Websites. Software. Consulting

Friday Inspiration for Website Design

By Rachael Grady

Added Friday 19/06/2009

Every day when I come into work I kind of have the same routine. Walk to work (lucky me), grab a latte, sit down at my desk, switch the computer on, check my emails and respond accordingly, then open up the internet and off I go...

There are so many amazing and inspiring websites to look at that I find hours go by before I realise there is work to be done and I really should get on with it. This, I don't find, is wasted time. Far from it. In fact, I feel it's vital to keep up to date and on the ball. Maybe I am researching for a up and coming pitch, learning how do use a new techniques in Photoshop (which I love to do at least once a week...there are so many!), seeing what's new in the design world, reading blogs or just being taken from one amazing site to another...the list is endless. The web is an essential part of my day to day schedule. I love it. I love finding something new and marvelling at how sites have been made or designed or just getting as much information into my head as possible.

I decided to put together a small collection of sites that I love peruse on a daily/weekly basis, or sites that I just think are so darn pretty I just have to look at them for the sake of it. Enjoy.


Design Taxi



Daily news, Interviews and portfolios of designers around the world


Design Charts



Really great (mainly Flash) websites.

Design Meltdown



Amazing resource for web designers, current trends, showcases, how to's ...everything you will need. Plus, the site's creator, Patrick McNeil, has written a great book, Web Designers Idea Book, (mine just arrived!) to accompany the site. Worth checking out.


Smashing Magazine



Great when you need some inspiration and has some really useful tutorials, showcases and forums


I Love Typography



Bringing Typography to the masses. Play the font game. It made me scream


Netdiver



Bringing you outstanding work from all over the world.


Peep Show



Great site to play with and truly amazing design work .


WhatTheFont



Cant find that font you need to recreate a logo or design? Don't panic. What The Font allows you to upload an image and finds you the closest match. Pretty Cool.


Design Shack



Excellent site featuring inspiring web design, resources and tutorials.


Logo Design Love



Dedicated to logos. Lovely.


Love Creative



Just genius.


Fleuron



Really lovely little website always featuring great designers/designs/comments from around the world


FormFiftyFive



Fantastic showcase of creative work form around the world.


CreativeRoots



Great blog showing an art and design collection, based on countries of the world.

COLOURlovers



A place to check out a world of colour, compare colour palettes and read colour related news and interviews.

Which websites inspire you? Post a comment below and we will try and add them to the list.