The Essential Guide To Graphic Design Resource Websites

There is a seemingly endless stream of new websites popping up every day, making it tough to determine which ones provide really useful content.

This isn't the first list of design resources, but our experience with other lists is that the majority of the links are not really useful and are simply filler content to make it seem more comprehensive.

We wanted to create a guide where every resource has a practical purpose. To make it easy, we have compiled a categorized list of the essential design resource websites for designers of all skill levels. Let's check it out.

Updated: 5/9/2012

We highly recommend you bookmark this page now as we will be updating the list as we go. Some are free while others are not, but everything on this list is invaluable.

Keep in mind that we will only post things to the list that we have had personal experience with and wholeheartedly recommend.

*Note: A few of the links in this post are affiliate links, but like I said, we would never recommend something we don't personally use and love!

Fonts

• Dafont - Hands down the most user friendly and most complete collection of quality fonts.
• HvD Fonts - A small type foundry with some very unique typefaces, both paid and free.
• Lost Type Co-op - High quality fonts in a pay-what-you-want (or not) format.
• Hoefler & Frere-Jones - Our favorite paid type foundry with something for every occasion.

Tutorials and Blogs

• Psdtuts+ - Photoshop tutorials from beginner to advanced.
• Vectortuts+ - Illustrator tutorials from beginner to advanced.
• Design Instruct - Excellent graphic design blog with a lot of everything including tutorials and freebies.
• Webdesigner Depot - A whole lot of everything including articles, tutorials, comics, and more.
• The Design Cubicle - Great articles and useful insights covering many graphic design topics. One of the best simple sites around.

Inspiration

• Abduzeedo - The number one graphic design inspiration blog in existence. They make multiple posts per day quite often.
• Vectips - Weekly vector art inspiration.
• Logopond - A searchable database of logo designs.
• Creattica - Inspiration in all creative categories.

Stock Photos

• PhotoDune - The most easy-to-use and affordable stock photography website.
• Stock Xchng - Free stock photos. You will occasionally find something useful here.
• Morgue File - Slightly more useful free stock photography website.

Icons

• Iconfinder - Search for icons by keyword, size, and licensing requirements.
• Find Icons - Search for icons by keyword, size, and licensing requirements.

Web Development

• HostMonster - Our favorite host for when you are first starting out. Unlimited everything and they often have deals for only $4.95/mo.
• BlueHost - Run by the same company. Check both out if you are looking because one might have better pricing at any given time.
• Drupal - We use it, and so should you. Our favorite CMS (Content Management System).
• Wordpress - Depending on our needs, Wordpress is another go-to CMS.
• ThemeForest - The absolute best place to get quality Wordpress themes. Tons of new stuff is added daily.
• HubSpot's Marketing Grader - The easiest to use and understand website optimization tool.
• Dynamic Drive Favicon Generator - Need a favicon for your website? Look no further.

Miscellaneous

• Colour Lovers - Find, create, and save color palettes, patterns, and more.
• Adobe Kuler - Great tool for creating color palettes.
• Brands of the World - Massive database of vector logos.

Are we missing something? Leave a comment or let us know on Facebook if you have a resource you think belongs on the list.