Guts and information - and bit of talent.
All designers have to defeat the same monsters.
- Inspiration blocks;
- Lack of material, like and unvectorized logo;
- Poor quality images or their non-existence;
- Low or no budget;
- Unhelpful clients;
May I continue?
Well the good news is that you just need courage to persist and the light of information to scare those monsters away.
You got the courage. I got the Info.
Here I’ll give the info that could take you ages to find by yourself or another designer to tell (maybe because of lack of time or selfishness). I tried to cover most of the aspects that will help you in your journey, in a total of 15 aspects. Let’s start with some healthy tips for images.
Images
It is 3 AM; you are pretty tired, your stomach can’t bear another dose of caffeine and you still need that Pretty Business type picture to use in your project, but you don’t have the budget to afford a stock image from gettyimage. Been there? Well, don’t panic. You can get it in HI-RES for free from some great sites - plenty of royalty photos to share, that you can use on your personal and commercial projects, depending on the type of license.
Now you will spend until 4AM trying to decide which photo to use.
This is my site of choice, I’ve been using it using for years, god pretty usable navigation; lots of great quality photos, many ways to sort them.
More great sites :
The biggest photo community site where you can also find perfect pictures for your work. You just have to check if the license is suitable to your project.
Wikimedia imagesearch in 64 categories. Also under the Creative Commons license.
Metasearch (search through several free stock photo sites): pretty useful, but you will needs registering.
At first look this site doesn’t seem that attractive, but once you try your first
search you’ll find a neatly done flash interface with photo previews, sorted by
origin.
The interface is better looking than picfindr’s, but lacks the convenience of a flash interface.
HUGE index of free vector files from the best designers in the world.
From the same guys of vecteezy. Index with daily updates of photoshop brushes.
Pixel patterns
Pixel patterns are in fashion (yes, again), but wait! Not as in annoying animated gif that clutter your page background. They have come back in the form of pixel rich textures varying from clean to Victorian flowers.
Logotypes
You’re working on project and suddenly your client tells you that you have to add several partner logos and all that you’ve got is a Business card to take the logo from.
Frustrating uh?
Well, at least until this 2 little babies came into my life. These 2 sites host vector based company logos from all around the world. So no more unexpected and unpayed hours of logo vectorization. All you need is a bit luck and the logo you need will be in their database.
I can’t say how many times this site has saved my neck with its vector logos. God save this site.
Fonts
Now you weren’t that lucky to find that logo on www.brandsoftheworld.com and you still need it in vectors, but you can’t recognize which font it is using. (Or you are simply wondering what fonts certain corporation or ad campaign has…)
If the logo is not using avantgarde or arial, you’ve got 2 options. Use your skills as Fontographer guru or use the whathefont tool from myfonts.com: it works great! You input the URL from the desired logo or upload the scanned image. Using OCR (optical character recognition), it gives you the font the logo is using or, if not, you’ve got several similar options. This’ going to save you hours of search or the worse, having to vectorize the font… (it gives me the creeps!)
Wanting to do a web2.0 style logo, but not sure where to start? Not even sure what makes a logo look like web 2.0? Let this article guide you through some of the current style in logos, the fonts they use and the way they sort the logos by appearance.
More about what fonts famous sites logos.
Compare fonts on screen.
Now you are going to need some fonts for that logo. You can find a wide range of hi-quality free fonts on these sites. You can even find clones of commercial logos for free!
Icons
Icons are the way to spice things up on a design. Fortunately there are lots of very talented designers that are willing to share with us their tiny masterpieces.
My personal favourite repository of free icons.
Finally someone got the idea. It was hard to look up icon by icon to see which set had the icon I needed.
These little icons (especially the silk one) are almost the standard for many blogs and websites; you will amazed at how many mini icons the set has. For almost every web software.
Another valuable set of mini icons.
More icon resources:
- sweetie.sublink.ca
- converticon.com
- iconfactory.com
- tango.freedesktop.org
- maxpower.ca
- websiteicons.net
Color
One of the big secrets that makes a design look great is its color scheme. You could do a great layout but if it lacks contracts and balance, it’s condemned to oblivion.
I’ll present this little marvel first. Colozilla is a Firefox extension that allows you to pick colors from your browser. Saving you the hassle of taking screenshots and pick the color in photoshop.
Several premade color schemes. And superb color wheel tool. You won’t believe how inspirational and useful this could be. And how this will be a excellent opportunity to try your newly added colorzilla tool
Canonical (Huge) List of Online Color Resources for Designers
Educational Material
All you need is a little discipline and patience, and you can surely achieve great results in no time. There are loads of stuff for you to learn, I am just presenting the tip of the iceberg.
More than a tutorial, this’ a DIY (Do It Yourself) Guide to WEB 2.0 Style. It’s constantly updated. I personally love this site. The guide tells you step by step what makes a design looks web 2.0 and how to achieve it.
This is a must for any web-designer developer. Tons, I mean, TONS of free on-line courses offered in an intuitive way.
More Education Resources.
- developer.yahoo.com
- good-tutorials.com
- totaltutorial.com
- kirupa.com
- cameronolthuis.com
- tutorialized.com
- dailyblogtips.com
- stud.cmd.hro.nl
- webpagesthatsuck.com
Inspiration
Don’t Panic! Inspiration is not only for Davinich’s or Michelangelo’s. You just need the muses to visit you. And here are some pretty gorgeous ones. Remember, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you start a design. Just the right source of inspiration study of what makes it look, good implementation and viola: a lovely design.
50+5 source for inspiration smashed into one post.
These are going to make your life easier indeed. They save you a lot work by smashing humongous amounts of info. In this case, inspiration material.
More inspiration:
- flickr.com
- cssbeauty.com
- cssinsert.com
- webcreme.com
- webdesigngalleries.wordpress.com
- dynamicdrive.com
- styleboost.com
Tools
This Firefox extension is a must. It shows you how the webpage is created block by block. It shows the source code of the element from page.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Have you ever seen this dummy text? Sure you have. It comes in handy when you have to “simulate” text because it give you a more natural feeling than the “text text text text”or “Link 1 Link 2 Link 3”.
A Basecamp clone, but opensourse. Project management tools to deal with your client, files, milestones, etc.
CSS and HTML validators, SEO tools, Social services, Web proxies, Network tools, Text tools, Image tools in one site.
Online background image generator.
Tweak your CSS. Backgrounds,Borders, Lists Fonts to make it shine.
More than 50 ajax and dhmtl downloadable scripts.
Don’t suffer bad surprises again. Like, “dude that layout is totally scrambled in IE 6!”. Been there? With this online tool you will get a screenshoot of several browsers in less than 30 minutes.
Blogs and forums
Design Blogs and forums are fantastic (as this one intends to become)! They give inspiration, freebies, how to’s, tutorials and, the best of all, the opportunity to meet other designers and be part of the community.
To know it is to love it. In my opinion, the best and the biggest design community out there.
Valuable design forum with many helpful people willing to share their knowledge.
One of my favorite design blogs. Constantly updated, useful articles, many design freebies and what’s more important the site that inspired my to finally launch this site. Thank you.
More Sites:
CSS
Don’t feel guilty if you still use tabled designs. CSS are here to stay and it’s no more an option. I know it’s pretty scary when you’ve been all your life using tables to jump to CSS - it’s a whole parallel universe. And all those compatibility problems and WYSWG. But fear no more, there are step by step’s and resources. You will be doing your CSS designs quicker that setting a row span.
This is the category from the CSS Smashing Magazine (yes, listed again on this post); probably the biggest selection on CSS material on the web.
No time to design yourself? Give it a try this site more 2000 Free CSS design.
Would you prefer CSS sand boxes better? Those sites offer ready made Blank CSS layouts for you to download and fill with your designs.
This is a free software to create more than 60 Tab navegation menus in CSS.
More CSS Resorses
- quazen.com/Computers/Programming/How-To-Create-a-Tableless-Layout-with-Dropdown-Menus.24213/1
- developer.yahoo.com/yui/grids/
- cssfly.net
Money
Business going slow? Or maybe you think you deserve more for your work. Well, Freelancing is a great option. You just need to go to the right places to offer you job.
Before you start, some tips and tricks for pricing a project.
- sitepoint.com/article/web-work-should-charge
- webdesign.about.com/cs/salaries/a/aa022403a
- blueflavor.com/blog/tips_tricks/pricing_a_project
- getcashboard.com
Now you can offer your work.
This is my personal favorite. It’s got many well-paid design contests in different categories from logos to complete website. And places to sell your website templates. Everything in clean and excellent design interface that really facilitates the process.
My close second favorite. It lacks some interface functionalities Sitepoint has, but it’s also an excellent choice to offer your designs.
Web Designer’s Success Guide Free Ebook is the definitive guide to starting your own freelance.
More sites to offer your work:
Productivity
Even if you consider meals as an interruption, considering to buy Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap you need to eat, take a shower, s l e e p!, make love with your girlfriend (or boyfriend) and stretch to be productive.
- webdesignfromscratch.com/ten-productivity-tips.cfm
- health24.com/dietnfood/DietDocs_articles/15-1871,27044.asp
- baptistonline.org/health/healthieryou/health/ergonomics.asp
Earn a Graphic Design Degree
Find online and campus programs on the complete directory of graphic design schools & College degrees.
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Tags: 139 Comments
139 responses so far ↓
nice resources, thanks a lot for sharing..
Wow. That’s an amazing list. Thanks.
Thanks for a collection of good stuff - well presented too. Ever thought of a job in design ;)
Too much to read in one sitting - bookmarking this one!
thanks for your kind comments guys!
I actually work as a freelance designer :) that huge post was just more than 10 years work condensed. In fact it was a bigger post i had to trim it a little.
thank you very much indeed.
I’ll be keeping this page handy :)
[...] has compiled an outstanding list of resources where designers can find images, guides, and perhaps most importantly, [...]
Some additions:
Go Media’s Arsenal has some of the best stock vectors around:
http://www.gomedia.us/arsenal
High quality design tutorials:
http://www.gomediazine.com
http://www.pixel2life.com
Blue Vertigo:
http://www.bluevertigo.com.ar/
Clean CSS optimizer:
http://www.cleancss.com
You Work For Them:
http://www.youworkforthem.com
Fantastic website!
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know (tags: blog code color css design font fonts free graphics images inspiration tools resources webdesign) [...]
Nice list!
I got another cool addition:
http://www.inserit.com - they currently have a free blog module that lets web designers set up a blog with their own designs (without programming a thing)
Great! Amazing resources here!
always a good source for inspiration
http://www.digital-artist.de.vu
[...] tend to recommend businesses create their own websites, if you feel that you want to anyway, this may interest [...]
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know (tags: webdesign resources design inspiration tools images graphics) [...]
Thx A Lot
i’am really impressed!!
Thanks for the additions!
impressive new ones like http://www.digital-artist.de.vu
I cant believe i forgot bluevertigo.com.ar.
[...] snap2shot - More than 85 free resources every designer should know. [...]
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know 85가지, 웹디자인관련 사이트, 툴, 등등 (tags: graphics images inspiration resources) [...]
Another cool inspiration resource is http://www.depthcore.com
Great stuff. Well and truly bookmarked!
Great post ..!!
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should KnowTags: webdesign design resources [...]
It seems you rating plugin is not working. Yesterday I rated it as 5/5 and now its still showing No ratings as yet.
So I rated it again .. :D
Hi ,
Thanks for sharing such nice info , i m already in DigitalPoint /SitePoint , Both are great to learn n Earn
Tulip
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know i keep trying to be a designer, and i keep failing (tags: webdesign) [...]
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
This is a wonderful list!
Lowell
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know (tags: webdesign resources inspiration free) [...]
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know (tags: webdesign resources inspiration free) [...]
JACKPOT
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should KnowI tried to cover most of the aspects that will help you in your journey, in a total of 15 aspects. [...]
[...] Snap2Objects has an excellent list of resources for various aspects of the Web Design process. Free images, fonts, education and reference, it’s all in there. [...]
this is a big WOOOOOOOT!
AMAZING LINKS!
Great collection of tools!
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know [...]
Awesome, thanks for making this list. Some great site there.
[...] 85 recursos que todo Diseñador web debería conocer (Inglés)www.snap2objects.com/2007/06/06/85-killer-resources-every-de… por sauco82 hace pocos segundos [...]
bastantes sitios, voy a echarle un vistazo.
pagine piuttosto informative, piacevoli =)
WOW Your list is really very helpful.Thanks a lot
Nice list you’ve got there. Thanks
[...] einem relativ neuen Blog eines Web-Workers, gibts eine wirklich sehr gute Linkliste mit 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know. Darunter Links zu Sites mit guten und freien Grafiken, Fonts und Icons und dergleichen mehr. [...]
Check this out, lots of inspirations: http://www.designmeltdown.com
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know [...]
[...] 85 liens bien utiles : ressources photos, tutorials, css, etc… Via. [...]
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know | snap2objects (tags: design webdev) [...]
Thanks, lots of great stuff here.
Thanks for sharing, great resources!
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know (Via Hélcio Brasileiro) (tags: design tools web2.0 webdesign reference) [...]
…
Great link ”collection”!
Thanks.
…
Thanks a lot, this is a great content to share!
[...] Link [...]
thank you so much for your generosity!
muito obrigada por tamanha generosidade!
De nada eleonora :) legal que você tenha gostado.
That is an incredible piece of work. Thank you so much.
You sir, are my hero :)
[...] Julho 3rd, 2007 Estava dando uma navegada na Internet quando encontrei uma lista de mais de 85 sites muito bacanas p… [...]
Thanks! Here is another good one:
http://www.designeducation.ca
I am more than glad that you have like this article. Please keep posting your additions to the list. I will be releasing a revised and extended version of this one considering your suggestions.
thanks :)
Insane… It-s great,, i just come from a similar list http://www.dezinerfolio.com/2007/04/22/the-web-designers-tool-kit/
But yours is better :D Thanks a lot!!!
[...] the foundation of a successful web site. 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know LaunchWeb 2.0 Design GuideLaunch Filed under: Web [...]
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know 85 recursos para el diseñador Web (tags: webdesign design resources tools free) Marcadores [...]
These are great and really killer tips! thanks for sharing! A must read for all Graphic and Web Designers!
Thanks. A great collection of resources. Here is a useful site with many professional open-source resources for web developers as well.
http://www.webappers.com
Wow, this is a lot of good information. I especially like the “whats that font?” program. I’ll definitely try it out.
This web page might be a good resource too. It contains over 130 web design buttons.
http://www.dragnet.se/webbdesign/button_collection.html
[...] http://www.snap2objects.com/2007/06/06/85-killer-resources-every-designer-should-know [...]
[...] Es muy difícil hacer el trabajo bien sin las herramientas adecuadas. Aquí os dejo una pequeña lista de las que utilizamos en lapicerdo.com cuando tenemos que echar mano de la red a la hora de plasmar alguna idea… esperamos que os sean útiles. Muchos de estos links y algunos otros los podéis encontrar en este utilísimo post (en inglés): Más de 85 fantásticos recursos gratuitos que todo diseñador debería conocer. [...]
[...] Source: 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know [...]
Couple of additions:
http://www.photogen.com
http://www.freeres.info
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know [...]
Thank you for the list. Here’s another helpful site:
http://www.freewebsitebuttons.com
this is one of the best collections ever. I dug & bookmarked you. thanks for this great resource!
Nice Article. Thanks.
[...] makes a web-designer a great web-designer? Guts and information - and bit of talent. All designers have to defeat the same [...]
This is truly fabulous. I found it via digg AND stumble upon. Great information, very well put together. Inspiring!
Great list! Very suitable for my webdesign-bookmark-list! :)
[...] 85 killer Resources every designer should know: Here snap2objects goes into great length to provide a big list of free resources with images, pixel patterns, logotypes, fonts, icons, colour schemes, tools and many other [...]
[...] 85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know Share This Sharing Is Good. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
[...] the web, you need to be into graphics) then the list of resources Snap2Object has put together in this post will be useful. You’ll find everything from libraries of company logos to tutorials, and most [...]
[...] werden nicht nur die 45 besten Freeware Designprogramme vorgestellt, sondern zudem eine Liste der besten kostenlosen Quellen für (Web-)Designer aufgeführt! Vom Online-CSS-Generator, über Templates bis hin zu Fonts, Icons [...]
[...] has an amazing compilation of resources for the aspiring designer, including stock image repositories, free logo, font, and icon sites, [...]
Thanks for the tips, especially the icons! Those are more useful than most people could image. Even Windows software can be improved by some good icons.
Can I suggest #86? An FTP client that tells you which files need to be uploaded … it’s enough to keep track of all your design elements, let the computer track files.
http://forrestcroce.com/Software/WebMaestro.html
Thx for knowledges.
Good Job ! bro . CONGRATULATIONS ! very well
WOW !!
Very well compiled list …
I will bookmark this page.
nice refference man, your link is in my bookmark, thanks , i found what im lookin for here . u make the shortcut :wink:
WOW! Thanks for this great info. Bookmarking it right now :) Thanks again.
Great site!
This was an amazing post. I do want to comment that there is another great site for color schemes. You can actually pick out colors that you like and even filter it down from warm to cool to neutral. I have found it to be an amazing resource. You can check it out at http://www.colourlovers.com/
Great post. Thanks for the info.
great help! especially for us that dont even know where to start! i found evrything very usefull and know i’m having fun with my new paintbrushes!
thanks man, I was looking for this …. just clicked on your ads… nice artice…
Sweet post. Thanks;
This has been the most info for resources I have gotten ever!!! Every link I click on has tons of other links… the inspiration is endless! Thank you!!!
Great stuff..thanks man. The only thing I have a complaint about, well not really a complaint, just a comment, the thing under productivity where it says make love to your girlfriend…so it seems to imply that designers are all guys..May not have been your intent, but just pointing that out
2 thumbs up very informative thank you
Design Float is missing… ;)
Great stuff, really! May I also suggest http://www.iconiza.com for custom icon desings, and some free icon sets too.
Thanks!
@Angela, you are totally right Angela! could be a lovely fem designer and I do know some pretty rocking! I will update!
This is definetly great site - my flavour.
TNX
Reeeeeeeeealy great. TNX
You may be also inetrested in
http://www.ratemydrawings.com - simple online painter may be refreshing.
PS: admin may I use a link to your site on mine????
Really Great…..Superb..
Thanks for sharing your experience. Its not so easy to find like this one. Great….
Thank you so much for these extremly insipring tips. Helped me a whole lot with my creative block.
Thank you so much, this is amazing!
Nice post - good info.
You can get thousands of high-res free stock photos for commercial use at Freerange Stock - http://www.freerangestock.com.
Thank alot for ur reference,this very usefull to me…
hey great set i came here second time i gues can really finish reading whole post :P
Nice list - some of those sites might be very useful, but sometimes if you don’t have “webdesigners’ spirit” within - nothing will help you. Cheers
@Robert. Thnaks Robert you are so right about the “designer spirit” you might have all the books, sites, programs, but that doesn’t make you a Designer.
Great site you have luv the “story about your site.
A definite bookmark…great list. You forgot my favorite though…
http://www.allgraphicdesign.com - its a directory of resources for designers…and I’m a regular on their design forum.
Good list. I would have added my site, http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/ - it is a huge directory of graphic design resources, a popular forum, and articles. But I am partial to my own site because it is my baby. :-) Good list.
Thanks.
Rachel
Great collection for wm. thanx ;)
Thanks for the list… it’s really helpful for us designers (and non-designers as well)
And you forgot the all important “decision maker” for when you just can’t decide which way to go!
http://www.ifate.com/fateball.html
Dont you think you should add talkfreelance to the list ;)
Uao. Thank’s so much.
Damn man, I looked exactly 5 hours and 26 minutes for your website. I read your article some time ago and I missed bookmarking your page. I stumbled and stumbled and googled and finally I got here. Thanks for sharing this amazing stuff with us. Thanks again and good luck!
@Daniel Glad you find me again :D, you should subscribe this time to the blog ;)
Thanks a lot for this extensive list - I put it on ma.gnolia. Concerning icon resources I made up a list of 33+ websites on my Blog which offer icons for both: commercial and personal use. You’re invited to visit :)
great post. thanks! you’re more than welcome to come over for a coffee in my town.
Hello, I was aware of this post from long days, But not have enough time to bookmark all this.
Today I did bookmark. Thanks for these Really
As for logo inspiration, I can add:
http://www.logosauce.com/
http://www.lo8os.com/
But Logopon is definitely the best of breed.
Awesome! Thanks so much! Great great!!!
———-
My small portal: http://www.3303.ru
Great and huge list of resources thanks. I’d also like to add dead-links.com, very useful to find errr dead links on the site.
activeCollab (project management) isn’t open source anymore. Give a try to ProjectPier http://www.projectpier.org , forked from last aC open source version.
Hi,
blessed pepeople like you, willing to share their trsures with others. Thanks.
You have a great pleace, and with many valuable tresures.
I just begun to build my site, and graphic desighn, I hope I’ll make something nice, a lot with your site help.
Ella from Israel.
I can’t thank you enough for this. So helpful.
Wow! This helped a lot!
Amazing! Congratulations for this post! Thanks a lot!
Excellent collection. Thanks a million.
It’s amazing how long ago this post is and how very relevant all these bookmarks still are.
Thanks for the list.
The link for site point isn’t quite right. At least when I clicked it- it came up as ttp.sitepoint.com/ (note: “ttp” instead of “http”) Someone may have commented this out already- sorry if it’s a dupe.
Anyway, I really appreciate the insights and the links. Thanks
Try http://www.freegraphicscentre.com
There are thousands of cost free graphics available for immediate download including photos, illustrations, fractal, backgrounds and texture etc
Good Job! Very useful article! Thanks for sharing!
Wowww!
Nice one. I´ve been keeping a list of sites I manage to find. Thanks to you I have a lot more places to search these precious resources.
Of the few sites I had on my list the only one that wasn’ t on yours is
http://www.ideem.it/ , wich is an italian site with packaging templates, it´s handy sometimes.
Thank you very much for this.
Thanks you for the expansive list, looking forward to diving in.
Wow. That’s an amazing list. Thanks.
I’m still coming back to this link dump after 12mths, it has always fired me up when I’m in dire need of inspiration- thanks for the post!