steps to achieving a successfully conceived and designed piece:

1) swipe:

with your current project in mind, look through loads of design work and choose pieces you like

assemble them in photoshop doc(s)

assign in categories of a) concept, b) design, c) form, d) color

some may fall in more than one category

print out in color on decent paper

post where you can see while you work

2) typography:

with your current project in mind, look through loads and loads of fonts.

choose many you think may be suitable

type out a sentence each in title case and all caps

label with font name and size

keep an open mind for experimentation

print out in color on decent paper

post where you can see while you work

3) with your current project in mind, look through loads and loads of color combinations

use kuler if you find it useful

there are also many books on color.

i use a small one entitled "color index"

i also use my swipe

choose at least five or more color palettes of about five colors each

print out in color on decent paper

post where you can see while you work

4) when you begin to design, look at your swipe for ideas.

imitate

compose your ideas quickly in photoshop at 72dpi

save as, change something, save as, change something, save as, etc.

until you've made many variations on a theme

keep an open mind for experimentation

print out in color on decent paper

post where you can see while you work

next nite, choose another direction and do many variations on that theme.

continue this process for the first "week" of the assignment/job

keep an open mind for experimentation

print out each session in color on decent paper

post where you can see while you work