A quick reference that one of my fellow AI Alums sent me. A quick set of lessons on design. You can find it here: http://www.hackdesign.org/lessons/40
Quote:
Start with the content. Sometimes designers and developers forget that this is why people come to your site to begin with. Craft it lovingly and serve it to your users with a minimum of distraction, like a well-plated dish; don’t just heap it all together like it’s a buffet. You worked hard on your content… celebrate it — Aaron Gustafson