Let me preface this by saying that I’m not a designer. I have never designed a graphic, or a website, nor have I learned any of the technical skills to do so (just haven’t gotten around to it yet). However, I would say that I have an appreciative eye for design. I get excited by a beautifully laid out website as much as I do by any other brilliant piece of visual art, and good design gets my creative juices flowing.
We recently posted an infographic with tips on how to rediscover your creativity. These tips are helpful, but I find that I get most inspired when I take the time to look at what others are doing–what’s already out there that I can draw from.
Once I realized there was a world outside of Pinterest for such inspiration, I have discovered a ton of sites where people highlight their work for others to see, and perhaps to hook a client or two.
Here are five sites that I peruse on a nearly daily basis, just for fun or to share ideas with the designers I work with.
1. The Best Designs
Aptly named, this site showcases designs and the designers who made them. They have pages dedicated to themes, collections, and even workspaces.
2. Dribbble
Dribbble is a community of designers posting the projects that they are currently working on. It is a place to show and tell, promote, discover, and explore design.
3. Webby Awards
These awards only take place once a year, but there are SO MANY WINNERS that one could spend days scrolling through the winning websites and entries.
4. Behance
Similar to Dribbble, Behance lets designers upload their projects for others to see. You can search for different themes, and designs, and follow designers so you’re always updated on their work.
5. Information is Beautiful
Information is beautiful. Ain’t that the truth? This site gives tons of ideas to help visualize data. It features designs to create gorgeous, clear, and easy to read charts, graphs, and infographics.