We all have them, we all need them, they are our must read weblogs and magazines. They are the resources that keep us on our toes and hopefully on the bleeding edge. 

My list of current “must reads” has developed over a nearly five year long refinement process. Part definitive list, part labor of love, these are some of the resources that I count on every week to help me do what I do.

Freelance Switch - This is perhaps one of the most useful and important weblogs/magazines for freelancers out there today. It’s crammed with advice pieces about the ins and outs of living the freelance life. Much of how I operate my studio today came from articles I read here.

Smashing Magazine - This is one of the newest resources to be adopted into my list. Right at the top is Computer Arts and Computer Arts Projects, but Smashing Magazine is a very close third. Every article I see on this site seems relevant to my everyday work life and this site truly helps me to stay on the edge. My only real complaint on this magazine would be their lack of editorial QC. Lots of typos.

Design is Kinky - Definitely in the top five favorite sites of all time is the illustrious Design is Kinky. DIK is perhaps one of the reasons I seriously decided to pursue a career in design. These fantastic individuals plumb the depths of the bleeding edge of our field and post it as a kind of serendipitous triumph. Every time I hit their site my bookmark folder grows exponentially.

Design Observer - The Design Observer is like my E Entertainment television, but for design. It’s so full of everyday happenings in the industry that I always leave the site feeling that much more knowledgeable about the field I’m working in. Good stuff.

A List Apart - Do I even need to say it? ALA gets my second longest read award. Before I even really knew what web design was, I was reading Zeldman and crew’s fantastic bi-weekly offerings. Every article is relevant, the writing is top notch, and, hey, they let me hang around and go all fanboy all the time. Gotta love that!

Coudal Partners - Next to A List Apart and Design is Kinky, Coudal gets fits very snugly into my “longest read” category. Jim and crew do a fabulous job of info mining the web and reporting all things design-related. We liked them so much, we gifted them.

Wooster Collective - If you love street art, stencils, graffiti and typography then the Wooster is for you. While not a traditional “design” weblog, The Wooster Collective is the bomb when it comes to all art and design urban. I am a massive fan of graffiti and its culture, and to me this is one of the best sites on the web at this point period. I read this one daily.

Netdiver - Netdiver officially gets my “longest read” award. Carole has been inspiring the masses with her fantastic coverage of the design field for probably over a decade. She is known for her flawless sense of style and that comes through in every post and link housed on the Netdiver site.

Honorable Mentions

Here are some of the other sites I read on a weekly basis. Each one is just a wealth of information (most design related and some not) and should be bookmarked with the utmost urgency. Harumph!

I Love Typography
You the Designer
Web Designer Wall
Scene 360
Notcot
K10K
Drawn

oh yeah… and R.I.P. Pixel Surgeon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 11:58 am and is filed under Art, Design, Development, Dolls for Friends, Print, Review, Web, industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.