracticalist designs often cause more problems than they solve.

This is a design philosophy being pioneered and developed by myself and several other Indiana University HCI/d Masters students.  Popular design elements include robots, flame throwers, and tasers.  This list is not exhaustive.

Comic Sans

I believe that everything has a place... Even Comic Sans.  It is not the devil font that everyone makes it out to be.  It has its place in COMICS, thus the name.  I use it as the primary font in my comics.  No one seems to notice until I point it out to them, at which point they tend to get upset, going on a tirade about the plethora of alternative comic book fonts and how Comic Sans is the worst font in existance.  I strongly believe that anyone who is prejudice against a font simply because they're "supposed to hate it" is an elitest bastard.  It is true that the font has been overused in inappropriate contexts, but this does not speak against the font itself -- only the users who misuse it.  It's like saying that African-Americans are inferior just because your daddy says it's true.  That's right.  I went there.