Regardless of the experience, every graphic designer must crave inspiration and new knowledge throughout their career. Luckily, the digital era we live in makes learning pretty straightforward.
Many websites, e-books, tutorials, and tools are at today’s visual creators’ disposal, enabling them to bring every idea into reality.
So, if you are wondering where inspiration hides, stay with us. The following text presents the most popular and valuable websites every designer should know.
Canva
Canva is one of those online resources both experienced graphic designers and beginners gladly use. Also, it is free.
Canva is incredibly convenient for newbies because it has built-in themes and templates that can serve well to an inexperienced creator building a portfolio and sharpening their skills.
In addition, the website offers premium design elements, such as icons, logos, and photos, that you can use to enrich or give a final touch to a project you are currently working on.
Vexels
When you need inspiration but have little time to work on designs, Vexels is your go-to site.
The stock is so rich it will be hard not to find anything that meets your taste and needs.
The platform welcomes everyone in a search for pre-made designs for personal or commercial use. Icons, logos, backgrounds, you name it, Vexels has it all.
Freebie Supply
Freebie Supply hosts high-quality (and free) design resources for tools such as Photoshop, Figma, and Sketch.
PixelBuddha
The first thing to do when considering PixelBuddha is to subscribe to their newsletter and stay up to date with everything coming from their creative cuisine. Aside from premium web design resources, PixelBuddha also offers PSD templates you can download for free.
Design Cuts
Here’s an example of: a) a web and print design templates resource and b) an online community of graphic designers. But that’s not all. Design Cuts has a built-in market where you can buy various design assets.
Craving new knowledge, you say? Here, you can also access freebies and a range of different tutorials.
Dribbble
Dribble is a place to get inspired by looking at the top-notch designers’ work. Also, the content is free and downloadable, so don’t miss checking it out.
GraphicRiver
GraphicRiver is one of the most extensive premium template databases today. The selection of icons, font sizes, and logos puts this platform on our list of go-to sites for graphic designers.
Template.net
For those looking to sharpen their skills and create high-quality graphic design projects, Template.net is a perfect learning resource. Aside from step-by-step guides, the platform offers ready-to-use templates you’ll find in each article.
Logoinspirations
If you are looking for inspiration or a logo template, Logoinspirations is where you should head. The comprehensive collection of logo designs you’ll find here is genuinely breathtaking.
Logo Dose
Are you tired of scrolling through your Instagram feed and looking at the same tiresome content? Follow Logo Dose and feed your imagination and soul with extraordinary designs.
The account is packed with various authors’ pieces, and you can contact either one of them if you wish to use their design.
RookieUp
RookieUp is a good place for those just starting their career. With the help of a mentor, you can create a portfolio that will make you stand out and let the entire world see your beautiful designs.
Adobe Kuler
If you plan to use Adobe Creative Cloud and tools like Illustrator and Photoshop, don’t miss exploring Adobe Kuler, now known as Adobe Color.
This free color palette generator tool allows you to adjust the properties for every color in the palette. Also, you can sync up your preferred pallets with the two programs mentioned above.
UI Space
UI Space offers a high-quality collection of hand-crafted designs. Here you’ll find a bunch of incredible and free stuff, such as fonts and icons.
GraphicBurger
GraphicBurger is another excellent web location to head to whenever you need free yet high-quality visual solutions.
All visitors get free access to text effects, UI kits, mockups, backgrounds, and icons, to name a few. In addition, free design resources available on GraphicBurger are at your disposal for personal and commercial purposes.
Just Creative
Just Creative is a website specializing in graphic design. The founder, Jacob Cass, a freelance graphic designer, created this digital creative space to share valuable advice and inspiration with fellow visual creators.
Google Fonts
As a font directory for open source font styles, Google Fonts is an excellent resource for fonts you can use for personal and commercial purposes.
UI Design Daily
UI Design Dailly hosts UI resources anyone can download and use for inspiration, free of charge. The creator of designs is a well-known interface developer and designer, Ildiko.
DaFont
DaFont offers a handful of font styles, both free and commercial. Therefore, browse through the free yet extensive DaFont collection if you need a font for personal use.
Creative Market
Although primarily designed as an online market where designers sell their templates, Creative Market offers various design assets anyone can download and use for free.
LogoLounge
LogoLounge is a digital corner for graphic designers to contribute their work. However, those interested in seeing these pieces need to pay a small fee to access all submitted designs.
Behance
Behance is a household name in graphic design circles. It is a social media platform where creators show their work and share details about the creation process.
Iconfinder
Looking for cool icons has never been easier, thanks to Iconfinder. The ease of use makes it pretty user-friendly, and you can find almost anything you need by simply typing a keyword.
Freepik
Freepik is an ever-growing design resource; hundreds of vectors are uploaded daily on a platform. So make it your go-to platform every time you start a new design.
Freebiesbug
Aside from UI designs for which it is most famous, Freebiesbug also offers various PSD files, vector files, and free fonts. At Freebiesbug, everything is color-coded, so you’ll quickly find everything you need.
DeviantArt
DeviantArt is another online location you should head to seek inspiration. Artists from all around the globe submit their work on the platform. But, whether a specific piece is downloadable depends on the artist. Either way, inspiration is always available.
Flaticon
With over 70 thousand icons, Flaticon is the largest database of free vector icons every graphic designer should have on their list of free online resources.
1001 Free Downloads
Aside from a wide variety of free royalty images, 1001 Free Downloads can be a valuable platform for beginners due to the extensive collection of gradients, fonts, and brushes.
Picjumbo
Do you need a stock photo website? If so, check out Picjumbo. The platform offers an extensive photo collection from which you can choose photos, download them, and use them for your graphic design website.
In addition, Picjumbo offers an unlimited premium membership, enabling members access to exclusive illustrations and photos every month.
Font Squirrel
Font Squirrel is heaven on earth for a graphic designer seeking exciting fonts. The great thing about this site is the collection of fonts and typefaces it offers, all for free.
ScreenSiz.es
When working on an app design, you need to know the screen sizes of various devices, smartphones, tablets, and monitors. However, all you need is a good ally, such as ScreenSiz.es, a website where you can find the required screen sizes.
365PSD
Similar to Freepik, 365PSD is a valuable graphic design resource. It is free. In addition, various visual elements, such as icons and vectors, appear every day.
Logo Inspiration Generator Tool
With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming and time-consuming to find the right source for inspiration. Luckily, the Logo Inspiration Generator Tool allows you to make your search effective using specific criteria, such as color or style.
Smashing Magazine
Smashing Magazine is a treasure trove of expert articles offering practical advice every graphic designer or developer could benefit from. If you are interested in what’s new in the field of web design or web development, make sure to put Smashing Magazine on your reading list.
UI Pixels
Another free graphic design resource. UX Pixels offers free PSDs, among many things, so feel free to download and use them.
Coolors
An experienced graphic designer knows how important choosing the suitable color scheme is. Now, you can make this process straightforward with Coolors, enabling you to create your color palettes.
Besides mobile, there’s a desktop version too. The site is set up to auto-generate five color palettes, allowing you to change each.
Design DB
Design DB is an extensive, high-quality, breathtaking (you name it) database of the most popular freebies for graphic designers.
Pixeden
Are you looking to create a new graphic design template, but you lack inspiration? Then, go to Pixeden, a valuable free and premium design templates resource.
The great thing is, even a subscription fee is not high, and for a reasonable price, you’ll get access to high-quality graphic elements, including icons and vectors, web and print designs.
Designermill
Designermill is a collection of valuable, top-notch visual resources for both beginners and experienced creators.
Creative Bloq
Creative Bloq is another fantastic learning resource. Created to provide tips and tricks on crafting a unique design, this free site hosts articles covering various design topics and fields.
The Noun Project
The Noun Project‘s mission is ”create, share, and celebrate the world’s visual language.” You can access their library of icons by using search. Then, you can change the icon’s color and save it as a PNG or SVG file.
FontShop
FontShop is a digital retailer that allows designers to browse and license both free and premium fonts. It also provides tips and tricks on using various typefaces, whether in pairs or alone.
Pixabay
Pixabay is an online photo database hosting over a million free stock photos suitable for personal and commercial use.
Skillshare
Skillshare is an online community built for learning, sharing, and networking. Being part of it allows you to connect with people from your field and attend classes, such as business, lifestyle, and technology.
Book Cover Achieve
Although technology is growing and people are focused on the digital world, print design is still many visual creators’ dream. That’s why sites like Book Cover Archive are an excellent resource for those interested in designing book covers.
Pexels
Pexels offers free stock photos and videos (available under a CC0 license), HD wallpapers, and graphic design tutorials, also free.
Design Matters With Debbie Millman
Design Matters with Debbie Millman is a website and podcast dedicated to creative culture and graphic design.
In each episode, host Debbie Millman chats with writers, artists, musicians, and designers about their field of expertise, challenges they face, and (career) plans for the future.
Vectr
Vectr is graphic design software for vector editing. It is downloadable, and you can use it to create templates and edit images; you can even share those in real-time. Unlike Photoshop, it is free.
The Ultimate Guide to Logo Design
Created by Kyle Courtright, the Ultimate Guide to Logo Design is pure gold; a digital material anyone interested in creating a logo from scratch can learn a lot from.
LogoLounge Publication Series
If you want all your resources in one place, the LogoLounge Publication Series may be it. The entire piece comprises a set of publications featuring a wide range of logo designs gathered from different websites.
Awwwards
The best way to stay atop graphic design trends and get inspired is by visiting Awwwards.com. While you are there, consider voting for the best design.
A Graphic Designer Is an Explorer
Talent and (in)formal education are two key ingredients, or better say, starter points for a graphic designer entering the creative world. However, it takes time to build a reputation and come to the place where potential clients see you as a trustworthy partner.
It takes a lot of practice, searching, trying new things, exploring, building a style, and becoming a professional with whom clients make a long-term relationship and recommend to others.
So don’t be afraid to discover new corners of the digital world. Seek inspiration, be curious, the online world is packed with tips and tricks waiting for you to embrace them; go for it.
