I just saw this old post from 37Signals.  Basically it's suggesting that when designing user interfaces we should reverse the traditional way of thinking.  Instead of saying "I need to put something in the sidebar, something should take up most of the page and I need some options in the corner" we should consider what the user will do on the page.  Turn those user actions into "bits" and group the bits together to make "chunks".  Prioritize the chunks and place them on the page based on their respective priorities.

This is a great idea that I'd never really though of.  I often find myself thinking "Obviously there will be a report in the middle of the page and I'll have to tack on other functionality around it".  While this often results in the correct design, it's hard to feel comfortable about it because I never even considered anything other than the status quo.  I don't think I'll ever follow as structured and systematic of a design process as the post suggests, but it's a great starting point.

I've always heard that 37Signals is one of the most innovative and competent design companies out there, but I hadn't really seen it for myself until recently.  I used their Highrise application as inspiration for some design I did at work recently and, while not perfect, their approach really opened my mind up to things I hadn't considered before.  I'll definitely pay attention to what they have to say in the future.

Links:

An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design [37Signals Blog]