Design Monthly Vol. 9
I save many things each month that I find inspiring for some reason, and I like organized lists, so I figured I’d share those lists and maybe help someone out of a creative block.
But more importantly, I am pushing an old idea that inspiration is everywhere if you look with the right mindset. Being a product designer does not mean you can’t draw from architecture, graphic design, or type design. It also does not mean you can’t draw ideas and inspiration for your project by reading articles, brand stories, or tweets.
Pro tip: use the cmd + f to find the inspiration you need faster. For example: “Portfolio inspiration”
1. Portfolio — Michal Sawtyruk
Michal Sawtyruk is a talented digital painter and art /director based in Warsaw. He humbly worked with Netflix, BMW, DreamWorks and more. His style is hyper-colorful, using shapes to create realistic scenes, and leading a trend in animation which is using color shifts to represent feelings.
2. Font — Brockmann
Atipo Foundry released Brockmann, a font inspired by Josef Müller-Brockmann (9 May 1914–30 August 1996) who was a Swiss graphic designer, author, and educator, he was a Principal at Muller-Brockmann & Co. design firm. This font is a nice tribute to him and the Swiss design he helped push, which is associated with the development of modern forms and the graphic basis of corporate identity.
3. The Index — studio
A curated online gallery with the best design studios, designers, type foundries, and other creatives worldwide.
Good link to check out the best studios, projects, and case studies to get inspired from.
4. Apple — Design dynamic Live Activities
If you’re working on iOS applications, this video is for you. Get inspired and learn about Live Activities to make your app more useful and delightful to your users.
Great UI and interaction examples included.
Design dynamic Live Activities – WWDC23 – Videos – Apple Developer
5. Gagosian- Art and culture
A good source for out-of-the-box inspiration is the Gagosian website and Instagram. If you are not familiar, Gagosian is a global network of art galleries specializing in modern and contemporary art.
6. Read — The best designers are artists
Another great article by Tobias van Schneider, discusses the old topic of art vs. design and suggests a different answer.
Art is that little extra. Art is the personality infused into a piece of design or communication. Art is what sets it apart.
The best designers are artists
7. Read —Better is Possible by Josh Miller
The CEO of Arc Browser, Josh Miller, wrote an amazing narrative to introduce their latest feature, Arc Boost.
The Feature gives a user the power to easily (No code knowledge needed) change CSS settings on any given webpage, and save them (and even share). It connects to the narrative of the article.
When we change our perception of what is possible, we change the future by introducing something that wasn’t there before. Like an internet that can and should be molded by you, not by corporations.
8. Pao Bassol — Branding and illustration
An amazing brand and illustration designer out of Mexico, presenting super modern and trendy work, alongside a clear line of approachable elegance.
9. AI Pin by Humane
Humane, which can be summed with their ‘about’ section —
We believe in building innovative technology that feels familiar, natural, and human.
Technology that improves the human experience and is born from good intentions.
Products that put us back in touch with ourselves, each other, and the world around us.
Experiences that are built on trust with interactions that feel magical, and bring joy.
Humane was founded on the principle that we all deserve more from technology.
is a tech startup coming out of stealth lately, with their AI Pin, an artificial intelligence companion hardware and software.
10. Design spells — huge UI and interaction library
If you scrolled this far, here’s a treat — a huge library of interaction, design, and UI elements from amazing products. Thank me later.
Design Spells · Design details that feel like magic
Summing up
If you just scrolled past this list and said “There’s nothing here that helps and ignites creativity”, you need to adjust your curiosity. These links offer hundreds of sub-links, more references, additional work, more inspiration, and resource banks. Scroll back and now really look.
I hope you found this useful, Let me know in the comments.
-SH
Bonus:
- CANVASMGT.COM – Talents
- ‘The Idol’: Sam Levinson and The Weeknd Explain How the First Episode Establishes a Pop Culture Monster
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnUllfGBDsl/
Design Monthly Vol. 8 was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.