[Last updated: July 28 2021]
Resources
Below you can find a list of useful tools, websites and resources for you as a designer or creative soul.
Anything you feel is missing or want me to add to the list, so other people can benefit from it? Feel free to contact me at: [email protected]
1. Learning Platforms
* Lynda.com
* SkillShare
* Udemy
* The Futur Academy
* Linkedin Learning
* Coursera
2. YouTube Channels
* The Futur - Online education for creative entrepreneurs
* The Futur Academy- Focusing more on fundamentals to become a better designer, creator & storyteller
* Dansky - Help creatives to develop their design skills through tutorials
* Gravid David Studio - Helps any designers at any level about graphic design
* Satori Graphics - Graphics design tutorials for beginners and seasoned graphic designer
* Michael Janda - Shares systems and strategies for creatives
* Will Paterson - Shares experience and educates creatives in the field of graphic design
* Roberto Blake - Empowering & educating creatives to take control of their lives
* Flux - Vlog of Ran Segall, sharing his journey as a designer and business owner
* AJ Smart - Sharing content about UX design, product design, design sprints
* Design Course - Tutorials on UI/UX, front/back dev, graphic design
* Behind The Brand - Youtube channel about innovators, entrepreneurs & the stories behind their success
3. Fictional Projects Brief
* Daily Logo Challenge
* Logo Core - Logo Challenge
* Daily UI Design Challenge
* Briefbox
4. Mockups
* Graphic Burger - Free
* Mr. Mockup - Free and premium
* Anthony Boyd Graphics - Mockups and textures
* Pixeden - Free and premium
* Placeit
* DesignCuts - Look out for their mockup bundles
* Graphicpear - You can find free and premium mockups
5. Books
Business:
* Creative Strategy and The Business of Design - By Douglas Davis
* Win Without Pitching - By Blair Enns
* Think! - By Tina Catling and Mark Davies
* Business Model Generation - By Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
* Start With Why - By Simon Sinek
Psychology:
* Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - By Robert B. Cialdini
Branding:
* Designing Brand Identity - By Aline Wheeler
* Identity Designed - By David Airey
* Bigger Than This - By Fabian Geyrhalter
* Brand Zag - By Marty Neumeier
* Brand Gap - By Marty Neumeier
* Building a StoryBrand - By Donald Miller
* Branding: In Five and a Half Steps - By Michael Johnson
* Hello My Name is Awesome - By Alexandra Watkins
Graphic Design:
* How to Use Graphic Design by Michael Beirut - By Michael Beirut
* Pretty Much Everything - By Aaron Draplin
* Logo: The Reference Guide to Symbols and Logotypes
Marketing:
* This Is Marketing - By Seth Godin
* The End of Marketing - By Carlos Gil
* All Marketers Are Liars - By Seth Godin
* The 1-Page Marketing Plan - By Allan Dib
* The Choice Factory - By Richard Shotton
* How Brands Grow Part 2 - Bryon Sharp & Jenni Romaniuk
* Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind - By Al Ries & Jack Trout
UX / Product Design:
* Don’t Make Me Think - By Stevé Krug
* The Workshopper Playbook - By AjSmart
* Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems in Five Days - By Jake Knapp
* 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People - By Susan Weinschenk
Entrepreneurship / Creativity:
* Show Your Work - By Austin Kleon
* Steal Like An Artist - By Austin Kleon
6. Podcasts
* Seanwes Podcast By Sean McCabe
* The Futur Podcast By The Futur Team
* The Fowler Hour By Connor Fowler
* The LogoGeek Podcast - By Ian Paget
* The Bless Show - By Blesson Varghese
* On Branding Podcast - By Arek Dvornechuck
7. Blogs
* Toptal - Branding section
* Design Shack - Graphic design section
* Creative Bloq - Graphic design section
8. Fonts
* Google Fonts - All free for personal and commercial use
* DaFonts - Free for commercial use
* Freetypography
* Fontface Ninja - Chrome extension to identity a website’s fonts
* Fontba - Free font management tool
* DesignCuts- Look out for their font bundles
* Typewolf - Get font recommendation, guides and resources
9. Free Stock Photos
* Unsplash
* Stocksnap
* Pexels
* Pixabay
10. UI/UX design related
* Figma - Collaborative tool for teams
* Adobe XD - Free to use
* Invision Studio - Design, prototype and animate (Free)
* Optimal Workshop - Online tool for cardsorting
* Balsamiq - Create low-fidelity wireframes
11. Useful Tools
* Trello - Project Management Tool - Project Management Tool
* WeTransfer - File transfer tool (max- 2gb for free)
* OBS Studio - Screen & video recording tool
* Toggl - Time Tracker tool - Time tracker tool
* Adobe Kuler - Explore and create color schemes
* Color Calculator - Find contrasting colors
* Pantone.com - Find or convert to pantone colors
* CompressJPG | CompressPNG | CompressPDF
* Online CamScanner
* Gomoodboard - Create moodboards quickly
* Design Principles - Collection of design principles & methods
* Admocks - Ad mockup generator
* Gridzzly - Create your own grid paper ready to print
* Typeform - Create forms & surveys to gather insights
* Si.gnatu - Create email signatures faster
* Linktree - Connect people to all of your content in one link
12. Design Inspiration
* Dribbble - A good amount of awesome work
* Behance - You can find most of the branding work in there
* Pinterest - A great resource to find branding or design references
* Logo Design Love - Explore the wonders of logos
* Identity Designed - A beautiful collection of identity projects
* Awwwards.com - Best web design trends and inspiration
12. Games
* Kern Type - Game that helps you learn to kern type
* Pen Tool Game - Master the pen tool in a fun way
* Know Your Font - The typography adventure