Pamela L. Williams
Originally published in Communication Arts November Design Annual 2006.
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“A dense site filled with loads of content, best practice designexamples, galleries of easily accessed work and information on events,contests, etc.” —Phil Hamlett, Academy of Art University
A comprehensive list of design blogs written by designers,illustrators, photographers, Web designers, as well as those inadvertising, branding and marketing.
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This site provides a steady stream of ideas, insights and resources for brand planners.
ReBrand is a source for case studies and programs on effectiverebranding, repositioning, revitalizing and redesign of existing brandassets to meet strategic goals.
“A great blog by advertising account planner, author and philosopherRussell Davies. Excellent insights on account planning, design strategyand life in general, served up with a healthy dose of humor.” —StefanG. Bucher, 344 Design, LLC
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This site is the online companion to the book
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students, by Ellen Lupton (Princeton Architectural Press, 2004). It is a primer for educators and students alike.
“Nothing picks me up like the typographic stylings of Underware. If youmake your way to their workshop section, there is even more fun:www.typeworkshop.com.” —Armin Vit, Pentagram
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“This site is more or less a one-stop shop for stock photography,sounds, fonts, vector-based logos, etc. it’s easy to navigate becauseit’s organized by ‘free,’ ‘cheap,’ ‘commercial’ and ‘specialty.’" —KrisKiger, R/GA
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“This site has a nice range of features on design, culture andtechnology. The writing provides a good perspective on what can easilybecome an overwhelming amount of visual information. With dailyupdates, I’ve found that I learn about new events or products longbefore hearing of them elsewhere.” —Michael Jager, JDK
Culture by is the blog of Grant McCracken. The content is the result ofwhere culture and commerce, anthropology and economics meet: marketingin general, branding in particular, popular culture, Hollywood,advertising, television, magazines and, increasingly, blogging. Thisbusiness anthropologist offers an unusual and often humorousperspective.
Flavorpill publishes ten e-mail magazines, covering art, books, music,fashion, world news and cultural events in five cities.
Future Feeder collects articles and projects related to the future of technology, design and architecture.
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Better by Design is an informative Web site created by the New ZealandTrade and Enterprise that promotes the value of design. The siteincludes case studies which prove that well-designed services andproducts are more likely to earn a higher premium, gain a bigger marketshare, be better quality and cost less to produce or deliver.
This is a great resource for online guides to Internet and technology,business strategy and innovation, human resources and marketing andbranding.
Hoover’s, Inc., delivers comprehensive company, industry and marketintelligence. With a subscription, you can research companyinformation, business news, business reports and profiles from itsdatabase of more than 16 million companies.
This is an independent consumer trends firm, relying on a globalnetwork of 8,000 spotters to provide the latest trends in 120 countriesworldwide. Lots of free information is available and easily accessible.
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A Wiki-based, user-built encyclopedia devoted to design.
“There is nothing like browsing through old ephemera to learn aboutdesign. And every now and then you find something that you can swipe...I mean use... I mean appropriate... You know what I mean.” —Armin Vit,Pentagram
“A section of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Web site that provides afull glossary of proofreader’s marks complete with symbol, meaning andexample. Very handy for deciphering those editor’s comments on bookgalleys.” —Joshua C. Chen/Jennifer Tolo, Chen Design Associates
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