Design Inspiration Toolbox: 100 Sources of Design Inspiration

Thursday, December 12, 2013


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Web and graphic designers are always looking for excellent sources of inspiration. Of course, web design and CSS galleries are common sources, but there are countless websites that provide inspiration from other types of design. In this post you’ll find categories such as product design, architecture, fashion, illustration, logo design, typography, motion graphics, and more.


With a list of this size I’m sure you’ll find some new sources of inspiration that you weren’t previously familiar with. Of course, no one can keep up with all of these choices, so find the ones that work best for you and keep the others bookmarked for the future.


Web Design Galleries:


Most readers of this blog are well aware of design and CSS galleries,so rather than listing 100 of them, I’ll point out a few of my favorites and some that I think are unique in one way or another.


Pattern Tap


An awesome source of inspiration that categorizes the featured sites by the type of inspiration, such as comment design, 404 pages, e-commerce websites, login forms, and much more. The categorization makes the site unique and immensely useful.


design inspiration


Best Web Gallery


Quality over quantity. Nick La’s Gallery is the highest quality, in my opinion. New sites are featured regularly, although there are not as many sites posted as compared to many other galleries.


design inspiration


CSS Mania


Quantity over quality. CSS Mania features several new sites each day, although some of the sites featured are not as high quality as others. It’s a great place to go if you want to find lots of sites to look at.


design inspiration


We Love WP


We Love WP is a showcase of websites and blogs powered by WordPress.


design inspiration


Design Snips


Showcasing snippets of great design, Design Snips is similar to Pattern Tap with it’s categorization. Some of the categories include banners, buttons, backgrounds, etc.


design inspiration gallery snips


FWA


Inspiration from flash-based sites. A new site is posted each day.


design inspiration


Most Inspired


If you’re looking to save some time browsing various galleries, Most Inspired is an aggregator that showcases the sites featured in many different galleries.


design inspiration


Designflood


A web design gallery with a different feel.


design inspiration


Image/Photo Sharing and Bookmarking:


Sharing and bookmarking images is a great way to keep track of your favorite inspirational sources, and you can also browse through the items uploaded or bookmarked by other users.


FFFFOUND!


An invitation-only image bookmarking service. The images bookmarked by users are showcased for the inspiration of the rest of us.


design inspiration


We Heart It


design inspiration


FreshBump


design inspiration


Vi.sualize.us


design inspiration


Statigram


design inspiration


Design You Trust


Design Your Trust is not exactly like the other sites featured in this section, but it’s a site/blog where users can register and share images.


design inspiration


Flickr


design inspiration


Excellent Flickr groups for inspiration:



Graphic Design Showcases:


The sites listed in this category are all a little bit different from one another, but each one provides inspirational pieces of graphic design in various forms.


Muse


design inspiration


Dribbble


design inspiration


Coolshowcase


design inspiration


Mr CUP


design inspiration


AisleOne


Graphic design, typography, grid systems, minimalism and modernism.


design inspiration


Blood Sweat Vector


Featuring vector art from a variety of different designers.


design inspiration


Design in Europe


design inspiration


Portfolios:


There are a number of different websites where you can post your own design portfolio to be shared with other users. Of course, all of these portfolios also serve as excellent sources of design inspiration.


Behance Network


design inspiration


Carbonmade


design inspiration


deviantART


design inspiration


Coroflot


design inspiration


Design:Related


design inspiration


Dunked


design inspiration


Creative Hotlist


design inspiration


CG Society


design inspiration


Virb


design inspiration


Shown’d


design inspiration


Publications:


Galleries at SPD.org


The galleries at SPD.org showcase award winning designs.


design inspiration


PDF Mags


A huge collection of free PDF magazines.


design inspiration


LayerVault News


design inspiration


Advertising Inspiration:


Ads can often be an excellent source of inspiration. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much in this area, so if you know of other sites please share in the comments.


Ads of the World


design inspiration


Typography:


Typography is an important part of many different kinds of design. These sites showcase exceptional examples of typography that can inspire you in your own work.


Typography Served


From the Behance Network.



Typesites


A niche web design gallery that focuses on sites with outstanding typography.


design inspiration


Product Design:


Product design from around the world can be both inspirational and amusing. Product design can be one of the most creative fields of design.


The Dieline


One of the best sources of product design inspiration with frequent posts.


design inspiration


NOTCOT


From the NOTEMPIRE.


design inspiration


NOTCOT.org


Also from the NOTEMPIRE.


design inspiration


Liqurious


Design in drinks.


design inspiration


Design Sponge


Home and product design.


design inspiration


We Heart Stuff


The latest products and trends.


design inspiration


Off the Shelf


A small gallery of Japanese product design.


design inspiration


Motion Graphics:


Warning: You may find yourself spending a lot of time watching these.


Motion Graphics Served


From the Behance Network.


design inspiration


Motionspire


design inspiration


Logo Design:


Logo designers have a number of sites specifically dedicated to logo design inspiration.


LogoPond


design inspiration


Logo of the Day


design inspiration


Logo Faves


design inspiration


LogoSauce


design inspiration


Brand New


design inspiration


LogoLounge


design inspiration


Illustration:


Illustration is a favorite of many designers and artists. These five sites specialize in showcasing excellent works of illustration.


Illustration Served


design inspiration


IllustratorWorld


design inspiration


Illustration Web


design inspiration


LCS


design inspiration


Everyday Love


design inspiration


Multi-Purpose Galleries:


The sites listed in this category are galleries that showcase more than just one type of design.


Creattica


design inspiration


The Design Inspiration


design inspiration


Pinterest


design inspiration


Posters and Album Covers:


The music and movie industry provide plenty of design inspiration in terms of posters and album covers.


Gig Posters


The best site for finding gig posters from bands of all kinds.


design inspiration


Sleevage


A gallery of album covers.


design inspiration


Movie Post Addict


Movie posters of all kinds.


design inspiration


IMP Awards


Regular postings of movie posters.


design inspiration


Book Design:


Books design gets less attention than many other types of design, but can be equally inspirational.


The Book Design Review


A blog focusing on book design.


design inspiration


CoverBoom


“Judging books by their covers.”


design inspiration


Architecture and Interior/Home Design:


There are a number of sites that provide great inspiration from architecture and interior design. These are the best that I found, although I can’t claim to be very familiar with any of them.


CoolBoom


design inspiration


Desire to Inspire


design inspiration


Materialicious


design inspiration


Houzz


interior home design photos gallery


Freshome


design inspiration


Arch Daily


design inspiration


MoCo Loco


design inspiration


Design Happens


design inspiration


Elements of Style


design inspiration


From Europe


design inspiration


Fashion:


There are probably many other excellent websites for fashion design inspiration, it’s just not an area of design that I’m very familiar with.


Fashion Served


From the Behance Network.


design inspiration


Kineda


Fashion and a lot more.


design inspiration


NOTCOUTURE


From the NOTEMPIRE.


design inspiration


Industrial Design:


If you’re looking for design inspiration but tired of browsing through web design galleries, industrial design can be another excellent source.


Industrial Design Served


From the Behance Network.



Yanko Design


Tons and tons of inspiration in the archives of this Technorati Top 100 blog.


design inspiration


Art:


The sites listed in this section display different types of artwork and/or photography.


Click for Art


Click for Art is an art marketplace. You don’t have to buy anything to be inspired by the work that’s available here.


design inspiration


depthCORE


Different chapters are posted every few months that feature work from various artists.


design inspiration


Photography Served


From the Behance Network.


design inspiration


Gods of Art


design inspiration


Booooooom


design inspiration


Various:


These sites are difficult to categorize, in most cases because they provide inspiration that could fit into multiple categories.


Design Milk


Art, architecture, furniture, technology, and more.


design inspiration


Net Diver


Illustration, photography, industrial design, and more.


design inspiration


NewWebPick


Art, animation, illustration, advertising, architecture, and more.


design inspiration


FormFiftyFive


Photography, graphic art, illustration, print design, and more.


design inspiration


Black.White.Bliss


Black and white design of all kinds.


design inspiration


CubeMe


Architecture, art, fashion, and more.


design inspiration


Design is Kinky


Photography, graphic design, and more.


design inspiration


QBN


A wide variety of all things creative.


design inspiration


Fubiz


Photography, graphic design, technology, and more.


design inspiration


A Cup of Jo


Art, photography, and fashion.


design inspiration


Cool Hunting


Art, design, culture, and technology.


design inspiration


Toxel


Design and technology.


design inspiration


What are your favorite sources of design inspiration?


I know everyone has their own favorites, see feel free to list yours in the comments.





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Source: http://designm.ag/inspiration/design-inspiration-toolbox/

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