Posted on Thursday, August 15th, 2013 by Meera Shah
The internet is an unlimited source for a designer to find inspiration. On this top 10 list you will find the best inspirational and informative sites, made by design lovers for the inspiration seeking designer.
There are so many great websites aimed at presenting the best in what is current in design internationally, but what makes a website about design great? Firstly, designers like to see great and inspiring examples. Then it is important to have a site that is clear and easy to navigate. Finally, tutorials, blogs and forums are really a great way to get user generated content and to encourage designers to interact and to share their thoughts and experiences. On this hand picked list we have outlined a selection of the top ten sites for designers.
1. The Best DesignsWhat’s great about it: The Best Designs is a fabulous collection of bold, current and inspiring website design. The site is a great source of information for web designers offering an extensive gallery, the ability to search by theme, and a selection of articles relating to website design.
Key features: A section on books, selected and recommended for designers or web professionals. A job search engine for creatives.
2. Vandelay DesignWhat’s great about it: On Vandelay Design you can create your own free website, along with tons of other freebies such as free downloads (textures, backgrounds, watercolours, icons), a great section on resources for any web or graphic designer, and finally a fantastic blog. A great resource for the freelance designer.
Key features: A great Blog, Free downloads, Free beautiful WordPress themes.
3. noupeWhat’s great about it: noupe has cutting edge a tutorial, fantastic free icon uploads, and a broad range of categories including, AJAX, CSS, design, Photoshop, WordPress, and Photography. noupe also has a broad range of showcases to inspire any designer.
Key features: A vast section on freelance including tips and advice, a category on inspiration with a wide variety of ideas and cutting edge design.
4. LogopondWhat’s great about it: “Find designers to inspire you, or hire one to work for you.” With over 65,000 members, Logopond is the go to website for logo design. Easy to navigate with extensive galleries (featured, popular, recent) and useful collections (black and white, type only, restaurants, animals) the website features the best in logo design.
Key features: Interactive, become a member, see and be seen and heard.
5. DesignSnackWhat’s great about it: “the ultimate inspiration tool,” Design Snack is an interactive and social-powered web design gallery. Very interesting user generated content included articles, tutorials and comments. An interesting blog, and the chance to showcase one’s designs and see what other web designers are up to.
Key features: Interactive, Upload your current projects, Blog, great Twitter feed.
6. WebDesignLedgerWhat’s great about it: Web Design Ledger provides freebies (fonts, icons and plugins), tools (plugins, apps, free software, among others), tips (WordPress advice, Ecommerce, JavaScript, CSS) and tutorials (amazing icon design, CSS3 tutorials, among others). This site is a great source for all around information and inspiration for designers.
Key features: A very inspiring resource section, on subjects ranging from “HTML5 cheat sheets,” to “23 Free Textures for your delight.”
7. 1st Web DesignerWhat’s great about it: 1st Web Designer is a very concise website about how to build a first website and then how to build on it, including WordPress themes, and plugins. This website has some great tutorials on how to build websites, and how to become successful at website design.
Key features: Freebies, tutorials, and a great inspirational blog.
What’s great about it: “Showcase and discover creative work,” Behance is an amazing user-generated design website which allows users to present their creative work in many different art forms from a children’s book illustrator to a book cover designer to a graphic designer.
Key features: A designer can see how many people have viewed the project as well as receive appreciations (likes) and comments, Job listings.
What’s great about it: Smashing Magazine has incredible selection of articles and tutorials on coding, design and mobile. In addition Smashing Magazine has a shop, and a library, where you can buy or borrow great books on subjects such as design, coding, graphics, word press, UX design and mobile. There are also conferences available through the site on similar subjects.
Key features: Magazine, Shop, Library and Job Board.
10. AbduzeedoWhat’s great about it: Abduzeedo features fantastic eye-catching website design, interesting articles, images and tutorials. Unewz is Abduzeedo’s interactive community, where users can update interesting news, press releases, articles or links. A huge range of design inspiration from illustrations to design relating to food, as well as interesting subjects such as noir photography.
Key features: Daily Inspiration (a daily image meant to inspire chosen by Abduzeedo’s writers and users), free wallpapers, daily tutorials, and awe-inspiring interviews.
The best websites for designers are those websites that have really up to date and inspiring information and ideas to put across. The best websites are those that allow the community of designers to share what they know and to encourage others working in the same field. Of course, freebies and tutorials are always helpful to keep designers coming back for more!
Meera Shah works for Printerpix, an online Photo Gift shop based in London. You can check out her blog posts at the Printerpix Reviews. Meera enjoys writing on business related issues such as branding and logo design. In her spare time, she enjoys craftwork, cooking, reading and networking.
