Great topic, Barry!
I follow much the same process you do, but I very rarely research images first. An exception was this weekend: I was thinking about what I'll do with the black box and buffet buildings and did a Google image search for "landing strip." The results were not what I was expecting. I probably should have searched for "airport landing strip."
I know there are many people far more creative than I am, so I try to compensate by trying to fit the pieces together so there's no filler in my town (while also trying to pay attention to those unmentionables: realism, symmetry, etc.). The designs might be bad ideas, but I try not to fudge anything. Unfortunately, that often means that large areas of my town have to be redone when I add a building. I'm not exaggerating when I say that upwards of a quarter of my town might have to be redone if like what I have in mind with the Black Box. That or I'll toss it in a corner.
