You should start by learning basic kanji which should be presented in any good beginner Japanese textbook. After that, focusing on radicals, the 200 or so bases from which kanji are made, will provide the best results. After memorizing the radicals, you can make very good guesses at the meaning of almost any kanji and also mentally break down the kanji so it's easier to remember how it's made and the stroke order. I realized there were radicals for kanji when I bought a book specifically for learning kanji. My professor did not offer a lot of support for the idea, but I did it anyway and the number of kanji I could learn in a week quintupled.

Hi all of your suggestions are very good. I have also heard of Speedanki which is is a free online flashcard system for memorizing all the kanji compounds necessary to pass all levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. www.speedanki.com/ Here is a site with more suggestions for you 'http://www.8ung.at/aikikai-wien/kanji.htm