There is always more to learn about graphic design. The links found on this page are the blue-ribbon, top-tier, first-class, best damn resources I know about on the internet. Email me if you have more recommendations. I’ll continue to add to this page as time allows. Also, let me know if you encounter broken links.

Typography is something you should always be learning more about and getting better at throughout your career as a designer. It is the bedrock of graphic design. Spend your spare time learning more about typography. It is like fresh air and exercise for a designer. You need it.

VIDEOS

TDC Legends | YouTube playlist of videos celebrating esteemed typographers
Hatch Show Print | Legendary wood type poster company in Nashville
F2 Design | Letterpress poster artist bio produced by Lynda.com
Art of the Title | Analyzing movie title sequences; type in motion

WEB DESIGN PROCESS

A List Apart | Articles written by the thought leaders of web design.
An Event Apart | The best web design conferences in the land. Also lots of great videos of past talks.
A Book Apart | A series of books that cover the industry’s most essential topics in a concise format.
UX Planet | Articles for every level of user experience designer (beginners to advanced).
Pro Web Type | Online book that delivers what you need to know about type on the web.
Better Web Typography | Good online course and/or book about screen based typography.
Dear Design Student | Mike Monteiro’s blog posts of practical advice for navigating a career in design.
Web Field Manual | Go here first to save time finding quality resources to learn web stuff.

DEVELOPMENT

Free Code Camp | Teach yourself the basics of HTML, CSS and Javascript via online tutorials

TYPOGRAPHY

A Type Primer | The best typography textbook. Concise and practical… but currently quite expensive. Buy a used copy.
Inside Paragraphs | Illustrated book that shows you how to approach setting type. Personal favorite.
Thinking With Type | Another really great typography textbook. Author, Ellen Lupton, is a big deal.
Lettering & Type | Appreciate and learn about type and lettering; they are not the same thing.
The Anatomy of Type: A Graphic Guide to 100 Typefaces | A survey of 100 quality fonts; highlights distinctive traits of each.
The Visual History of Type | Typefaces from movable type to the present day presented in spectacular fashion.
The Anatomy of Type | Analyzes characteristics of 100 essential typefaces
Butterick’s Practical Typography | Online book/website
Typoguide | Online “pocket guide” to everyday type challenges

DRAWING

Vector Basic Training | Process book to learn how to draw better using vector based software.

BUSINESS

Design is a Job | Required reading for all graphic designers. There is also an audiobook version. Highly recommended.

INSPIRATION

Steal Like An Artist | A small book with big ideas about how to get your mind right so you can be creative.

TUTORIALS, TEXTURES, BRUSHES & MORE

Retro Supply Co.

Dustin Lee is a local designer (Portland or Vancouver… not sure which) that has made a career out of making retro inspired goods for designers to use in their work. There are tons of textures, brushes, templates, clip art, etc. for Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate for purchase at Retrosupply.co. He links out to some decent additional resources in his blog, like this post: 30 of the Best Free Retro and Vintage Textures

Ian Barnard

Ian Barnard is a British designer focused mostly on lettering. I’ve picked up some great PSD kits as part of creative bundles in the past. He’s on Dribbble and he makes some good video tutorials as well.

Spoon Graphics

This British designer has created several tutorials that I’ve learned from and borrowed ideas for my Illustrator classes. His blog posts are usually of higher quality than your typical YouTuber. He has lots of tutorial articles and videos. A few of my favorites: Vintage Film Title Text Effect | How To Create a Vector Popsicle | 3 Ways to Add Texture to Logos & Type | Wireframe Animal Skulls | Retro Text Style | Showcase of Overprint Effects | Logos with Wings

The Vector Lab

Ray Dombroski is The Vector Lab. He designs a lot of surf inspired t-shirts. He also sells logo kits, mockups, brushes and such. He shares some of his techniques via the blog on his personal site, Raydombroski.com. I recommend scrolling through his blog to see if there are any tutorials that interest you. I’ve picked up some tips and tricks just by following him on Instagram. He’s got an active YouTube channel too.

EnvatoTuts+

Create a Vintage Art Deco Poster with Illustrator's Grain Effect | This tutorial will show you how to add some retro mezzotint type shading to your drawings in Illustrator… but beware: This kind of thing is memory intensive and can make your files hard to manage.
How to Create a Vintage Brush to Add Texture in Illustrator | Old school pen and ink by making custom brushes.
There are more good tutorials on this site… I’ll track them down and add them when more time allows.

Brave The Woods

Brian Woodward started making YouTube videos in 2019. He’s an illustrator that has worked in a variety of different styles, using lots of digital and analog techniques. I’ve been impressed with the information his is delivering so far. He’s also captured lengthy video interviews with other inspiring illustrators revealing great insights into their processes and techniques. I recommend checking out his interviews of Von Glitschka and John Mata.

Misc.

Design Cuts is a place that has monthly bundles of all sorts of stuff for designers and hobbyists. Sometimes you can pick up some good stuff on the cheap here. I’ve gotten stuff from all of folks listed above through these bundles in the past. They are somehow connected to Creative Market… everything I’ve bought from Design Cuts is in my account at Creative Market, which is another good place to find less expensive elements, fonts, textures, brushes and such.

Just a few more… I’ll add to this section and sort things more when I get time. Subtle Patterns | Transparent Textures