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.
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.
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.
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.
We Love WP is a showcase of websites and blogs powered by WordPress.
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.
Inspiration from flash-based sites. A new site is posted each day.
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.
A web design gallery with a different feel.
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.
An invitation-only image bookmarking service. The images bookmarked by users are showcased for the inspiration of the rest of us.
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.
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.
Graphic design, typography, grid systems, minimalism and modernism.
Featuring vector art from a variety of different designers.
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.
Publications:
The galleries at SPD.org showcase award winning designs.
A huge collection of free PDF magazines.
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.
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.
From the Behance Network.
A niche web design gallery that focuses on sites with outstanding typography.
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.
One of the best sources of product design inspiration with frequent posts.
From the NOTEMPIRE.
Also from the NOTEMPIRE.
Design in drinks.
Home and product design.
The latest products and trends.
A small gallery of Japanese product design.
Motion Graphics:
Warning: You may find yourself spending a lot of time watching these.
From the Behance Network.
Logo Design:
Logo designers have a number of sites specifically dedicated to logo design inspiration.
Illustration:
Illustration is a favorite of many designers and artists. These five sites specialize in showcasing excellent works of illustration.
Multi-Purpose Galleries:
The sites listed in this category are galleries that showcase more than just one type of design.
Posters and Album Covers:
The music and movie industry provide plenty of design inspiration in terms of posters and album covers.
The best site for finding gig posters from bands of all kinds.
A gallery of album covers.
Movie posters of all kinds.
Regular postings of movie posters.
Book Design:
Books design gets less attention than many other types of design, but can be equally inspirational.
A blog focusing on book design.
“Judging books by their covers.”
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.
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.
From the Behance Network.
Fashion and a lot more.
From the NOTEMPIRE.
Industrial Design:
If you’re looking for design inspiration but tired of browsing through web design galleries, industrial design can be another excellent source.
From the Behance Network.
Tons and tons of inspiration in the archives of this Technorati Top 100 blog.
Art:
The sites listed in this section display different types of artwork and/or photography.
Click for Art is an art marketplace. You don’t have to buy anything to be inspired by the work that’s available here.
Different chapters are posted every few months that feature work from various artists.
From the Behance Network.
Various:
These sites are difficult to categorize, in most cases because they provide inspiration that could fit into multiple categories.
Art, architecture, furniture, technology, and more.
Illustration, photography, industrial design, and more.
Art, animation, illustration, advertising, architecture, and more.
Photography, graphic art, illustration, print design, and more.
Black and white design of all kinds.
Architecture, art, fashion, and more.
Photography, graphic design, and more.
A wide variety of all things creative.
Photography, graphic design, technology, and more.
Art, photography, and fashion.
Art, design, culture, and technology.
Design and technology.
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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