70 of the best blogs and platforms for creative inspiration in 2021

The web is the perfect playground for exploring and being inspired by an endless range of art, illustration, photography, graphic design, and crafts. But finding those inspiring blogs can be difficult.

That's why we've painstakingly put together the following list of 70 of the best blogs for creative inspiration, so you never need to go elsewhere or waste hours of your precious time scouring the search engines. We've split this list into various creative fields for easy reference.

Please note, we first drafted this resource in 2011, back when blogs ruled the web. We've updated our recommendations for 2021, over a decade later, as some sites have sadly retired or been archived.

Graphic Design

1. Aisle One: An inspirational resource focused on graphic design, typography, grid systems, minimalism and modernism. I love the simplicity of this blog, and the things they share are very inspiring. It was last updated in 2017 but its archive still offers plenty of inspiration.

2. Shillington Design Blog: Brought to you by the people at Shillington, an international graphic design college with campuses in the UK, America and Australia, this blog is full of inspiring work, industry insights and people.

3. Abduzeedo: A successful and well-known popular blog about design, including plenty of inspiration and tutorials to support other creatives.

4. MIRADOR: Mirador is the image hunting work of Say What Studio, a graphic design duo based in Paris, France. They curate the most inspirational works out there and share them through this collection of projects.

5. I Love Typography: Just want to pour over fonts and drool at typography? Check out this popular blog showing off all the latest typefaces.

6. Logo Design Love: Stuck on a logo? Want some inspiration to help you out? Check out this blog, showing lots of different logos from around the globe.

7. We Made This: We Made This is brought to you by graphic designer Alistair Hall, sharing other people's inspiring work. Beautifully designed and always refreshing.

8. Graphic Exchange: Fabien Barral is a happy graphic designer whose innovative and unique designs attract clients from around the world. In 2008 he joined forces with his wife Frédérique to create "Harmonie intérieure", a business and brand that pushes poster and wall sticker design beyond the limits we expect from a commercial undertaking. Fabien also runs the "graphic-exchange" blog, a popular online venue for graphic designers.

9. The Design Blog: Founded, designed and curated by Ena Baćanović - a designer based in Zagreb - Croatia, The Design Blog brings you carefully picked high quality inspiration, featuring works of designers and design studios from all over the world.

10. Fonts in Use: It does exactly as you'd expect: shares work that uses fonts you love, offering heaps of inspiration for your next design projects.

Illustration

11. Grain Edit: Grain edit is focused on classic design work from the 1950s-1970s and contemporary designers that draw inspiration from that time period. It's not been updated for some time but still provides a helpful archive.

12. Pikaland: Quirky, cute and fun – this blog has been going for quite some time and offers everything an illustrator needs, including interesting artwork to drool over and opportunities to collaborate and get involved.

13. Ape on the Moon: Alex Mathers and Philip Dennis are the people behind Ape on the Moon. A hugely popular source of inspiration for illustrators worldwide that went quiet in 2019 but has a trove of illustration work to ponder over.

14. BallPit: A recent newcomer with a simple format: inspiration and interviews with some of the most influential illustrators today.

15. Brown Paper Bag: An interesting blog that celebrates beautiful illustration in creative and clever ways, apparently.

16. Booooooom: This Canadian illustration blog is extremely playful, showcasing surreal and unusual illustration work that exudes creativity and provokes thought. Always worth checking for some indie art and illustration.

17. The AOI: The Association of Illustrators offers a news section where you can keep abreast of all the latest industry news from emerging and established talent.

18. Books By Its Cover: Love book cover illustration? This gorgeous, clean designed blog was created as a way to share a variety of art-related publications.

19. Illustration Age: Illustration Age regularly feature new, inspiring, and sometimes groundbreaking artwork from professional Illustrators all over the world.

20. AIGA Eye on Design: Eye on Design is published by AIGA, the professional association for design, the oldest and largest not-for-profit design organisation in the United States. Here, we recommend its Illustration section.

Advertising

21. AdGoodness: A blog about advertising and graphic design by designer Frederik Samuel.

22. AdWeek: AdWeek is the leading source of news and insight serving the "brand marketing ecosystem", as it puts it. An essential read.

23. AdPulp: A blog by technologist Shawn Hartley, creative director David Burn and copywriter Dan Goldgeier on a mission to make better communications.

24. AdRants: This site shares advertising and marketing news while following the latest advertising trends.

25. The Ad Buzz: Advertising trends, interviews with leading ad people and tours around advertising agencies.

26. AdAge: One of your daily must-reads if you work in advertising or marketing. Founded in 1930, it continues to deliver award-winning journalism.

27. AdeeVee: Just want to browse through interesting adverts? This blog's for you.

28. Ads of the World: A decent blog that showcases all the latest advertising campaigns, which you can rate and talk about in the website's forum.

29. Adland: A website that gossips and rants about the advertising industry while collecting ads of all media for your reference.

30. Adverbox: Another great advertising blog to browse through for inspiration. I love the layout, and you can even get involved in rating different campaigns.

Photography

31. The Big Picture: Inspiring news stories in pictures, created by the picture editors at The Boston Globe in the US.

32. Guardian In Pictures: The Guardian's own popular 'news in pictures' section. And if you download the iPad app, you'll be able to follow 'pro tips', learning how to take similar shots.

33. 500px: An inspiring blog brought to you by photo community, 500px. Expect tips, advice and inspiring work from some of the world's best photographers.

34. iGnant: A creative blog with an inspiring photography section to browse through. They tend to share a lot of 'not safe for work' type stuff, but it's a great site nevertheless.

35. They Shoot Film: They Shoot Film is a photo collective started by two photographers, Patrice Esser (on sabbatical) and Garrick Fujii. They are based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.

36. One Big Photo: OneBigPhoto is your daily dose of high-quality photos.

37. Ain't Bad Magazine: Aint-Bad Magazine is a quarterly publication that promotes new photographic art. Founded in Savannah, Georgia, by five emerging photographers, the magazine seeks fresh photography and text in support of a progressive community of artists from around the world for our printed publication, a web-based forum, and periodic exhibitions and events.

38. Feature Shoot: Superb magazine based on all kinds of photography – fine art, portraits, documentary, still life... you name it, this is the website to visit daily.

39. Flickr Blog: The companion blog to Flickr, showcasing a huge range of photography from across the globe.

40. PetaPixel: Established in May of 2009, PetaPixel is a leading blog covering the wonderful world of photography. Check it out!

Art

41. Juxtapoz: A beautiful website featuring emerging artists and illustrators, along with the occasional erotic artworks. A must.

42. Contemporary Daily Art: One of the most famous art blogs, offering a real dose of inspiration to art lovers worldwide.

43. Yatzer: Yatzer is a recommended magazine covering all creative fields, but we especially love its arts section. Always reliably inspiring.

44. Arrested Motion: Online magazine providing exclusive worldwide coverage of the low brow, urban and contemporary art scene on the daily.

45. We Heart: We Heart explores the intersections between arts and culture, and lifestyle, living and travel. A great one to add to your reading list.

46. Beautiful/Decay: A former printed publication that now has an online home, sharing the same exciting content that made Beautiful/Decay a widely loved and revered creative bible.

47. My Modern Met: My Modern Met is where art enthusiasts and trendspotters connect over creative ideas, established in 2008.

48. Colossal: Launched in 2010, Colossal is a Webby-nominated blog that explores art and other aspects of visual culture. And it's bloomin' lovely.

49. Hi-Fructose: Hi-Fructose is a quarterly print art magazine founded by artists, Attaboy and Annie Owens in 2005. Its online version is always worth a visit.

50. Aesthetica: A respected print and online magazine covering art, design, photography, architecture, music and film.

Interior Design

51. Design Milk: Renowned for its design insight into architecture and interiors, this classic blog began life in 2006 and has continued to evolve and inspire ever since.

52. Apartment Therapy: An American blog that covers just about anything and everything to do with interior design - an online bible for interior designers.

53. Design Hunter: A destination for those in search of "understated minimal style, everyday luxury and enduring modern design". Founded by interiors writer and stylist Helen Powell in 2009.

54. Mad About The House: Interior design lushness from Kate Watson-Smyth, a journalist and stylist who writes for The Financial Times, The Independent and Daily Mail.

55. The Design Files: The Design Files covers Australian design in all its forms; from architecture and interiors to gardens, food, fine art and craft.

56. The Selby: Todd Selby is a photographer, director, author and illustrator. His project, The Selby, offers an insider's view of creative individuals in their personal spaces with an artist's eye for detail.

57. The Fabric of My Life: A London interior stylist shares interesting images for inspiration.

58. Desire to Inspire: This is interior design heaven and up there with the very best blogs for inspiration. A must-read.

59. Decor8: One of our favourite interior design blogs, written by an American living in Germany.

60. Habitually Chic: Since its inception in 2007, interior designer Heather Clawson and her famous blog Habitually Chic have been featured in Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Domino, Lonny, Fast Company, and Amica magazines.

Additional Creative Reading

61. Ideas by TED: "Explore ideas worth spreading" reads the description on TED's popular blog. Learn how to get better at receiving feedback or how to make others feel more valued at work, or simply be inspired by some of its latest talks.

62. Fast Company: Some gems can be found in the Fast Company's varied content, particularly for those amongst us who run creative businesses. A recent design update has refreshed the entire site and made browsing a delight.

63. Dribbble: We always enjoy a dip into Dribbble's blog where you can discover tips and ideas around creativity. One recent article covered tips on winning freelance graphic design jobs while another looked at the online mistakes that could cost you your work. One for the bookmarks.

64. Sidebar: Not so much a blog in its own right, more a curation platform bringing some of the best content from around the web, Sidebar is especially helpful for designers.

65. Andy Budd: Some insightful stuff from designer Andy Budd to help you keep informed of the latest trends and developments in the ever-changing design industry.

66. Darius Foroux: Intelligent writing from Darius Foroux, who loves to cover productivity, business, and wealth-building – all the good stuff.

67. The Spaces: A platform that explores new ways to live and work – just the sort of thing we creatives love. It's about digging deeper into the rich urban fabric of cities across the world and what the future holds for all of us.

68. Courier: Predominantly a print magazine, Courier does offer some online content that is well researched and written to help a "new generation of young entrepreneurs work and live on your own terms". Prepare to feel inspired.

69. Zen Habits: Leo Babauta brings us a regular dose of zen via his blog with articles that teach us to find a healthier, more balanced life.

70. Google Design: Google Design is a cooperative effort led by a group of designers, writers, and developers at Google. Here you'll find content that showcases its work but also champions innovators in the field.