Design Inspiration : DesignersWhoBlog.com

This is a super blog that I've only just discovered and it's fair to say it's bursting with inspiration for anyone with an interest in art, design, advertising and more.



DesignersWhoBlog.com is a jumping off point to (what seems like) hundreds of cool blogs from designers all over the world.

Design Inspiration : MagazineArt.org

MagazineArt.org is a wonderful site featuring a huge database of magazine covers from the 19th and 20th century. It contains covers from magazines you probably never knew even existed - women's magazines, gardening, movies, pulp and the artwork is terrific. I particularly like the Adventure section with lots of fairly rough looking dudes or damsels in distress on the covers.

So if you're having a creative block, take a look at this site for some inspiration.

Design Inspiration : Michael Elins

I'm always on the lookout for inspiration for both myself and my class and there is no end of incredible talent out there working in our beloved Photoshop.

Michael Elins is a photographer and illustrator whose work has graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine numerous times. I first came across his work when I read an excellent tutorial on retouching in Computer Arts magazine a couple of years ago. As well as photographing celebrities he also takes his work into Photoshop where he works some extra magic.

Check out his website at www.michaelelins.com

Design Inspiration : Derek Bacon

I came across Derek Bacon's work in Computer Arts magazine a couple of years ago. He is a photo montage artist and Photoshop is one of his tools of choice.

I imagine that many of the pictures start out as fairly mundane scenes of ordinary life but they are transformed into something very special in the hands of this artist. Bright colours light up drab scenes and give a whole new meaning to the image. Check out his portfolio here for some design inspiration!

Web Design: Inspiration - Design Observer has a new look

The Design Observer has recently been redesigned (in fact a lot of re-designing seems to be happening around the web at the moment). The new design is simple and elegant.

On the new design the editors say:

"We've stuck with this design for over two years, despite many complaints that we were 1) not being designers, and 2) that reversed-out type is difficult to read. However, when we started, we were determined to focus on the content first, and the form second, and this default template has served us well."

Very nice, it is too.

Design Inspiration : Photoshop in Action - Greg Apodca

This site has some great before and after images of work done using Photoshop. Greg Apodaca is a digital artist in California who does some wonderful work as digital image retoucher. The portfolio includes many examples using rollovers which allow you to view the image before Greg works his magic and the results afterwards.

Illustrator: Inspiration - Adobe Illustrator in Action

I believe it's very important to look at how other people use design software - both in terms of seeing what the software can do in the hands of a pro and also for inspiration for your own work.

Todd Ferris is an artist and designer who uses Adobe Illustrator to amazing effect with his wonderful illustrations of classic cars. Have a look at http://www.warking.com/.

Design Inspiration: Absolut Art

Absolut vodka began its involvement with art and design in 1985 with ABSOLUT WARHOL - Andy Warhol's dramatic and colorful depiction of the well known vodka bottle. The ads are now as famous for their design as for the product they are advertising. Absolut Vodka´s advertising campaign is the world´s longest ever uninterrupted one and to date, it comprises over 1,450 original ads.

Absolut has worked with painters and artists in all fields, including sculptors, crystal glass designers, photographers, furniture designers, architects and jewelry designers.

The Absolut website has some cool downloads including wallpapers and movies and screensavers based around the designs. Other Absolut-related websites include absolutads.com and a site with a wonderful gallery of the ads absolutad.com (yes, it is different than the other site!)

Web Design: Inspiration

A great website for design inspiration is Netdiver - http://www.netdiver.net/. It is one of the sites I visit frequently and has wonderful portfolios covering Photography, Illustration, Web Design and Flash. It is updated regularly and highlights new talent with spotlights and interviews.