As a web designer in today’s society so much of your job is about flexibility and keeping up with the current trends. It’s important that anyone in the design industry, but particularly web design, remain educated on current design trends and new web topics. Of course, as apt web-users staying current and in-touch isn’t all that difficult. There are numerous tools and resources available online that can help designers stay connected with the modern design community. These resources and tools are also wonderful ways to more efficiently and effectively create good-quality design. But, as with most things online, there are simply too many tools and resources available to really be able to narrow down your options and find the best tools out there. Consider these three awesome resources to find artistic inspiration and to improve your design process.

Design Is History

This resource is one of the best out there for design inspiration and guidance. Showcasing the evolution of design throughout history, this is a wonderful guide for young designers and great reference tool for professional veterans. Understanding the history of design, different styles, and various techniques is an important part of being a designer. Because trends change so regularly in web design, having a resource like this can be extremely useful. This source provides ample inspiration, but it is also a great way to learn problem-solving techniques.

Web Font Specimen

This font resource provides a template that allows you to check your typography by checking the HTML-specimen in your browser. This specimen contains entire paragraphs with various line heights and font sizes, different heading styles, ordered and unordered lists, as well as bold and italic text. Web Font Specimen is a great tool for analyzing body size and typeface. You can look at specific measures, grayscale, glyphs, and much more.

Colour Lovers

This tool is a community-based web gallery of colors, palettes, news, and real-world design examples. This is a great resource for finding design inspiration and connecting with the design community. You can share your inspiration and ideas with others in the same field. Bouncing ideas and inspirations off of one another is a great way to stay motivated with your work and constantly evaluate your design choices. Designers can come to this source to explore new color trends, look at different palettes people are using, read articles on various design topics, explore different shapes and textures used in current design, trends, and much more.