A List Apart: Articles: The Details That Matter
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedetailsthatmatter

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, the graphic arts industry was populated by full-time illustrators, production assistants and compositors. With only composing sticks for laying out type, straight edges for defining grids, a human proofer to catch spelling mistakes and an arsenal of X-acto blades for making edits, these guys lived and breathed detail. Mistakes were costly. It was a trade position that required lengthy apprenticeship; job security depended on getting all of the little things right.

good article on the business qualities that make a great & successful web designer/developer

Good article on being a good designer

Great summary of a Web designer's job...

In this article, we will look at several ways subtle details are being used in web designs to take them from great…to amazing.