Resources
Links worth keeping.
Galleries, tools, type references, and writing we keep going back to. Added to when something earns it.
Inspiration
- Site of SitesA growing collection of the best web design across the internet — from portfolios to product sites. Beautifully curated with screenshots.
- Graphics LibraryA reference library specifically for 3D and interactive website experiences. Essential if you're pushing the edge of what's possible in a browser.
- BP&OBranding, Packaging & Opinion — a long-running editorial blog covering graphic identity work at its finest. Deep, considered reviews of brand design.
- Visual JournalItalian editorial blog covering branding, editorial, and graphic design with an emphasis on print and visual culture.
- LogoArchiveA curated archive of modernist and Swiss-influenced logo design. Essential reference for anyone serious about mark-making.
- DesigeistDaily design inspiration newsletter and site by Pablo Stanley. A sharp curatorial eye for what's happening across visual culture.
- Fuse.kiwiA quietly excellent internet curation blog. Expect unusual finds across design, technology, and culture.
- WePresent by WeTransferWeTransfer's editorial platform celebrating creativity. Features original stories, manifestos, and artist profiles that push beyond the design industry bubble.
- Big MediumJosh Clark's blog on product design, UX research, and the evolving practice of design at scale. Thoughtful, opinionated, and worth reading cover to cover.
- Stink StudiosA London-based creative studio producing campaigns, interactive experiences, and digital products for some of the world's best brands. High craft, high concept.
- Visual RamblingA personal design blog exploring craft, detail, and visual thinking. Posts like 'Dithering' show the kind of curiosity that makes great designers.
- Arete CodexA personal site exploring philosophy, design, and creative thinking. Quiet, thoughtful, and worth bookmarking.
Portfolio galleries
- BestfoliosThe most comprehensive gallery of UI/UX design portfolios, resumes, and case studies. Curated by designers, for designers.
- Wall of PortfoliosA categorized showcase of design portfolios — filter by style (minimalist, dark, bento grid, interactive) to find the aesthetic that fits your vision.
- Nice PortfolioPortfolio inspiration at the push of a button. Discover exceptional designer and developer portfolios on demand.
- Paul StamatiouOne of the most meticulously documented personal sites on the internet. Paul's writing on design, technology, and photography is a masterclass in craft.
- Oliver EngelSoftware designer with an exceptionally clean, considered portfolio. A benchmark for how to present product work with restraint.
- rsms.meRasmus Andersson's personal site — the designer behind Inter and former Facebook design lead. Filled with thoughtful writing and open source work.
- David HoangProduct designer and writer whose site blends portfolio work with sharp essays on design leadership, creativity, and career.
- nownownow.comA directory of personal sites with a /now page — a low-key treasure trove of designers and developers worth following.
Tools
- Same EnergyA visual search engine that understands aesthetic similarity. Invaluable for mood boarding — search by feel, not just keywords.
- CosmosA visual bookmarking and mood boarding tool for designers. Save, organize, and share visual references with a genuinely beautiful interface.
- The Component GalleryA reference library of UI components across popular design systems. Useful for understanding how different teams solve the same interface problems.
- Phosphor IconsA clean, flexible icon family with 6 styles and over 1000 icons. Available for Figma, React, and as SVGs.
- WhoCanUseShows you how color contrast affects people with different types of vision. Essential accessibility check before shipping any color system.
- Microsoft Inclusive DesignMicrosoft's framework for inclusive design thinking. The toolkit and principles here translate well beyond enterprise contexts.
- Design System ChecklistAn open-source checklist for building complete design systems. Covers every component category with helpful context for each decision.
- Toools.designAn archive of 1000+ design resources, tools, and assets. Well-organized and regularly updated — a solid bookmark for discovery.
- Page FlowsRecorded user flows from popular apps and products. Invaluable research for understanding onboarding, checkout, and core UX patterns in production.
- Artboard StudioBrowser-based design and animation tool that makes mockup creation and simple animation accessible without After Effects.
- PhotopeaA fully featured Photoshop alternative that runs entirely in the browser. Handles PSD, XD, Sketch, and more — no installation required.
- Mockuuups StudioA massive library of device and scene mockups. Fast to use and consistently high quality — the right tool for portfolio presentation.
- CoolshapesA library of 100+ abstract shapes for design work, available as SVGs and React components. Excellent for backgrounds and decorative elements.
- anything.to.designConverts URLs, images, CSVs, and other formats directly into Figma designs. A workflow accelerator for research and documentation.
- LummiFree AI-generated stock images, illustrations, and 3D assets. Higher quality and more distinctive than traditional stock — genuinely useful for design work.
- Interface Inventory — Brad FrostThe canonical article on running an interface inventory — the first step in building any design system. Required reading before starting a system audit.
- The AI Design LibraryAn introduction to design principles and patterns for AI-powered products. Covers mental models, feedback, uncertainty, and trust.
- Design Patterns CatalogueA research-backed catalogue of interaction patterns for data-sharing, consent, and transparency. From the team at Projects by IF.
- HumaaansMix-and-match illustration library of people in diverse styles. Free to use, Figma-ready, and consistently popular in product design work.
- Design Principles FTWA collection of design principles from well-known companies and teams. Useful for writing your own or stress-testing the ones you have.
- Atlassian Design SystemOne of the most thorough public design systems — covers foundations, components, patterns, and content. An invaluable reference for anyone building or contributing to a design system.
- eBay PlaybookeBay's open design system — clean documentation of their components, motion, and design principles. A well-structured example of design system at scale.
- Backpack by SkyscannerSkyscanner's open-source design system. One of the few that documents both the design and engineering sides with equal rigour.
- Tints.devGenerate perfect Tailwind CSS color palettes from a single hex value. Indispensable for anyone doing design engineering with Tailwind.
- React BitsA library of animated and interactive React components — text effects, backgrounds, and UI elements ready to drop in. Great for adding motion without starting from scratch.
- JSON CrackVisualize JSON data as an interactive graph. Useful for understanding API responses, design token structures, and complex data schemas.
- Learn Git BranchingThe most visual way to learn Git. Interactive exercises that make branching, rebasing, and merging click — essential for design engineers.
- Design Tokens Format ModuleThe W3C community group specification for design tokens. The canonical reference for understanding how tokens should be structured and exchanged across tools.
- Jamstack Site GeneratorsA comprehensive directory of static site generators — useful for designers and design engineers choosing the right tool to build their portfolio.
- Learn Figma (LearnUX)A structured, free Figma course covering everything from basics to auto layout and components. Clean teaching style, no fluff.
- Base Gallery — Figma CommunityA Figma community file with hundreds of categorised design examples — logos, layouts, type systems, and UI patterns. A fast way to explore visual references inside Figma.
Career
- Design System UniversityCourses on building, scaling, and selling design systems inside organisations. Particularly useful for senior designers taking on system ownership.
- The Business Value of Design — McKinseyMcKinsey's landmark research showing design-led companies outperform peers by 2:1. Essential reading for any designer making the business case for their work.
- Product Designer Competencies MatrixLevelling frameworks from 15 top companies — Google, Airbnb, Stripe, and more. The most comprehensive public reference for understanding what senior design actually looks like.
- Writing Better Self ReviewsBrian Lovin's guide to writing performance reviews that actually advance your career. Practical, honest, and not often discussed in design circles.
- Titles for Designers — BasecampBasecamp's public ladder for design titles — how they think about junior, senior, and principal design roles. Refreshingly clear and worth benchmarking against.
- Strategic Storytelling for DesignersHow to frame design work as a narrative that stakeholders understand and act on. One of the most practically useful pieces on design communication.
- The Attributes of a Design EngineerKathryn Gonzalez on what separates a design engineer from a designer who codes — judgment, taste, and the ability to own both sides of the interface.
- The Case for Design EngineersJim Nielsen's influential argument for why the best interfaces come from people who design and build simultaneously. The foundational piece on design engineering.
- The Case for Design Engineers, Pt. IIJim Nielsen revisits and deepens his argument two years later — with real examples of what gets lost when design and engineering are separated.
- How to Build Visual Confidence as a DesignerFons Mans on developing a reliable visual eye — how to move from taste to execution without second-guessing every decision.
- Notes on Design EngineeringA personal collection of notes on what design engineering means in practice — covering tools, mindset, and the blurry line between design and code.
- Design Systems: Pilots & ScorecardsDan Mall on how to introduce a design system through small pilots instead of big-bang launches — and how to measure whether it's working.
- 2025: The Year Ahead — Big MediumJosh Clark's annual design industry forecast — what's shifting in AI, product thinking, and design practice. Measured and worth reading at the start of every year.
- What Do I Want to Do With My Life? — Uber DesignEvelyn Kim's personal essay on navigating career direction as a designer at Uber. Honest about doubt, ambition, and what meaningful work actually feels like.
- GitLab Product Design RolesGitLab's public handbook on design management — how they think about IC to manager transitions, expectations at each level, and design leadership at scale.
- BuzzFeed Product Design RolesBuzzFeed's open-source design role definitions — one of the first companies to publish their full levelling framework. Still a relevant benchmark.
- Making UX DecisionsA course on how to make confident UX decisions — covering research synthesis, frameworks, and how to communicate design rationale clearly.
- ilovecreativesJob board, courses, and community for creative professionals. Particularly good for freelance and boutique agency roles you won't find on LinkedIn.
- Artaux Freelancing NetworkA freelance network built specifically for creatives — connecting designers, illustrators, and motion artists with quality work and fair pay.
- Remote Product Design Career FrameworkRemote's public design career framework — a detailed map of what's expected at each level, from junior to staff. Transparent and useful for self-assessment.
- Living Design DocumentationA practical guide to creating design token documentation that stays in sync with your actual design files — a common pain point on growing design system teams.
- Flexible Design Token Taxonomy — IntuitNate Baldwin's deep-dive into how Intuit structured their design token taxonomy — covering naming, tiers, and the decisions that make a token system scalable.
- Alexander Fandén on FoundationsA thoughtful breakdown of how design system foundations (spacing, colour, type) should be structured — written by someone who has built them at scale.
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