Everyone wants their work to be original. They want their visual content to be modern but nothing anyone has seen before. Personally I am constantly searching for inspiration as a visual designer, so that the content I make is forward thinking. Finding inspiration is at the top of my list in my creative process.
Finding Visual Inspiration Online.
I am always on the lookout for new and upcoming trends because in the digital world, trends move so fast. My creative process starts with research. When I have free time I like to do a quick search of trends, but I discovered following other designers, design account, and design topics on social media is much more effective than just searching for articles on Google when the time comes to create something new. You want to stumble upon new ideas rather than search for them.
All of them are very unique. Ranging from graphic design, mixed photography, web design, product design & more. I like to follow accounts in these websites, or follow the blog so it goes straight to my feed. Again this is just the start of my creative process. Many other steps are taken along side with visual research: including client assessment (having the client give deliverable expectations and the goal for the design/product) and target audience research. A few of these blog sites are great at explaining the creator’s creative process and steps they took to create their final product, so I would encourage you to check them out!
I am sharing my top visual resources for blogging and social media.
As a blogger, we are always looking for resources to bring our social media content to the next level. Most of us do not have the capacity to take our own photos for EVERY post, and creating a graphic from scratch can be difficult, so finding free resources of graphics and royalty-free photos have been a game changer.
Here are some of the best websites I use to take my posts to the next level.
Unsplash.com
The BEST Photo Resources on the Web
Wondering where bloggers get that cute dog stock photos, a model looking productive on a computer photo or the dreamy beach house photos? These websites are where. If you are not the best photographer or just do not have the time or resources to set up environmental photoshoots (shooting in the subject’s environment), these website will help you. Blog posts that have a compelling photo bring more traffic and increase your SEO score.
Try and stick to a theme when getting photos, and if you want to go the extra mile, edit the feature photos to go with your aesthetic.
The BEST Quick Design Resources on the Web
I am a graphic designer who is fully capable of using Adobe Creative Suite programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to create graphics, but if I want to create or something quickly (especially for my personal brand) I usually run to apps and websites that give hundreds of already made templates which can be customized for my needs. Also if I need to quickly edit a photo before posting, I use easy to use apps for that. Here are just a few:
Canva – Instant custom graphic design tool and app, probably the most popular https://www.canva.com/
PicMonkey – Advanced but easy to use photo editor. Oldie but goodie. Used to be free but now there is a small monthly fee, but if you want to invest, give the free trial a try. https://www.picmonkey.com/features
Crello – A great website for graphic design templates with fun illustrations. https://crello.com/
Airbrush (iOS and Android app): Great for doing quick yet detailed photo edits to your social media posts. They have a great library of filters as well. https://appairbrush.com/. I will be creating a whole post about apps I use to edit my social media posts next week.
Other Resources That Will Save You Time
Coolors.co
Typography
If you are working on Adobe files like photoshop and want to own those cool fonts you see online for free, this is where you can find and download them (or link them to your code!).
Struggling to find a color palette that works for your brand? These resources are great to see what the colors look like together, and can easily be exported in many ways. All of them provide HEX # codes to be reproduced anywhere online.
I hope that this list helps you with your blogging or social media journey as a visual content creator. More graphic design posts will be coming soon. I have been a graphic designer for several years but I am always learning. Read about my design story and how I chose the visual design field!
Arienne Visuals 