Design sites & inspiration

I was recently asked by someone for advice in order to push her career into a direction which was more design focussed. I think sometimes it's really difficult to give advice on design in general because it can be so broad and open.

Nowadays I don't even know what to call myself. I studied graphic design for many years, and always called myself a graphic designer. But it seems now that the industry has moved around a bit and I've started calling myself a digital designer. I primarily focus on digital with some design for print involved. I'm very cautious because I think the term 'graphic designer' is kind of becoming more broad and a little more dangerous. Design is becoming a bit more specific and I've seen the following terms used: graphic designer, digital designer, print designer, UX/UI designer, interface designer, web designer.

So, with that it mind it was hard to give advice on my friend who wants to "get more into design" because design is so broad nowadays. To give her a better idea of the type of design is prefers, I sent her a list of sites/blogs/portfolio sites that she can look at and go through to see if there's any type of design which particularly jumps out at her as something she wants to progress to. I decided to share some of these too.

Some are quite broad, some feature more photography or product design but I think to be an all round good designer, despite the fact that I work primarily in digital design creating ads and campaigns, not only do I need to keep up with the latest design trends but also advertising trends, UX/UI trends and even photography trends.

(In no particular order!)

SwissMiss 

www.swiss-miss.com

This site is about a swiss designer who blogs everything from design/architecture to product design. I like her style because she doesn't feel the need to write about absolutely everything. There's usually bits here which appear on other design sites/blogs I've noticed so I know whatever she's posting is up to date and current. Often to not, she posts really cool innovative products, which can be pretty cool. Also, she usually updates on Friday.

Behance 

www.behance.net

Here is a great collection of design of all sorts - you can set up a free portfolio too and like/follow other work. It's great for checking out the latest design trends from digital to print, UX/UI, interface and web designer. I've also noticed more and more design agencies are creating portfolios of their professional work and client work. Definitely check it out.

Dribbble 
www.dribbble.com

This is pretty much the same as Behance except I think you have to be invited to use this site. You can still browse and check the work of others for free but you first off have a basic account and you can pay and upgrade for obviously, a more premium account. There's a lot of great design work on here and I'd recommend it for when you need a little inspiration.

Likecool 

www.likecool.com

I love browsing through the pages on this site. Some things I'm personally really not interested in but there's always concept pieces, innovative products and some pretty cool videos. It's good for a bit of a more quirky need for design inspiration or even if you have a spare few minutes on your lunch break.

Design Taxi
www.designtaxi.com

I personally love this little site. It has everything from design/ photography/ art/ products/ campaigns and advertising. I use this site everyday to see cool trends and interesting articles because it's just so interesting. 

Awwwards

www.awwwards.com

A really great website which allows other websites to be recognised for various UX/UI features, the design, structure and layout. The websites are submitted so they range in content but really great to what other people are doing and how successful (or perhaps un-successful) various types of web design and functionality can be.

Siteinspire

www.siteinspire.com

As the name suggests, it's sites which are inspiring. It's for web design inspiration and you can submit your own sites or other peoples sites. I find this site particularly useful. Much like Awwards.com (above) the content of the sites submitted vary.

Creativebloq

www.creativebloq.com

Here's some really cool general design news, tips and inspiration. It's updated regularly meaning you'll always be up to date with what the industry is talking about (even if the site is a bit cheesy and buzz-feedy...(in my opinion))

Creative Review

www.creativereview.co.uk

My partner and I subscribed to these magazines, but you can also get general content online. This site sells itself as 'advertising, design & visual culture'. Definitely a one stop shop for all your design trends/ articles. I also enjoy that there's usually interviews with up and coming designers/ more well known designers. 

Codrops
www.tympanus.net.codrops

This site holds really cool digital/web design, UX/UI inspiration and is really good to keep up to date on web trends. It also has tutorials and other helpful info. Bookmark this, now.

There's obviously a hell of a lot more that I could mention, I haven't even really touched on adverting blogs which I get updates from but I think for me, these are some of the great sites to make sure you keep on trend. As for my friend, it's a good start to see what sort of design she wants to do and which type of design most excites her. I think in this current design age, you need to know how to do pretty much everything when it comes to design so it doesn't hurt to learn as much as you can and keep all doors open.

Enjoy the sites and links -

Wow-Oh-Wow // Day Two, Three, Four

I'll begin to try and write about these past few days... (I'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense- I'm still trying to digest everything myself)...

WOW

I've finished my first weeks work placement with Sam Winston. If you don't know who he is, I suggest you click on his name and find out.

I had the great opportunity yesterday to have a look at Sam's original 'Orphan' story.

These are a few pictures of his piece.

beautiful

Then later on in the afternoon we went to see George, a very talented print man who has an exceptional eye for imperfections. Sam went to get some prints of his Death festival piece.

I really wanted to attend the exhibition at the South Bank Centre but I unfortunately couldn't make it down but he was kind enough to let me draw my very own circle on the birth piece.

These were all drawn by hand.

The tally's Sam created to keep track of how many circles he had drawn.

TEA!

I'm gradually making my way through Sam's extensive tea collection. Peppermint, camomile and honey, white tea, elderflower etc etc

This is the view form George's studio floor. This was just before the sun started to set. 

(A really yummy very berry smoothie I had this morning... NOM!)

Today I had the opportunity to work on another project Sam is currently doing with Oliver Jeffers.

I was cutting out the type from children's stories to scan in to create another form of artwork. (If this book gets published, I am running to the nearest book shop, buying it and I will scream in excitement that I had a very small input into a great piece of work)

All in all, an absolutely great week. It's nice to have a change from the same day-in, day-out routine I have and to travel and do something different and learn something new and to simply meet new people and enjoy it. 

Sam Winston Placement // Day One

So I had my first day at work placement with the talented Sam Winston yesterday. It's been years since I've been to London, and I've never travelled there on my own so there was an awful lot to take in yesterday. Sam was kind enough to take me out to lunch with a friend. We went to happy kitchen which is a beautiful organic little food shop. The food tastes wonderful. They have strong morals about where their food is sourced from and it's all organic. I've never eaten any where like that do it was like a whole other food culture for me. Sam then took me next door to a salt bread shop where they bake everything in house- niiicee! Sam and I shared a sandwich from there. It was delicious. My train was cancelled in the evening which was a tad annoying but I eventually made it to Bishops Stortford. All in all, a great day. It is a privilege to meet Sam Winston and work with him in his space. I will be taking as much from this trip as humanly possibly and making myself a human sponge and absorbing literally everything. Here goes the next few days....!!

London Liverpool Street

Le Gun Studios Entrance

The wonderful little Salt House Bakery

The organic little 'Happy Kitchen'

Lincoln Art Works

Lincoln Art Works has recently been taken over by a new owner and artist in residence, Rosie. I went along today as my brother, Julian (first picture below) and his business partner Brett were doing the photography. They have had an 'Opening Weekend' (Sat 3rd March-Sun 4th March 12-4pm). A lot of people turned up in support of seeing fantastic artwork from sculpture to metal art to illustration and photography. There really is a great range of artwork to see. Pop along and have a look if you're in the area. (7 West Parade, Lincoln, LN1 1NL) or see their website here www.lincolnartworks.com.

Julian stood next to his photography time-lapse pieces. He has an exhibition at The Lincoln Art Works on March 24th 2012. Come along and see his work! 

Business cards for C&G Photography. Designed by myself.

Brett of C&G Photography

Need I say more?

It's so easy to get caught up in the hype and rubbish of life and to over-think and worry.

But;

Possibly one of the most important things to remember. 

End of.