Content Before Design

What are other's thoughts on this?

I'm sitting designing site after site after site and the ones with little or no content supplied before the designing phase are a nightmare.

I'm starting to think that the content, message etc. need to be established, written and photographed / created before the designer starts producing interface concepts.

I feel like a headless chicken right now. This client doesn't know what it wants and we're running in circles!!

If possible I like to go out for coffee with the client and break down what is needed from the site, what kind of impact it should have on the visitor and sketch a few ideas down and show the client and get some early feedback before I get a rough draft together. If it's remote work (which it usually is) lengthy phone conversations and alot of VERY quick drafts and alot of email to-ing and fro-ing is in order.

So long as I know what the client is trying to achieve through the site I'm usually fine to get layouts together and then begin writing the backend once approved.

As for content for the site when there's none available I just use stocks from www.sxc.hu that contain the same subject matter as the client's supplied images will have and as for placeholder text, in Lorem Ipsum Dolor we trust.