As a print company, we receive all kinds of designs – from the blurry, garish and badly edited, to the most beautiful print materials, which become works of art in their own right. We know what makes a good design, and if you want to make the most effective print marketing materials, you’ll need to know it too.
Luckily, there are people out there who want to help. Thanks to intuitive graphic design tools and the collective wisdom of the internet, you can become a genius graphic designer in the comfort of your own home.
A quick google search will reveal thousands of graphic design blogs, all aimed at helping you learn the basics, gain resources and master your design skills. In fact, there are so many great design blogs out there, that the variety of choice can be overwhelming. Here to help you find the perfect advice for your print marketing materials, we’ve compiled our definitive list of the best graphic design blogs. Give them a browse, and you’ll be a design guru in no time.
1. Adobe Create Magazine
Create Magazine is Adobe’s official creative design blog. As the world’s undisputed leader of all things design, Adobe is an industry leading voice that you can definitely trust. The magazine is dedicated to graphic design and communication design, featuring work and articles by innovative artists and agencies working in digital and print media. Articles include interviews with leading artists and designers, font picks for posters, and top tricks for Adobe Photoshop. This is a rare opportunity to learn the ropes from the masters themselves. Who better to teach you about Photoshop than the people who make it?
2. Abduzeedo
Abduzeedo is a leading graphic design blogs that offers daily design inspiration. Every day they post carefully curated designs, artworks and concepts, which you’ll find utterly inspiring. They feature interviews, tutorials, and collections of work, as well as software tutorials and commentaries on industry trends. Abduzeedo showcases the most dynamic and trail blazing design ideas around. What’s more, their beautifully minimalistic website is a work of design genius in itself.
3. Creative Review
Creative Review is the thinking person’s graphic design blogs. This online magazine has less in the way of practical advice and tutorials, but focuses more on design trends, artist spotlights and discussions of aesthetics. The website features articles that ask the bigger questions, such as: is creativity in crisis? This is not the place to go if you’re looking for basic design tips. But it’s an incredible resource if you want to grow as an artist, and stay up to date with the latest thinking on visual culture and design. Creative Review will help change the way you think about design, and give you abundant tips on the artistic process. Learn the practicals elsewhere, come here for unparalleled insights into what it means to be creative.
4. Creative Bloq
Creative Bloq is up there with the best when it comes to teaching art and design. Their comprehensive and user-friendly site offers insight and resources for graphic designers, illustrators, artists, and animators. So whatever kind of design you’re looking to get into, there’s sure to be something for you at Creative Bloq. Their content ranges from the practical to the inspirational, and the work they feature is so beautiful that it’s very pleasing to browse. Multiple articles are posted each day, and the site is full of hidden features – there’s even a trivia quiz every Friday! Creative Bloq is really one of the most useful, engaging and all-encompassing design blogs available. We would highly recommend.
5. Under Consideration
Under Consideration is a graphic design firm that posts lots of exciting and insightful content across a variety of themed blogs. For Print Only (FPO), the site’s most famous blog, stopped producing new content in 2017, but remains a cornucopia of print marketing design tips. Quipsologies is their design magazine, which chronicled the most curious, creative, and notable projects, stories, and events of the graphic design industry. Although production on these has ceased, both blogs remain online, and still function as a library of excellent design resources. Meanwhile, Under Consideration’s new blog, Brand New, is devoted to logos – showcasing the best and brightest corporate logos, critiquing and reviewing them, and offering advice on how to create the perfect logo. Brand New is a must-see site if you are in the process of designing a new logo for your brand.
6. Site Point
Site Point offers a range of design resources in the form of articles, videos, books and online courses. They regularly publish detailed step-by-step tutorials and inspiration posts, from how to remove a background in photoshop to lists of tools that will help you grow as a designer. Whether you’re new to design or you’re a well-versed veteran, Site Point has abundant resources for designers at every level. Their articles will help you learn new tricks and find inspiration, covering topics from graphic design to UX (User Experience). Once you’ve designed your perfect marketing materials, be sure to show off your work with great promotional products like posters, flyers, and stickers.
7. The Dsgn Blog
The Dsgn Blog is quite simply a haven of design inspiration, compiling carefully curated images and works from studios and designers from around the world. The site’s tagline is a mantra to live by: “Don’t just be a designer – be a good one.” Founded, built and curated by Croatian designer Ena Baćanović, The Dsgn Blog offers daily inspiration, with a focus on showcasing work by up and coming young designers and students. Daily content updates are themed, including “Designer of the Week”, “Web Design Wednesdays” and “Saturday Recommendations”, so there’s always something new for you to peruse. Articles are organized into 26 different topics, ranging from logo to poster design, and print design to fonts.
8. Designhill
One for the business minded. Designhill is is an online blog full of design tips and inspiration, specifically aimed at helping entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Put simply, they are the font of all knowledge when it comes to using design in a commercial context. They have huge volumes of expert professional advice that will help any business to implement effective marketing ideas, using the latest in design strategies. Articles range from how to design a business card, to an analysis of the way artificial intelligence is affecting the way we design. The blog offers a more detailed and nuanced take on the role of design in business, and also provides the tantalising option of getting your design showcased on their website.
9. Millo
Perhaps you already know the ropes of graphic design, you’re starting to take on freelance clients, and you want to make graphic design your living. If so, then this is the site for you. Millo is an online resource for freelance graphic designers, which provides not only design tips, but also business advice. Articles written by working designers reveal the tricks of the trade, and give a great overview of how the industry works. You can learn how to handle difficult clients, how to set your prices, and how to write invoices. Millo is the perfect support network for any budding designer looking to go professional.
10. Women of Graphic Design
Women of Graphic Design is a really exciting design project, dedicated to exhibiting the work of female graphic designers and exploring issues of gender-equality in design institutions. The website’s stated mission is to “celebrate the contributions that women have made to graphic design, both past and present.”
While they are principally concerned with giving female artists a platform, they also promote designs that embody diversity and social activism. This site offers a collection of incredible designs, and has a really clear identity in relation to your average design blog. Women of Graphic Design also welcome open submissions, so if you are a budding female designer, it could be a great way to have your work seen and shared.
11. The Inspiration Grid
This blog should be your go-to site for design inspiration. The name says it all. The Inspiration Grid is a never-ending grid of inspiring images and design projects for you to scroll through. Like Pinterest, but with an emphasis on graphic design. The images range in aesthetic, medium and style; some are 3D illustrations, others are origami artworks, but if you’re looking to soak up some of the most beautiful designs the internet has to offer, you’ll find them all here in one place. Click on any image you like, and it will lead you to the portfolio of works that particular designer has made. The blog is one big interactive mood board. The perfect tool for observing different aesthetics, and helping establish your own taste.
12. Graphic Design Junction
Graphic Design Junction is a fantastic database, featuring hundreds of articles on every design topic you can imagine. From logos and vectors, to fonts and typography, to icons and web design. Graphic Design Junction has something for everyone. One of the really great things about this blog is that the curators regularly provide a round-up of free graphic design tools, helping you to find the best freebies at no extra cost. Free fonts, vector templates, and textures. If you’re looking for a way of expanding your graphic design arsenal without breaking the bank. This blog is the place for you. They even organise free monthly giveaways of industry level software. So if you’re lucky, you could come away with a free copy of Adobe Photoshop.
13. The Creative Boom
Creative Boom is a UK-based online magazine and chart-topping podcast. Dedicated to celebrating, inspiring and supporting the creative community across the globe. Founded in 2009 by Katy Cowan, a Manchester-based creative passionate about giving others a voice. This magazine has become one of the leading platforms in the creative industries. Attracting an audience of over seven million readers, each using it for inspiration, tips, and resources to succeed.
14. OMGLORD
World-renowned graphic designer Gabby Lord brings you OMGLORD, a blog covering everything and anything that makes her say “OMG”. In her weekly newsletter, Gabby shares her invaluable insights on design, creativity and process. The blog itself is full of articles. Ranging from a list of design-related podcast recommendations, to Gabby’s thoughts on inclusivity in design. She also shares helpful links and resources in her directory. A comprehensive bookmark page of links that Gabby has found “extremely useful” in her day to day work as a top designer. The site is well worth a visit, if you want access to the inner workings of a creative talent.
15. Chilliprinting
Whilst our blog goes beyond exclusively graphic design, we do produce a great range of content that proves extremely helpful for designers. Whether you’re looking for design tips, wondering where to find the best free graphic design tools, or simply trying to stay on top of the latest typography trends and font combinations, our blog is full of expert advice to help your designs flourish.
Drawing on years of experience in print marketing. We can help teach you how to approach graphic design from a variety of angle. As well, how to design for print (both technically and creatively). How to design effective marketing materials, and how to link your print designs to your digital presence. When it comes to print, there are many mistakes that even experienced designers tend to make; we help you avoid falling into that trap. Follow our guidelines on how to format your designs. Find the right color modes, resolutions and file formats. And we can ensure that your designs will come out looking great as posters, brochures or flyers.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking for design inspiration, a place in which to learn basic skills. Or advice on how to work as a professional graphic designer. These graphic design blogs offer all you could possibly want. There are many creative blogs out there, but in our experience, these are the best. So start visiting these sites, and you’ll be producing perfect designs before you know it.