Fret board intervals; When playing and looking at the guitar fretboard, is it best to mentally use pictorial patterns, 
(chords, scales, modes, arpeggios) to help in the (my) solo direction, or counting intervals?

In other words what would be the proper or better way to look at the frets on the guitar neck fretboard with all of the options of cords and modes, scales and so forth, I have a hard time counting fret Intervals from string to string. 

I know the tuning of standard 440 and I know string to string is tuned to the fourth except the B. It’s the visual part I have problems with,and when I am soloing I forget all the other options, is there a better way to memorize and reflect coherently to speed up my direction when soloing I mainly play old school and the 12 bar blues.