Spun
Spun is a Web aggregate that pulls in the most fresh and interesting posts from the top blogs in the design industry, featuring topics such as Apple, gadgets, multimedia, print, Web and graphic design. Every ten minutes the content changes; in a glance users are able glean up-to-the-minute information, as well as follow direct links to the original sources. Users are also able to filter their desired results.
Smashing Magazine
Smashing Magazine's slogan reads, "We smash you with information that will make your lives easier. Really." The site serves both as a blog and a Website that offers an essential array of information, resources and advice for Web developers and designers. Smashing's site offers a wide range of features for design professionals, including evaluations of Web-based tools, software and applications, as well as design how-tos, fonts, icons and templates for free downloading.
Specky boy
SpeckyBoy Design Magazine hit the Web in 2007 and is truly the baby of its owner. It began as the webmaster's personal Web design homepage. The article Top 25 Free Icon Resources for Web Designers caught major interest on the Internet and since then, the site has become an amazing resource that covers all aspects of Web design and development and offers a wide range of free resources. SpeckyBoy is an inspirational site for both new and more seasoned Web designers and developers.
Best Web Gallery
Best Web Gallery is a cool Website designed and managed by Nick La, who also runs Web Designer Wall. The purpose of Best Web Gallery is to expose exceptionally high quality web sites in hopes of inspiring quality design. The site touts quality design as Visual + Technical + Creativity and Nick La features examples of this aesthetic daily. Also, design jobs can be found "on the wall."
The Best Designs
TheBestDesigns.com was launched by Angela Rohner of Rohner Studios in 2001, but was restructured in 2006 in order to include design categories. Rohner is a fine artist who paints portraits and also serves as an Art Director and Front-end developer in Dallas, TX. As the name suggests, this site truly showcases exceptional work and brings in at least 300,000 page impressions at month.
The FWA
The FWA "… stands for Favourite Website Awards, an industry recognized internet award program and inspirational portal, established in May 2000. "FWA is the most visited Website award program in the history of the internet, with over 75 million visits as of January 2010. The FWA recognizes some of the best Websites that have ever been built and aims to be the world's most visited Web site award program, receiving 2+ million visits per month. The FWA "… bases its selections on: Design 40%, Navigation, 25%, Graphics, 15%, Content, 15%, and Personality 5%.” Visit the site to learn more about its vision and selection process.
Styleboost
Styleboost was born in 2001 and is one of the finest Web showcases for the work of extremely talented designers and developers. Styleboost is designed, developed and "curated" by Johan Bakken, a partner and Senior Designer for Norway's Kulturbyraet Mesen. Take a walk through a constantly updated museum of dazzling, jaw-dropping, Internet masterpieces.
Shane Mielke
Shane Seminole Mielke lives in Southern California and works as the Creative Director at 2Design Studios. Take a look at Mielke's incredible abilities at his online portfolio, a true monument to incredible design, ease of navigability and content that reads as sheer perfection. Visit his site for samples of his edgy, strong and clean design aesthetic.
Design Chapel
Design Chapel is the gorgeous art portfolio of Swedish designer Robert Lindstrom, who works as Interactive Art Director and Co-Founder of North Kingdom. The site also features a blog through which Lindstrom shares his inspirations, travel experiences and more examples of his transcendent art. Even a drawing Lindstrom executed on his iPhone (with the Brush app) is hauntingly beautiful.
Shaun Inman
What an uber-modern place to visit! Shaun Inman is a designer and developer (you may of heard of before) who attended the Savannah College of Art and Design. In Inman's own words, "[my] interest in design gradually shifted to web design and development thanks to many well-documented open-source and standards-based technologies." He is also famously developed the font replacement methodology that is the foundation SiFR and the Web analytics suite Mint, among other things.
Brandnu
Brandnu is the online portfolio of London-based artist Radim Malinic, an internationally known and award winning illustrator and graphic designer. Malinic's multi-media designs contribute to the seamless packaging, advertising, Web presence and branding of an ongoing list of high profile clients such as Samsung and Smirnoff. With a sexy and sophisticated sense of concept, color, and texture, Malinic is an artistic genius to be celebrated.
Techcrunch
Techchruch is a highly-tiered super blog known for its aggressive, controversial opinions and up to the minute reporting about the latest in the tech world, including start-ups. Controversy has surrounded Techcrunch throughout its expansion. The site has been called sensationalistic, show-bizzy, biased and just plain over-rated. But, it's still a fantastic resource.
Mashable
Mashable bills itself as The Social Media Guide or "All that's news on the Web." The super-blog carries an amazing 1.8 million Twitter followers, over 90,000 fans on Facebook and over 330,000 RSS subscribers. Focused on Web 2.0 and social media, it reviews new Web technologies and sites and basically reports on everything new on the Web. Mashable describes its reader bank as "early adopters, social media enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, influencers, brands and corporations, marketing, PR and advertising agencies, Web 2.0 aficionados and technology journalists." A prolific catch-all for everyone interested in… everything.
CNet
CNet is a fantastic site to find consumer reviews on hi-tech products such as mobile phones and computers as well as price comparisons and reviews to help consumers navigate modern waters. Cnet is a top source for global industry news (text as well as streaming videos and podcasts), free software downloads, and cutting edge reporting on everything from multi-media, Microsoft, Apple, gaming, health tech, and the list goes on.
Engadget
Engadget.com is a multilingual, globally-focused weblog about consumer-oriented technology. Available across nine different Websites that each cater to different parts of the world, the sites are not only updated continuously about industry news but also serve up captivating rumors and speculations provided by industry analysts and professional journalists.
Gizmodo
Gizmodo is a super-popular gadget blog and offers a liveblog that covers such major events as the iPad unveiling. Its editors focus on keeping the site not only up to the minute informative, but lively, accessible and fun for readers. The site itemizes its most popular posts over a 24 hour period, giving busy readers a great starting place to check out hi-tech news.
Complex Magazine
Complex is a magazine geared toward men in their 20’s to mid-thirties and offers readers from all walks of life a glimpse into metropolitan lifestyle and trends. Founded by Marc Ecko in 2002, Complex has been criticized as being a glossy museum of advertisements rather than a resource for its readers. But it’s still really cool. Topics covered include urban fashion trends and all forms of media including graphic art.
Uncrate
This site is self-promoted as a place to check out cool stuff to buy for (and by) guys, but I'd hate to punish women like that. This is a drool-worthy site, featuring amazing things that will make the most reticent shoppers want to spend a few years' worth of salary. A cool feature, Uncrate Stuff, gives you your own personal "uncrate" in which you can store as many of the 6,000+ things that the site's been taunting you to purchase. So the next time you're looking for "Real Advice from Real Men" about which carry-on bag is appropriate for a two-week trip across Europe or whether you should purchase a Custom $100,000 "Batpod" (a full-scale working replica of Batman's motorcycle from The Dark Knight), Uncrate is a must see.
Fast Company
Fast Company has made a lot of people a lot of money. It was launched in 1995 by two former Harvard Business review editors and is now owned by Mansueto Ventures, a private media company. With a physical circulation of 750,000, Fast Company.com also operates as a network of sites with Inc.com and offers its readers consistent looks at innovations, digital media, gadget reviews and industry trends.
Inc.
Inc. boasts a paid circulation of almost 700,000 with another 20,000 in newsstand sales, and serves as an invaluable resource for growing companies. Inc. offers readers an ongoing look into the ins and outs, successes and failures of small businesses and is celebrated for its annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc. 500."
Nolo
Since 1971, Nolo has made a goal of making everyday Americans feel like they have access to top-notch legal services, documents, and advice. Nolo's goal is a noble one: To make America's legal system accessible to everyone. And they do this quite well – through articles, affordable books, document preparation, podcasts, in-depth reviews of American attorneys and a self-serve area that features various legal documents — including one that cover the all-important landlord-tenant relationship.
AllBusiness.com
AllBusiness.com is a subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet and is one of the most respected catch-all business sites on the Web. Since 1999, the site has provided small and growing businesses, ambitious individuals and established business professionals whatever it takes to succeed in their respective industries. AllBusiness describes itself as a site that "offers resources including how-to articles, business forms, contracts and agreements, expert advice, blogs, business news, business directory listings, product comparisons, business guides, a business association and more."
The New York Times Personal Tech
The New York Times Personal Tech offers readers a powerful reading nook built around technology news. From featured columnists (David Pogue) to gadget reviews, multimedia podcasts, reading recommendations and an incessant, ever-changing list of top tech headlines, it's a techie's paradise.
Lifehacker
On the day I wrote this, Lifehacker's front page articles included an inexpensive way to create an ergonomic standing desk by using wayward filing cabinets, a craft-ish type article on turning an old book into a new journal, and a safe way to send cds and dvds through the mail by using… milk cartons. The weblog serves up a virtual salad of how-tos, tips, evaluations of blogs, sites and browsers, etc… BTW, "lifehacks" are shortcuts that attempt to bring efficiency into our dizzying lives.
Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is all about questions and answers and all about programming. Like Wikipedia, the site is edited communally. The site is set up in a simple and direct manner and is clearly not a place for debating issues, flaming, preaching or selling. Questions must be phrased as questions and there are currently over 580,000 questions open on the site.
Experts Exchange
This site operates as a virtual IT department staffed by the creme de le creme of technology experts; questions are asked and answers are given – for a fee. It's an information exchange platform where individuals and businesses can access top experts and have questions answered in under an hour. Also, over 2 million solutions are already logged in an existing knowledge bank.
Webhosting Talk
This site is about all things hosting. It's a massive clearinghouse featuring endless threads and posts written by over 230,000 users. Topics include managed hosting, specialty hosting, server performance, SEO and Web site management.
Adobe TV
In April of 2007, Adobe Systems, Inc. announced a free online viewing experience that includes instruction, tutorials and promotion of Adobe products. The virtual library and multiple channels are created and maintained in hopes of informing and inspiring Adobe clients and consumers. "Meet and greets" with Adobe employees, industry luminaries and behind the scene tours of the hottest creative shops and Adobe product teams are just tiny examples of the programming seen at Adobe TV.
Actionscript
Actionscript.org is a community that runneth over with articles, tutorials, blogs, movies, open-sourced projects and news about tools such as Flash, Flex Actionscript, etc. The community also posts graphic design and developer jobs from across the globe.
Kirupa
Kirupa.com is a massive programming resource that features a "hodgepodge" of tutorials that will prove fascinating to Web designers and developers. Video tutorials range from more expected topics such as an "Introduction to XML in Flash," and "PHP Pockets with Flash 8," all the way to some incredibly rare tutorials such as "Morphing Faces," "Turning Pictures into Statues," and "Creating a Photorealistic Tennis Ball."
Flash Components
Everything you ever want (or don't want) to know about Flash! Great tutorials, galleries and slideshows. Flashcomponents offers a useful community/forum that is particularly active. This is the place to go with your questions and expertise.
Go To And Learn
This site has been around since 2008 and is run by Lee Brimelow, an Adobe guy who refers to himself as "a platform evangelist… focusing on the Flash, Flex and AIR developer communities." The Flash Blog is impressive, well organized and an excellent resource for anyone working with Adobe products.
ActiveTuts+
ActiveTuts+ is a Flash/blog site that claims to have the best Flash, Flex and ActionScript tutorials around the web. In the hosts' words, "We publish tutorials that not only produce great graphics and effects, but explain in a friendly, approachable manner." The site name comes from the " awesomely active stuff it will teach you to create."
Pixel2Life
Pixel2Life offers podcasts and tutorials which cover programming topics including: 2 and 3D graphics, Audio editing, Video editing, Website design and development, PHP coding, HTML tricks and a few popular forums covering all aspects of Photoshop and Flash.
GoToAndPlay
GotoandPlay's tagline is "Addicted to Flash games." The site team recently announced the birth of OpenSpace, "a powerful Flash-based isometric engine and framework for rapid development of multi-user visual worlds and MMO communities." The site continually features a bunch of new games and game reviews.
Flash Kit
Flashkit.com is a massive Flash developer resource for Adobe Flash, MX tutorials, SWF FLA images, etc. The site boasts over 600,000 users and lists over 11,000 Flash movies and Flash job postings. The site is a cornucopia of tutorials, forums, industry headlines and links.
9bits Blog
9bits is a tumblog, or else a microblog, run by David Kaneda who is the Creative Director over at ExtJS. Kaneda created Outpost, an iPhone app for Basecamp and jQTouch, a JavaScript framework for iPhone development. At Ext, he is responsible for the overall look and feel of Websites. The microblog form is refreshing and gives us a peek into Kaneda's brain.
Daring Fireball
Daring Fireball is the blog of the most famous Apple enthusiast/expert/superblogger John Gruber, who created Markdown. Around the Web he's called many things (mainly for refusing to allow comments on his blog because they take away from his voice) but one thing is agreed: he's the go-to guy for all things Apple. Daring Fireball is a must read.