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10 blogs to inspire your design

Welcome to our latest blog. This month it’s a little bit different as I’ll share with YOU some blogs that I subscribe to. Blogs that inspire me, make me pause for thought, challenge my thinking, or just make me smile. Smiling is good.

One of the best things about graphic design is that it never stands still for a moment. But that does mean that keeping up with the latest trends, techniques, and technologies can be a bit of a challenge. “Stand still at your peril” I was once told and it’s a piece of advice I’ve long subscribed to. Keeping my mind fresh allows me to stay connected and enthused. And that’s where design blogs come in. The best ones bring you the latest work, best practices, news and conversations in bite-sized chunks that never feel like a chore to read. These blogs can also be a great source of visual inspiration, helping to spark fresh ideas of your own and stop you from becoming creatively stale.

So, in no particular order, here are my current Top 10 design blogs. Some of these are specific to one industry or discipline, some are broad and wide-ranging, but all of them have useful insights for designers as a whole. Enjoy!

1. Typewolf

When it comes to choosing type, samples set in “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” aren’t very useful; seeing how real type performs on actual websites is better. That’s why Jeremiah Shoaf set up Typewolf, which shares examples of popular fonts in the wild. Given that so many typography blogs are run by type designers, it’s also refreshing to see one written, instead, by a designer who uses type in their day-to-day work.

2. The Dieline

For anyone working in packaging design, The Dieline has it all wrapped up. It’s basically the Bible of the sector: a place where the community can review, critique and stay informed of the latest industry trends, and check out design projects being created in the field.

3. I love Typography

 OK, I admit it. I am biased. Unashamedly biased when it comes to typography. But I’m not alone because I Love Typography covers everything from typography and type history to making fonts, and everything in between, including printmaking to book history and occasionally calligraphy. The work of John Boardley, author of “Typographic Firsts: Adventures in Early Printing”, it’s all carefully crafted, authoritative stuff.

4. Aisle One Digest

Aisle One is a visual journal of design produced by Antonio Carusone. After a four-year hiatus, its accompanying newsletter, Aisle One Digest, returned last November. In its new form, each issue offers all the great design inspiration from the blog, plus photography, film, music, and cultural content.

5. Work In Progress

Dropbox is one of the most popular file sharing and storage apps in the creative profession. I know this as I must use it a billion times a day. But did you know Dropbox also has a blog called Work In Progress, and it’s a great read, too. As well as news about the app, you’ll also find a bunch of great interviews with prominent users. You’ll find articles on work culture (such as ‘Tips for cultivating inspiration and sustaining your creative flow’, and interviews with leading creatives.

6. Women of graphic design

As a woman, AND a graphic designer I love this. Women of Graphic Design focuses on exhibiting the contributions of women in graphic design and exploring issues of gender equality in education provided by design institutions. It’s currently on hiatus, but its archive is still worth checking out. (As this is a Tumblr blog, you can just keep clicking the ‘Load more posts’ button at the bottom of the page).

7. Stark

Accessibility is often forgotten in a rush to get designs to market. To keep on top of the latest thinking and techniques, subscribe to this blog by Stark, which helps companies ensure their products are accessible, compliant, and inclusive. Here you’ll find a bunch of useful articles, such as ‘5 mistakes to avoid when making your designs accessible’ and ‘Do virtual whiteboard apps work for everyone?’

8. Femme Type

Founded by Amber Weaver and led by creative-type-focused media company TYPE01 Ltd, Femme Type celebrates the work of female type designers and type-focused creatives. It aims to encourage women to pursue careers in font design, typography/graphic design, motion, and 3D and font engineering technologies.

9. Admire the Web

Admire The Web showcases the very best in website design, with fresh content every day to keep you inspired. There’s no commentary, but each post features the full web page in all its glory, from top to bottom.

10. Logo Design Love

And last, but certainly not least here’s another beautifully designed blog Logo Design Love which focuses on logo designs from around the world. It’s a nicely curated showcase for the latest logos and featuring reviews and commentary around related work, such as logo design books.

Feeling inspired now? Good. You’re welcome. But you should really get back to work. Bills need to be paid after all. See you next month.