haven’t heard of, and several I’ve added to my own favorites list.
Without further ado – I present 16 sites that you visit for design inspiration.
1. The Best Designs
Suggested by: chandan (Digg profile)
I’ve written about The Best Designs before,
so I didn’t list it down this time around. For those unfamiliar with
the site, The Best Designs is a wonderful spot to view high-quality
XHTML and Flash designs. They tag each design with relevant keywords
(i.e. - Bold, Colorful, CSS) so you can narrow down your search to the
particular look you’re attracted in.
2. CSS Remix
Suggested by: chandan (Digg profile)
CSS Remix is (according to their tag line): "A Fresh Blend
of the Best-Designed Web 2.0 Sites", though there are some non-Web 2.0
themed sites included as well. With over 14,000 RSS readers, CSS Remix
is definitely a prime destination for designers looking to check out
the work of other designers.
3. CSS Mania
Suggested by: Pat of Atrick Design
CSS Mania is a regularly updated CSS-based web design
gallery that includes many design genres. At present, it has over
10,000+ websites in its collection. Though the reader who suggested CSS
Mania frequents this site, he warns (and I agree): "They aren’t as particular about the quality of the designs they present, but there are definitely some gems in there."
4. screenfluent
Suggested by: Damien
screenfluent is a site that features some very nice
designs. What’s great about screenfluent is that it gives you a preview
of the site by opening a modal window (more commonly known as a
"lightbox"). There are over 7,000 featured designs so there’s not a
lack of content to view.
5. Screenalicio.us
Suggested by: Sachleen Sandhu of tehkubix blog
Screenalicio.us has over 9,800 designs for you to see. The
users have the capability of rating each design based on a 5-star
rating system and the ability to give feedback for each entry. You can
sort the designs based on ratings and time submitted.
6. Open Source Web Design
Suggested by: Sachleen Sandhu of tehkubix blog
Open Source Web Design is a community where users upload
designs to share to the public. Downloading an OSWD design is free of
charge. You can either browse their gallery of designs or download them
to study.
7. One Page Love
Suggested by: adelle of Fuel Your Creativity
One Page Love is a niche web design showcase gallery that
features beautiful, creative one page websites and applications. Some
categories include products, portfolios, temp pages, and events.
8. FullSingle
Suggested by: adelle of Fuel Your Creativity
FullSingle is another site that displays single-page
websites. The latest gallery entries are featured at the top of each
page with a brief description of what the page is about.
9. One Page Folios
Suggested by: adelle of Fuel Your Creativity
If the above two weren’t niched enough for you, here’s one with even
greater specificity. It’s an aggregate of single page portfolio
websites of designers and developers. There’s over 800 portfolios
currently listed on One Page Folios, and each entry is reviewed before being published.
10. We Love WP
Suggested by: adelle of Fuel Your Creativity
We Love WP shares top-notch WordPress powered sites. They also showcase free themes that designers have modified into something unique.
11. CSS Divine
Suggested by: Jess
CSS Divine is a CSS-based design aggregate website. You can
do a color search by clicking on the color palette at the side bar, and
it’ll narrow down the gallery to themes tagged by that particular
color. There are plenty of categories including Art, Business, Clean,
and Portfolio.
12. Design Snack
Suggested by: Justin Scheetz of Design Snack
Design Snack, according to their tagline, is "The
designer’s showcase that you control". Design Snack features XHTML and
Flash designs. You can customize the way the designs are displayed,
vote on individual entries, and browse by color.
13. SF art & design portal
Suggested by: cindyf
SF art & design portal is the work of the Amsterdam-based web design agency, Strangefruit.nl webdesign.
SF art & design portal features hand-picked, innovative, creative
art and design sites. You can browse by category, style, color, and
even country.
14. Design Shack
Suggested by: stefan alexandru of Stefan Alexandru
Design Shack is an exclusive repository of first-class
CSS-based web designs. They look for designs that "stand out from the
crowd". They also have a Tutorials section that features web design lessons.
15. CSSloaf
Suggested by: CSS Loaf of CSSloaf
CSSloaf brings together designs from 35 other showcases so
that you don’t have to go all over the place to see the latest designs.
They feature large screenshots so that each design is visible; no need
to strain your eyes on tiny thumbnails.
16. eduStyle
Suggested by: Luke Robinson (Twitter profile)
eduStyle is dedicated to the design of higher education
websites for higher education professionals. It’s intended to showcase
the best works of higher education designers to their peers.
Thank you for your contributions and suggestions,
as well as giving me a few links to add to my collection. If your
favorite sites aren’t on here, make sure to discuss it in the comments
section and maybe we’ll have a follow up to this one.
