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We Love These 7 Design Blogs. You Will, Too
By Scott Helms
The design world changes fast. It seems like there’s always new tools, approaches and tactics to be used on websites. Keeping up with it all is imperative to being a good designer.
Practice makes perfect for sure, but in order to practice well, you need to be informed of changes. And the best way of doing that is keeping an eye on the newest trends and tactics, usually on design blogs.
Here’s a quick run-down of the blogs we habitually follow.
Smashing Magazine
Smashing Magazine offers a great mix of coding, design and graphics info in a easy-to-digest manner. On top of that, there’s a smattering of printed books and ebooks that offer more long form how-tos and advice for designers and programmers.
Treehouse
With such no-nonsense blog topic titles as “Make a Website” and “Learn to Code,” you’d think Treehouse’s approach would be reserved for those just getting started in programming and design. Not the case.
Treehouse brings an educational approach to lots of design and programming topics, from introductory to advanced. The use of screenshots, gifs and occasional video give visual learners a chance to move ahead at their own pace, too.
DesignModo
With a heavy emphasis on WordPress, it’s no wonder that we love DesignModo. They offer tons of great advice for WordPress users, designers and programmers, and their tutorials are a great way to pick up a new skill in a short time.
There’s also an entire category dedicated to free icons, templates, fonts and more. What’s not to love about that?
A List Apart
A List Apart bills itself as a site “for people who make websites.” While their intent my be purposefully vague, their simple (and simply designed) content really does run the gamut from code, content, design – and the industry as well.
Out of any of the sites here, the commenters on A List Apart really stand out. A great community can really make or break your blog, and, in this case, it pushes them ahead of the pack.
Codrops
Codrops is a site that really straddles the balance between designers and programmers well. It’s a site that puts heavy emphasis on finding great solutions through design – and it does a great job.
Its “Playground” is a favorite section of ours – it offers experiments, plugins and articles related to web development and programming, as well as easy-to-access source code that makes coding sites a breeze.
Creative Bloq
When it comes to a mass of great, original content, Creative Bloq takes the cake. With a few dozen categories and years of great content, freebies and tutorials, it’s hard to leave the site without learning something (or at least scratching your head a bit).
We’re big fans of the interview section of Creative Bloq as well, where great designers from around the world chime in on what makes them tick.
Co.Design
As an offshoot of the magazine Fast Company, Co.Design offers smart advice on technology and design, largely within the context of business. While it’s not everyday reading for all designers, it’s a good place to daydream about the future of tech and design – and what you and your company’s place in it might be.
