The first thing I was taught in my design school was to take inspiration for my designs. As a designer, I truly believe that a piece of art is always an inspiration that represents what the designer had in mind and where did he take inspiration from. And, having a stack overflow of the resources can be one of the best design inspirations now and then when I need to work and deliver my project ASAP!
Researching for the inspiration is the basis of all the plans that you commence and doing that research can be a tiring task when you do not know where to exactly look for. Your User Interface design can become challenging on the very first step and this can entirely sour your mood for the project. And, being a designer myself I surely know what happens next when I do not have the right inspiration whereas having the correct resource to take inspiration can lesser my task, encourage my workflow, boost my creativity to experiment & keep up with the trends and most of all, help me deliver my best to the client and that too on time.
So, here are 10 platforms that you can research for your design inspiration.
Behance gives comes with a search console where you can type keywords related to what you are finding and they will give you the relevant information regarding the same. Further, they have an option for a filter where you can filter your search depending upon the time, locality or location.
Do you want to be the rule breaker and usually come up with the ideas that are not generally seen? Do you like to blend art and web design together to soothe your creativity by simultaneously providing what the client wants? Then Awwwards is the right place for you. Here you get ideas that are unique and soothe your hunger for creative art. While most of the projects you see on other platform come directly from the designer but here they have to cross the selection process via jury which makes them even more relevant.
Just like Pinterest is for everyone, Designspiration is for designers. This platform does not have a fixed link to particular design rather it allows the other designers to search or the tools to look forward in design themes. Apart from this, the designers are allowed to save the content they like for later usage and inspiration.
The last showcase for designers to highlight their work or portfolio, Dribbble is a platform that allows designers to search for inspiration for both digital and print designs. This platform can serve any designer to be creative with their work by giving them inspiration in multiple fields from print to web designs.
Template Monster is a perfect place to get inspired by your design theme. They help you stay in touch with no only the latest design themes but also they have a collection of good quality themes that will pay well for your time spent on the research for the inspiration.
As more and more users are operating and surfing on mobile, the app design has to come to the centre and Pttrns has got you covered here. They give you ideas on how your design should look or finally come out and displayed on a mobile screen. They let you draw inspiration for multiple screens of your application and get through it with a consistent and aesthetically appealing design.
Perfectly capable of giving you ideas for your web designs, this platform helps designers to think out of the box for your UI & UX designs. They have a large community of designers from all over the globe from where you can get fresh ideas and keep yourself updated with the latest trends.
This platform is best suited for the designers that are in need of both the inspiration and hosting place. They offer you a section where you can host your designs and there other designers whose pages are hosted from where you can take help for your design.
Though many of you might be wondering why is Pinterest here because Pinterest is not just for design inspiration. But, being one of the largest platforms in terms of social media users Pinterest has to be here. Pinterest is leveraged by many including the designers therefore; it is now among this list as well. Many design studios have their own profiles over there where they showcase their work and portfolios.
Another social media platform that has captured the interest of both the designers and the design studio is Instagram as it is all about visuals. Here, you see a wide variety of designers who post their work and are looking for design inspiration as well. The ever increasing community of Instagram is a perfect match between the designers and clients as well.
