Curated external resources for design practice.
The design ecosystem extends far beyond any vault. This collection points to valuable external resources—foundries, stock libraries, learning platforms, inspiration sources, and tools. Links require maintenance; verify before relying on them.
Typography Resources
Type Foundries
Large Independent Foundries:
- Grilli Type — GT America, GT Walsheim
- Klim Type Foundry — Söhne, Domaine
- Commercial Type — Graphik, Canela
- Colophon Foundry — Aperçu, Reader
- Dinamo — ABC Diatype, Monument
- Sharp Type — Sharp Sans, Sharp Grotesk
- OH no Type Co — Vulf, Obviously
Corporate/Large:
- Monotype — Helvetica, Futura, etc.
- Adobe Fonts — Included with CC
- Google Fonts — Free, open source
Variable Font Specialists:
- DJR — Variable font expertise
- Font Bureau — Type Network
Font Tools
- Wakamai Fondue — Font inspector
- Font Squirrel — Webfont generator
- Fontjoy — Pairing generator
- Typewolf — Font recommendations
Stock and Assets
Stock Photography
Premium:
Free/Open:
Specialty:
- Death to Stock — Curated
- Moose Photos — Diverse
- Nappy — Black and brown people
Icons
- Noun Project — Extensive library
- Feather Icons — Simple, open source
- Phosphor Icons — Flexible set
- Heroicons — Tailwind CSS icons
- Material Icons — Google's set
Illustrations
- unDraw — Open source illustrations
- Blush — Customizable illustrations
- Humaaans — Mix and match people
- Open Peeps — Hand-drawn people
Mockups
Color Resources
Color Tools
- Coolors — Palette generator
- Adobe Color — Color wheel and palettes
- Khroma — AI color tool
- Colour Contrast Checker — Accessibility
Palette Inspiration
- Color Hunt — Curated palettes
- LOL Colors — Curated palettes
- Happy Hues — Palettes in context
Brand Color References
- BrandColors — Brand color codes
- Brand Palettes — Brand palettes
Inspiration
Design Galleries
- Dribbble — Design showcase
- Behance — Portfolio platform
- Awwwards — Website excellence
- Siteinspire — Web design gallery
Brand Specific
- Brand New — Rebrand reviews
- BP&O — Branding, Packaging and Opinion
- Logo Design Love — Logo-focused
- Identity Designed — Brand identity
Archives and Collections
- Fonts In Use — Typography in context
- Typewolf — Type in the wild
- Mindsparkle Mag — Curated design
Learning
Online Platforms
- Skillshare — Creative classes
- LinkedIn Learning — Professional skills
- Domestika — Creative courses
- CreativeLive — Live classes
Free Resources
- Google UX Design Certificate
- Figma YouTube
- The Futur — Business of design
Books (Essential Reading)
Brand Strategy:
- Designing Brand Identity — Alina Wheeler
- Brand Gap — Marty Neumeier
- Building a StoryBrand — Donald Miller
Logo and Identity:
- Logo Design Love — David Airey
- Identity Designed — David Airey
- Logo Modernism — Jens Müller
Typography:
- Thinking with Type — Ellen Lupton
- The Elements of Typographic Style — Robert Bringhurst
- Just My Type — Simon Garfield
Design Process:
- Design Is a Job — Mike Monteiro
- Steal Like an Artist — Austin Kleon
- The Shape of Design — Frank Chimero
Tools and Services
Design Tools
- Figma — Collaborative design
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Sketch — Mac design tool
- Affinity — Adobe alternative
Prototyping
Collaboration
Client/Business
- HoneyBook — Client management
- Dubsado — Proposals, contracts
- FreshBooks — Invoicing
- Calendly — Scheduling
Communities
Online Communities
- Designer Hangout — Slack community
- Design Twitter/X — Follow designers
- Reddit r/design
- Figma Community
Newsletters
- Sidebar — Daily design links
- Dense Discovery — Weekly curation
- Hey Designer — Design news
- Smashing Magazine
Industry
Organizations
- AIGA — Professional association
- The Type Directors Club
- D&AD — Awards and education
Conferences
- Brand New Conference
- AIGA Design Conference
- Typographics
- Config — Figma conference
Link Maintenance
External links break and change. Periodically:
- Verify links still work
- Update changed URLs
- Remove defunct resources
- Add new valuable finds