I was going to list these in categories relating to the type of inspiration they provide (web design, photography, graphic design, etc..) but then I realized that the best designs are inspired by completely irrelevant things. So here is a list of great websites that can inspire you to create even greater things. I’ve tried to make this a bit different than the typical “inspirational site” post. If you know of any other noteworthy sites that should be added, leave it in the comments.
Regrouped is a gallery of web design galleries. Its like a matryoshka doll for CSS-philes.
Muse takes lovely pieces of art and reveals the story behind its creation straight from the artist’s mouth.
Cool Showcase features mostly fantasy illustrations.
Behance showcases the portfolios, and collaborative projects from the most creative people in the world.
Go to Tumblr, type in a keyword.. get tons of great images, words and thoughts on the topic.
FFFFound features random found images.
Wallpaper is a high class look at the design of everything.
DesignFlavr is heaven for any type of digital designer.
Springwise is an interesting site that is chock full of business ideas.
Digital Design Magazine stays on the cutting edge of… you guessed it, digital design.
Graphic Exchange is a beautiful and comprehensive collection of designs from all over.
If you are a designer and have never heard of Smashing Magazine, you are way behind, my friend.
Web Urbanist always has wonderfully unique posts.
Good old reliable (when it doesn’t take 27 years to load) DeviantArt
Yummy Flashy goodness over at FWA.
Mojizu is a gallery of super cute character designs.
Share Some Candy has some great illustrations but I really want to point out the Workspaces series. As you may have already guessed, it gives you a sneak peak into different artist’s workspaces.
Colourlovers and Kuler… oh the colors!!!
Threadless = beautiful and thought provoking t-shirt designs by up and coming artists.
Soul Pancake is a truly unique community site (created by Dwight from The Office) that asks thought-provoking questions that often get many insightful and creative answers.
We Heart It is a lovely visual bookmarking site.
StumbleUpon is a cornucopia of information and ideas. Sign up, download the Firefox plugin, whenever you need inspiration just click the little icon and Viola!
Make and Craft are great for creatives who like to get their hands dirty.
Vimeo is a great place for nicely produced, inventive video. It’s like Youtube, but with class.
Carbonmade is a fun little portfolio community. The best part is the head-icorn logo.
Other places to seek inspiration
The top 50 inspirational websites for designers. (some already listed, some not)
Very nice selection, mi amor. I’ve know many of them but there are few I didn’t know. Gracias! Keep up the good work