Websites About The World of Graphic Design
One of the main hurdles that comes with being a freelance designer is being stuck in a rut of creative despair. Often, the quickest way to overcome this is to stop work entirely and distract the mind by other tasks which are therapeutic. For me, that includes watching shows that feel like home, learning to cook a new dish, gardening and more often than not, breaking down the works of other creatives that I admire. Whenever a project elicits a stop-and-stare response from me, I bookmark it and breakdown the building blocks of it which help me understand the additions I must make to my work process. Often, this leads to insights into adding an inexplicable quality to my deliverable too. Some of the websites that have inspired me when I’ve been hit by the inevitable creative slump are:
AIGA is one of the world’s oldest authorities on design. They exist as a magazine and as a website. AIGA eye on design is a creative venture by them to publish the world’s most exciting designers and designs. They cover articles on packaging, designer profiles, design trends amongst many others. What makes their curation something that one should be on the lookout for is the fact that they’re chosen by people who are highly trained in design. AIGA is the place to discover exciting and emerging designers, often providing them a launchpad into graphic design stardom. Their magazines and zines are available for purchase here.
Creative Boom is a magazine for the creative industries, offering inspiration, tips and ideas to help you succeed. They cover collections of photographs united under a theme, artworks and posters that were once thought to be have been lost to time. They also have a newsletter that shares free mockups and eguides for designers. Often, creative boom is one of the first websites to cover the trends that are about to land in the digital advertising industry. They’re also a wonderful study for minimal website layouts.
This is a venture by Adobe. Adobe has, over the years, managed to evolve itself into a community where creatives at any stage of their life can come together and derive inspiration from each other. This is yet another venture by them to provide career resources to help creative supercharge their work. They have countless digital publications under this banner which include the career coverage of leading creatives, guides and tips on navigating through the creative industry and achieving work-life balance. They also host an annual Adobe 99U Conference in New York City every year which brings creatives together, helping them network, learn and share their work.
Some of their timeless, most influential articles include:
Ten Human Skills for the Future of Work
Know Your Worth! A Guide To Setting Your Rates
What I Wish I Knew at Every Age
How to Turn a Creative Spark Into Something Real
This is one of the oldest websites in the game. Having launched in 2007, they have grown across many platforms and have a reach of over 2 million creatives each month. They have a bi-annual magazine and a monthly talk series called Nicer Tuesdays which are a handy guide for any designer looking to hone their creative perspectives. This website covers an absolutely refreshing range and kind of work, often bordering on the avant-garde art and design that is being released by designers.
You can subscribe to their newsletters here.
This is primarily a bimonthly print magazine and website. They focus on commercial creative projects which span across design, advertising, photography, branding, film and gaming. They also have an absolutely delicious podcast list which has often been the start of my lazy work days. I first came across this resource through my college library and ever since, ive been a regular visitor of their website every month. Their articles include extremely unique design products which are aesthetically pleasing, opinion pieces, advice for creatives and many, many crossover topics which make for a very interesting reading. I’m forever grateful to them for making me discover Snask.
Founded, designed and curated by Ena Baćanovic - designer based in Zagreb - Croatia, The Design Blog curates high quality inspiration that features works of designers from all over the world. Over the years, I’ve discovered so many design agencies who’s work has inspired me to add more quality to my work. Their main focus is the work of design students and young designers so this is a brilliant avenue for designers to get their work published and gain traction.
A simple and unique anthology of Prints from all over the world. They curate high quality print work which helps to refresh your design eye. The quality of photographs also helps understand the presentation that exists on a world stage. A well-researched blog with copious amounts of inspiration for all graphic designers.
abdz. is a collective of individual writers sharing articles about design, photography, and UX as well as tutorials for Photoshop etc. It was founded by Fabio Sasso in 2006 as a personal blog, later growing to become a digital publication with several writers from all over the world, working independently. They have an absolutely diverse collection of articles and resources for designers. They also boast a collection of over 43,000 templates for all kinds of design purposes.
For more websites to inspire your creative worm:
https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/50-of-the-best-blogs-for-graphic-design-inspiration/
Note: A lot of these websites have newsletters which are curated lists of must-know trends and advice for designers.
