I hear you, Marcus. Sometimes, like right now, for instance, I feel that I will never come up with an original design ever again. I’m just sick of myself. Other times, a beautiful thing sort of appears on my screen and I have no idea how the heck it came out of me.
I go around and look at other sites, template sites, other designers’ portfolios, etc. trying to get inspired, and all I see is blah, blah, and more blah.
I think getting away from it for a while really helps. Or looking at other mediums, like TV, great magazines, or even catalogs or advertising or posters. Lovely photography is sometimes inspiring. Or playing around with color palettes and finding some combos that I haven’t yet considered or used.
When in doubt, having a big piece of pie always makes me feel better.
Know that if you don’t feel good about the design after five hours, you might wanna let it go. Or at least let it rest for a time, and come back and look at it with fresh eyes later. Or show it to someone else, and see what their visceral reaction is.
I think I’m officially bonked as well. At least for today!