Steal my Art Director Bookmarks: A Guide to Web Gems
Where are the best tools and resources for creative people?
Creative designers don’t gatekeep!
Amidst the competitive atmosphere, it can be hard to know where to turn when in need of a modern mockup, the perfect typeface or an inspiring logo.
The good news is that there are millions of design websites out there! But if you don’t know how to find your way to the precious gold mines”, it can feel overwhelming to sift through all too many options– and sometimes, it’s just hard to know where to start!
So, in the spirit of sharing and caring, here is my list of the best websites and online tools which will certainly make a tangible difference in your designs.
Most of them are free, cutting-edge tools which have been tested so, whether you're a beginner looking for a boost or an experienced graphic designer ready to experiment further, let’s dig into them!
TO INSPIRE
Designinspiration.com – If you already are a Pinterest user, the interface will be easy to understand and get used to. Created by Shelby White, you can search for inspiration by the standard research by term, or via a paintbrush at the top of the site!
Archivio Grafica Italiana – The first online archive dedicated to the entire Italian graphic design heritage. Clicking on the tab “project”, you can choose what kind of project you’ll be inspired by. Packaging? Calendars? Leaflets?
Cofolios — Hundreds of portfolios by people hired by companies like Meta and Spotify. It is always good to learn from others, and these companies have some of the best talents in the industry. It doesn’t hurt to take a page out of their books. o
Are.na – One of my personal favorites. An artsy alternative to websites like Pinterest and Tumblr. Great for ads, campaigns and contemporary art. Check it out if you are looking to projects more layered in meaning.
Savee.it – A little more indie than Are.na, they tend to be modern and minimal. The quality of the projects is incredible.
Cosmos – Very popular for Art Direction and as a vanguardist fashion inspiration. Everything here is either fancy or bold. They also have a cousin-website, Public.work (check Photography Stocks).
TO READ
AIGA Eye on Design – The team shares studies on various themes connected to design and creativity. Their frequency and eye for trends make it one of the best places to stay in touch with what is happening in the visual world.
Arie.ls – Very detailed texts on subjects we all think about as designers – grids, typography, workspace, design tools, and so on. Arielle’s creations also include this cool tool called Legibility App, for evaluating typeface legibility under different viewing conditions.
Logo Design Love – Studies of important logos and symbols, from the classic Yin Yang to the modern Paris 2024 Olympics. The texts are brief but with enough detail to make them valuable. Don’t forget to check out the comments to discover more ideas and interpretations.
The Drum – A database of agencies that achieved recognition in the industry, plus a relevant news in the advertising world and other cool features, such as “The Drum Recommends”,
It’s Nice That – Writing stories and insights to the creative community, they aim to 'bring people together to help them make more of their creativity.' If you’re navigating the first years of your career .you must see the Wise Guides advice series for professionals
Globe Explorer – As they put it: ‘Find everything humans know about...’ Dive deep into any subject, whether inside or outside the design world, with this innovative research tool. Its interface makes learning simple and exploration highly efficient.
TO EXPERIMENT
Tooooools – Website with cool effects for your images, for personal and commercial use. Tip: use it for fun while also exploring textures.
Ascii Art Archive – In a nutshell, ASCII art is the creation of image with the use of text/typography. With this tool, you can easily convert your images into text-based art. Ideal for artists, hobbyists, or anyone looking to explore a new form of digital expression.
Space Type Generator – A thoughtfully designed platform for creating and animating type that enables you to experiment with kinetic typography, manipulating text in in three-dimensional space.
Inspiral Web – If you’re into geometry and the mathematical relations between shapes, and how putting shapes together make beautiful images, check Inspiral Web for a little of exploratory design.
Halftone Maker – A tool that allows you to create halftone effects on images, giving them a vintage or comic-book-like texture. Perfect for graphic designers who are looking to add a retro flair to their work or those wishing to experiment with patterns in their designs.
Constraint Systems – Experimental web-based creative tools. Featuring image distorters, freeform text editors, and weird website builders. Targeted experiments in alternative interfaces.
Hex-castle by Grant custer made with Constraint Systems.
LOGO RESEARCH & CREATION
Logo Lounge – A research and networking tool that showcases and explains logo dynamics. You can explore their analysis of logo trends for free or have access to a 418,880-logo archive for $10/month.
World of Logotypes – A collection of vintage logos printed in the mid-70's edition of the book World of Logotypes. The book is currently out of print, but you can check out the scans here.
Logo Modernism – You can find a lot of useful books in the Internet Archive, and Logo Modernism is one of them. Boasting over 6,000 logos from 1940-80, it showcases a wide range of styles, from bold and simple to intricate and detailed.
Logobook – An online showcase of fine black and white, minimalistic logos, symbols and trademarks made for several companies around the world by some of the best in branding, like Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. If you think you’re a good fit, you can also submit your own amazing creations to be a part of their archive.
Logoed – A carefully curated collection of logos, each one better than the last. You could easily spend hours browsing the site. The best part? If you find a logo you love, just click to explore the full project and see how it's applied in different contexts. Plus, you can submit your own top designs for a chance to be featured in the catalogue.
Glyph Drawing Club – Glyph Drawing Club is a free online modular design and text art tool for creating custom type design, illustrations, logotypes and more. Creating images with it requires precision, but the results are unique.
Illustration made with Glyph Drawing Club.
FONT TOOLS
Font Brief – Discover the perfect font for your project with an intuitive search tool based on personality traits. The fonts are thoughtfully curated and categorized by "moods," ranging from familiar to bold, technical to organic, and neutral to expressive. The user experience makes it a pleasure to explore.
Wordmark – In the "Your Fonts" section, you can type in any word or phrase and instantly see it displayed in every font installed on your computer. It's a quick and easy way to explore your font library, making font previewing effortless.
Letterform Archive – A respected institution regarding typography design, dedicated to collecting materials on the history of lettering, typography, printing, and graphic design. Everything that makes their archive is museum-worthy.
Luc Devroye - Created by scientist Luc Devroye, this extensive resource features over 90,000 entries on type design, type designers, font history, typography, and the mathematics behind type design. It also covers font software and other typographic topics, making it a go-to encyclopedic for all things related to fonts and typefaces.
Typo/Graphic Posters — In the "Archive" section, you'll discover over 10,000 typography-focused posters from hundreds of designers, ranging from the traditional to the rebellious.
Fontspace — This website for downloading fonts is a universe on its own. Fontspace offers more then 130,000 legally licensed fonts for free, a wide selection for any project.
MODERN MOCKUPS
Free Mockup World – With more than 400 (!) pages of quality mockups for products, branding, apple devices and so on, this site offers more than you'll ever need. But since it’s all free, you might as well download a few extra “just in case”!
Is.graphics – Featuring a diverse range of kits with mockups, animated 3D, flat vectors, and more, this platform has the potential to be a one-stop-shop for art directors. You can enjoy a variety of freebies, and for $10, you can unlock access to all their releases.
BLK Market – Its stripped-back aesthetic mockups focuses on functionality, creating a minimalist and monochromatic experience where content takes center stage. Despite being paid, they have unique designs and some useful freebies.
Mockup Maison – Contemporary mockups with a touch of Swedish design. Every template is neat and clean, making your work be seen in the proper light. It’s not always cheap, but very professional-looking.
The Brand Identity – A marketplace with mockups, templates, assets, and books by designers, studios, type foundries and brands at the top of their game.
Mr. Mockup – An extensive collection of simple yet well-crafted mockups, affordable bundles and over 30 pages of free downloads. You can also explore the deals on graphics and fonts.
PHOTOGRAPHY STOCKS
Every Stock Photo — Free stock search engine where you can filter for public domain images, sourced from a number of sites like Flickr, NASA, and Wikimedia.. Be sure to check each photo’s license by clicking the icon to the left below each image.
Public Work — Developed by the same team behind Cosmos, this platform is a good resource for vintage images in the public domain. You can use all images freely, as they are not subject to any licenses.
Unsplash — With over 6 million free high-resolution photos and illustrations, Unsplash is a community-driven platform where hundreds of thousands of contributors share their original images for you to add creativity to your projects.
Pexels – Lesser-known stock platforms can be great finds. Pexel is analternative to popular stock services. All images and videos have high-quality and poetic. The platform is driven by a vibrant community of creators who generously share their work for free.
Pixabay — A highly popular and comprehensive stock image platform, offering over 5 million high-quality images, videos, and music. Its extensive library makes it a go-to resource for design projects.
Adobe Stock — A competitor to major companies like iStock and Getty Images, Adobe Stock is the only paid stock on this list. The reason I’m including it is because it is still cheaper than other popular options and it has the best quality of assets.
TEXTURE SUPPLIES
Texture Labs — Brady Erickson developed this website as a way of helping designers create more innovative texture designs. The resources can be used in commercial work, with only a few exceptions. I also recommend checking out their YouTube channel for tutorials and inspiration. The man is a genius.
True Grit Texture Supply — Pro-quality brushes, tools and effects for illustrators, with lots of assets for free. Also check out their tutorials and interviews they can be very inspiring.
Lost and Taken — From stained, vintage, and painted paper to an extensive variety of textures, it offers a unique collection. The quality is fantastic, and they have some real gems.
Poly Haven — Although this is tailored to 3D artists—it’s really just texture images! You can download them in large sizes and use them however you want. Don’t let the sphere layout fool you!
Free Stock Textures — A super handy site with tons of free textures, from wood and metal to stone and more abstract patterns, all available for personal and commercial use.
AmbientCG — A vast library of seamless textures, HDRIs, and PBR materials available for free. With a focus on photorealism, AmbientCG is an invaluable resource for 3D artists, designers, and game developers.
EXTRA GIFTS
Beautiful News Daily — A collection of good news, positive trends, uplifting statistics and facts, all beautifully visualized in infographics beautiful enough for inspiring your own creations.
Deck.Gallery — Learn how to make the perfect pitch PDF with the best people in the field. This platform offers a curation of beautifully designed decks, slides, keynotes, guidelines, reports (or whatever you call them) from large studios, brands and agencies.
Lottie Files — Lightweight animations you can easily drop into your projects, perfect for adding motion to your websites, apps, or any creative work. They offer both free and premium options.
Paper Sizes — Whether you’re designing a poster, a book, or another physical creative piece, you’ll need to work with right paper dimensionsThis website makes everything easier by laying down the sizes that you might need for your project, so you don’t have to go looking every time.
Guide Guide — Guide Guide helps you create customizable grid systems in programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, streamlining the workflow and making it easier to keep your designs neat and aligned.
Same Energy — A site where you can search for visuals that evoke the same vibe. Whether you’re looking for inspiration or just want to see how different things relate, this is a playful way to explore connections in design and art.
Now you’re ready to take on new challenges and bring innovative ideas to your projects.
Do you have any website recommendations of your own? Drop them in the comments!
You can also download a clickable list of all these sites—just drop your email below.
And don’t forget to share with your friends! >>-;;;--—--;;-->
