Branding, Design, Skinning, etc. for SharePoint 2010

Microsoft has sure done plenty to improve the look/feel and user experience in SharePoint 2010 over MOSS 2007, WSS, STS, etc. earlier editions of SharePoint. But alas there are always going to be people/groups who will want to spend money on more design customizations. To do so wisely I recommend the following procedures:

1. Think first. The proper term for site look/feel customizations in SharePoint is "branding". You also want your SharePoint 2010 "branding" to be usable long-term so stay tuned in to the key SharePoint 2010 branding strategies so you can have confidence that Microsoft will implement a migration path for future editions of SharePoint.
2. Make the focus of the design changes/implementations to be on the Master Pages. See http://startermasterpages.codeplex.com for a good starting point.
3. Read up on SharePoint 2010 branding. See http://www.sharepointpodshow.com/archive/2009/12/21/sharepoint-2010-branding-episode-40.aspx, http://www.sharepoint911.com/training/Pages/Branding2010.aspx, and http://community.bamboosolutions.com/blogs/sharepoint-2010/archive/2009/10/21/spc-customizing-amp-branding-my-sites-in-sharepoint-2010-with-heather-solomon.aspx to get started.
4. Understand the basics of what a WSP is. As you are building branding capabilities such as master pages, CSS, other stylings, etc. you will be doing so in SharePoint Designer, Visual Studio, Notepad, a CEWP or some other tools. Ultimately you'll want them all packaged up in WSP(s) for sustainability, maintainability, reusability, migrations, and collaboration. See http://www.bing.com/search?q=sharepoint+2010+WSP+%22Solution+Package%22 to get the latest info on WSP(s).