Being a productive designer is essential in an industry that changes daily. Wired Magazine stated that “nine blogs are created every minute…”, but that was also back in 2005, so by now it is probably up to around 96 blogs every minute.

Being resourceful is critical to getting the job done. As web designers and graphic designers we are constantly looking at the latest tools and tips on how to push our craft and better our workflow.

This list is some of the tools and resources that I have been incorporating into my processes, whether it is something that is inspirational by way of geeky interviews that talk shop about hard/software used like The Setup or a website like Designers MX and Stereomood that fuel my creativity by stimulating my ears with fresh music. Dive in and please feel free to let me know what tools or resources help you and how by posting a comment!

Lorempixum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. What? If you are a graphic artist or web designer and have to use dummy text or filler (or meat and filler) on a daily basis- you know. Lorempixum is that but with images and photos; a genius idea that allows you to specify what type of subject and size you want your filler image to be and it will generate an image for you to use. They even have a bunch of preset settings to choose from.

Little Big Details

User interface, the space where interaction between humans and machines occur, is everywhere. The Internet makes us, as users, appreciate the beautiful- intuitive- simplicity of a great interface, or leaves us feeling deeply annoyed and lost. I am always inspired by creative design in this area and Little Big Details is a Tumblr that shows off amazing examples to learn from and be inspired by. Definitely worth a follow.

The Web Font Combinator

The Web Font Combinator is a cool name for a site that lets you preview web font combinations and sizes instantly. Simple, helpful and to the point (or should I say pixel). Currently this tool only uses fonts supplied by the Google Font Directory, as well as a handful of common system fonts.

The Setup

Get your geek on at The Setup and read cool interviews with industry creatives and vanguards from all walks of life. They talk shop and get asked all the right questions from ‘setup’ of hard/software to inspiration. I love this: “Despite appearances, the site is not actually sponsored by Apple – people just seem to like using their tools. We’re a fan, too.”

Designers MX

Music is on almost 70% of my day when I am pushing pixels on the computer. It drives me when I need that boost and it puts me in that zone where I seem to loose track of time and look up at the clock and see that I have just spent the last 2 hours in Photoshop and forgot to blink. Designers love to make mixes of music. Designers MX asks creative leaders what music fuels their creativity. I love this concept and it is a great way to discover new music/ideas!

Stereomood

Piggybacking on Designers MX, here is another way to get inspired by music. The genius idea behind Stereomood is that you can pick a playlist to listen to based on your mood or emotion. Feeling happy, they have that. Feeling sexy… yep, that too.

What Web tools or online resources inspire you or make you more productive ‘on the reg’? I would love to hear!