Top 10 Inspirational Design Websites

In no particular order, here are my favourite websites for research and inspiration.

– http://abduzeedo.com/

This website is brilliant as it offers inspiration and also tutorials on how to produce professional results.

– http://www.itsnicethat.com/

This site has tons of great examples and links of upcoming designers.

– http://www.dezeen.com/

This site is also great for designers and also has lots of info about architecture as well

– http://www.doodlage.com/

This is a great place to go if you love mucking about drawing. Wonderful

– http://netdiver.net/

A nice little design magazine full of artists work from around the world.

– http://www.deviantart.com/

Just the best place to go for artistic inspiration.

– http://uk.youtube.com/

Full of great animation videos and short films. A great source of inspiration

– http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/

Another great site offering a variety of tutorials to create some great work.

– http://www.behance.net/

This site is full of artists and designers from around the world showcasing their work. A great place to go for ideas.

– http://www.instructables.com/

A great site full of craft and DIY projects to have a go at. Lots of really creative stuff here.

Top 10 Architects

These are my favourite and most inspirational architects at the moment. In no particular order:

– Vincent Callebaut Architectures

This is a great concept from Vincent Callebaut Architectures for the 21st century. It addresses the problem of dramatic flooding due to global warming. The Lilypad is a self contained floating island that looks fantastic.

– PTW Architects

The Chinese National Aquatic Center, better known as the Watercube, recently won the most prestigious architecture award from the Australian Institute of Architecture. Although not officially a cube, the incredible aquatics facility was a collaboration between Australian firm PTW Architects, Chinese practices CSCEC and CCDI, and international firm Arup.

– 3XN

3XN’s proposal for a construction on Marmormolen in Copenhagen is both: a town gate and a bridge that links Marmormolen with Langeliniekaj, creating a new coherent area in Copenhagen Harbor.

– Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners is one of the leading architectural firms based in the United Kingdom. The practice is strongly associated with its founder, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings. They are responsible for some of the most memorable buildings being built around the globe today.

– Grimshaw Architects

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw is a prominent English architect, particularly noted for several modernist buildings, including the Eden Project in Cornwall and the new Bath spa. Having visited both of these buildings I must say I am very impresed with his work.

– Future Systems

Future Machine Aesthetic is a London-based architectural and design practice, headed by Directors Jan Kaplický and Amanda Levete. Many of their designs were strikingly original and organic, acting as a fore-runner of what is now known as bionic architecture.

– Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid Architects have been selected as the architects of the Library and Learning Centre (LLC) at the University of Economics & Business, Vienna. The new Library and Learning Centre will be the centerpiece of the University’s new campus and provide a significant upgrade to the University’s services. I love the style of this building – the sweeping lines make it look very impressive.

– Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill

Masdar Headquarters will be the world’s first positive-energy building, using sustainable design strategies and systems to produce more energy than it consumes. The Chicago architecture firm of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill has been chosen to design this structure and it certainly looks impressive.

3Deluxe

Leonardo Glass Cube is a glass-fronted brand pavilion in Bad Driburg, Germany designed by 3Deluxe. Designed for the Glaskoch Corporation and completed in May last year, the pavilion is used for informal meetings and corporate hospitality. The building looks fantastic and the interior is equally impressive.

– Make Architects

London-based architects Make created the winning design for the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre (yes, that Sherwood Forest ). While obviously pumping up the drama in order to draw upon a child’s greatest treehouse fantasy, this is decidedly grown up architecture too. It redefines contextually-sensitive architecture, sustainable architecture, and destination architecture all at once.

Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid Architects have been selected as the architects of the Library and Learning Centre (LLC) at the University of Economics & Business, Vienna. The new Library and Learning Centre will be the centerpiece of the University’s new campus and provide a significant upgrade to the University’s services. I love the style of this building – the sweeping lines make it look very impressive.

Check out their website at:

http://www.zaha-hadid.com/

Ten Flash Advert

This is the short flash animation I produced for my university project. It involved a lot of shouting at inanimate objects and turning electrical equipment into projectiles! All in all, i’m quite happy with the results for my first go at computer animation. Let me know what you think.

Top 10 Graphic Designers

These are my current favourite graphic designers I have found whilst searching the web.

– Sebdesign

This is the company name of Sebastien Nikolaou, a graphic designer from Greece. He is also a very good web designer. A lot of his work is related to the music industry in the form of flyers and posters. Check out his work online. He definitely has a talent for layout and typography.

-Julien Vallée

I found out about this guy from some of the guys at uni and i’m very glad they told me. he is a graphic designer and art instalation expert from Montreal in Canada and is now based in Germany.

– Emeric Trahand

This is another French graphic designer who does some amazing things with Photoshop. He has a very impressive client list and an awesome portfolio. I am definitely going to have a go at trying to figure out some of the advanced Photoshop techniques he has used in his work so I can produce something similar.

– Antoine + Manuel

These are a pair of fantastic French graphic designers working in Paris. The work they have produced over the years is amazing and they have had clients ranging from Christian Lacroix to Coca-Cola. Their work is inspiring and very different from the norm.

– Peter Becker

Peter Becker is a graphic designer from Germany, but he works in a small agency in Luxembourg as an Art Director. I love the designs he creates – full of fantastic details and effective layers.

– Yulia Brodskaya

This is a Russian graphic designer/illustrator who now works in London. I love the 3D elements of her typographic design and the use of paper quilling to great effect.

– The Designers Republic

This is a Brazilian graphic designer based in Holland. He specialises in all kinds of design – typography, photography and digital art. I like the simple style of his work and letterforms he creates.

– 8vo

This is a Brazilian graphic designer based in Holland. He specialises in all kinds of design – typography, photography and digital art. I like the simple style of his work and letterforms he creates.

– Buro Destruct

This is a very well known Swiss design group that has provided me with lots of inspiration. They are best known for their typography design and their clean, Japanese style of illustration.

– Si Scott

This is one of my favourite designers. His work with typography is extraordinarily detailed and his treatment of animal portraits is also fantastic.

Top 10 Comic Artists

Here are my favourite comic artists at the moment. In no particular order:

– Hyung Tae Kim

Hyung is an amazing Korean artist. I think his work is not only some of the best comic book art but also the finest artwork full stop. I’ve always liked the anime style of artwork but his takes it to another level with fantastic shading and amazing detail in his work.

– Range Murata

Range Murata is a fantastic Japanese artist who does some brilliantly detailed anime artwork. He has published more than a dozen books of his work, the Robot series I happen to own and they are a different level of comic book.

– Jack Lawrence

Jack is a British comic book artist who has produced his own comics from scratch. I love the clean lines of his artwork and the development of his characters.

– Joshua Middleton

Joshua is a brilliant comic book artist who is currently signed to DC Comics. He is one of the few artists in American mainstream comics who does everything from pencils to coloring by himself, instead of splitting the work between multiple people. I love his work and have been a fan for a while.

-Frank Miller

Frank miller has become famous in recent years from his films 300 and Sin City but it was the comic versions of these and The Dark Knight Returns that most stood out in his career for me. The tone of these comics was definitely something new. They had a much more adult theme than was the norm at the time.

-Dan Boultwood

Dan Boultwood is a rising star, British comic book artist and illustrator. His work has a classic style to it and the images he produces are are fantastic.

– Niko Henrichon

Niko Henrichon is a Canadian comic book artist. I only found out about his work recently but I have become a big fan.

– Jo Chen

Jo is a fantastic illustrator and comic book artist from Taiwan. She is currently living and working in America and I urge you to check out her artwork. I found out about her work from some of the cover designs she has created.

– Sean Kelly

This is an Australian illustrator from Melbourne. He is better known by his trading name – Bucket ‘O’ Thought under which he creates a fantastic collection of bunnies. He has also produced several comics

– Stanley Lau

Stanley Lau is a fantastic artist from Singapore. The sci-fi art he produces is amazing and you should definitely check out his website.

Jo Chen

Jo is a fantastic illustrator and comic book artist from Taiwan. She is currently living and working in America and I urge you to check out her artwork. I found out about her work from some of the cover designs she has created.

Check out her website at:

http://jo-chen.com

Top 10 Flash Websites

Here are my favourite flash websites that I have found in my travels around the internet.

– Upshot.net

This is a great website based around a red sphere that moves around the site. The animation is seamless and the site looks very impressive.

– microsites.audi.co.uk/microsites/RS6

This a great site that is based on the new Audi RS6. All of the sections are interactive and a picture of the car is worked into the pictureboard.

– http://www.officinanessuno.com

This is a simple little site but it is very well done. All the sections have a nice animation to get to them and is good example of a flash site.

– ecodazoo.com

This is a lovely site full of great animations and a fully adjustable camera view. Well worth a look.

– http://www.99rooms.com

This is a strange collaboration between animators and illustrators to create a very creepy experience. It is an eerie interactive flash site that is well worth a look.

– http://www.absolut.com

This is a great site where you can pick up and move the blocks of information within. Great use of Flash.

– http://www.carlosulloa.com

This site is great purely because it has a car you can drive around the screen. I’ve actually wasted quite a lot of time mucking about with that car.

– http://www.adidascelebrateoriginality.com

This site has all kinds of little animations on it. There is also a great fully interactive interface on it.

– sectionseven.com/

This site has a very clever unfolding interface. Well worth a look for an idea of clever design.

– http://www.13flo.com/

This site is brilliant and has a great interface on it. I urge you to check it out.

Top 10 Illustrators

In no particular order, these are my current favourite illustrators.

– Jamie Hewlett

Jamie Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is best known for being the co-creator of the comic strip Tank Girl and co-creator of the band Gorillaz. He has a very distinctive comic book style that takes a lot of its influence from the world of graffiti.

– Glenn Jones

This is an illustrator based in Auckland New Zealand. He is best known for his fantastically imaginitive t-shirt designs. I already own one of these t-shirts and I find that he has the most lateral way of looking at things.

– Nik Ainley

This guy is an illustrator and graphic designer based in England. You have probably seen some of his work on the internet under his online name of Shinybinary. He says he is self taught and if this is true he is one hell of a teacher! I have used several of his images as wallpapers on my computer in the past and i would one day love to have a portfolio half as good as his.

– Guy McKinley

I found out about this artist from the Street Sketchbook. He is one of my favourite illustrators and I absolutely love the style of his work. He is a freelance illustrator from Manchester and his graffiti style is some of the best i’ve seen.

– David Mascha

This is a graphic designer/grafitti artist currently working in Vienna, Austria. He has a lovely, clear style that stems from grafitti art but has been developed into a fantastic organic look.

– Mike Campau

This is an American graphic designer I found out about whilst looking on the Behance Network. He is based in Michigan and is creative director of a design and digital imaging studio. I like the style he uses and the advanced Photoshop skills he has.

– Edmund McMillen

I stumbled upon this illustrators work by accident a couple of months ago. His character design really appeals to me. He is also a well known animator and game designer.

– Pokedstudio

This is design firm based in South Wales. They specialise in illustration, graphic design and multimedia design and have a great style. Their character design especially impresses me and they seem to have a very extensve portfolio.

– Kaloian Toshev

This is a Bulgarian graphic designer with a very impressive portfolio. I must say, the work I have seen of his, is very well polished and very inspiring. He is still very young and I think he will have a very exciting career ahead of him.

– Evgeny Kiselev

This is a Russian illustrator who is based in St. Petersburg. Much of his work is quite fractal in nature and also has very vivid colours. I don’t know much more about him so I will let his work tell the story.

Top 10 Photographers

In no particular order, here are my favourite photographers at the moment:

– LAPP

Light Art Performance Photography are German artists Jan Wöllert and Jörg Miedza and the work they produce is simply breathtaking. I’m a big fan of long exposure photography used with Poi’s and lightsticks and have seen many examples of this kind of work. But these guys really do redefine the boundaries of what is possible with this artform. I’m completely blown away by their stuff.

– Trey Ratcliff

Trey is a brilliant American photographer who specialises in HDR work. I urge you to visit his site as he offers tutorials in how to take proper HDR photos for yourself. His work was the first to inspire me to take up this form of photography even though mine never come out quite as well as his.

– Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz is a Spanish photographer, best known for his black and white surrealist photographs. His photos have cropped up quite often in my searches of the internet and I must admit to being intrigued by his work. The lateral thinking he uses is something I love in work like this.

– Lightmark

Lightmark are German photographers Cenci Goepel and Jens Warnecke. Their beautiful light photographs have an eerie, almost alien feel to them. I have seen no better use of this technique yet.

– wearenotyou

wearenotyou is from Los Angeles and, other than that, I don’t have much information. I was impressed and inspired by his work making geometric patterns with photographs. It gives a whole new avenue of ideas for me to have a go at.

– Tebe Interesmo

This is a Russian photographer/Illustrator who does some fantastic work creating images that fit perfectly onto photographs. I haven’t been able to find much information on this guy as I don’t speak any Russian but his portfolio is definitely worth checking out. The work has a very haunting feel to it and I love the little characters he has created.

– Holger Pooten

Born in Germany and currently based in London, Holger Pooten has done work for Adidas, Nike, Vogue and other notable clients.  The images capture with seeming ease a moment of action rather than posed or static subjects. The lighting is fantastic and I really like the quality of his work. I also love the exploded views some of his shots offer.

– Alexey Titarenko

Alexey is a fantastic photographer from St. Petersburg in Russia. Some of his most famous work is photos of crowds taken with a long exposure. The resulting pictures have a very bleak and haunting look to them but this suits the time when they were taken. Many of them are from the era of the break up of the Soviet Union so the down-trodden moodiness is very apt.

– Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is one of Britain’s most famous sculptor/photographers. He creates images from nature that are arranged in such a way as to make them look geometric. His work is amazing and I often wonder what people think if they found one of his sculptures by accident.

– Douglas Leighton

I found out about Douglas’s work when I visited Canada a couple of years ago. The landscape pictures he takes are breathtaking and it is partly because of his work that I became interested in photography in the first place.