The Best Must-Read Articles for Designers in 2021
In this selection, we listed 25 valuable articles for fellow designers to inspire you and hopefully expand your creative mind and knowledge with something new in 2021. In addition, some articles feature rich selections of free resources so you could also expand your libraries with more graphics.
When it comes to successful design and more engagement, the trends are definitely something to consider when you work on your projects. With this in mind, we will talk a lot about trends.
1. Graphic Design Trends in 2021 That Will Cause Revolution [Insights]
New fashions and techniques push onwards and upwards in order to keep ahead of the competition. Let’s find out what’s bubbling under the surface and take a look at the popular trends that are rising for graphic design.Examples included.
2. The Best UI/UX Design Software: Complete Comparison [Guide]
This is a comprehensive guide to UI/UX software packages for all levels, specialties and applications. In this article, you will learn how to choose the right software and what to look for. We have included 17 UI/UX tools and compared them by price, usagem mitigation, workflow and collaboration. Infographic and video overview included.
3. Top Color Trends and Combinations to Try in 2021 [Insights]
Colors are game-changers when it comes to design. Here you will learn which are the most trending color combos for 2021 and enjoy some beautiful creations by other graphic designers that we included as examples for each color.
Highlights:
- Top Colors to Use in 2021
- Amazing Color Combinations to Try in 2021
4. Graphic Design Trends for Social Media in 2021 [Insights]
It’s more than a quality content and a competent strategy. When it comes to social Media, the visual message should evoke the right reaction. RockContent add more insights on graphic design for the platforms of users engagement.
Highlights:
- Scale and Immersion
- Brutalism
- Classics
- Coronavirus and Niche Trends
- Tik Tok
- Naturalness
- Design Micro Trends on Instagram
- Facebook Design MicroTrends
5. The Best Free Icon Packs to Download in 2021 [Resources]
This resource article features a selection of 50+ icon packs you can download for free and use for your personal projects. Most of the pacts are available for commercial use as well. We’ve separated them into 4 different sections.
Highlights:
- Free Base Icon Sets: The Multi-Purpose Essentials
- Free UI Animated Icons
- Free Social Media Icons
- Free Icon Packs on Specific Subjects
6. The Best Image Formats to Use in 2021 [Web Design]
Here you will read about the basic ideas and terms, and look at the most popular image formats. We address each one and explain the pros and cons to save you some headache.
Highlights:
- The basics of image files
- New image formats to use in 2021
- Raster image formats
- Vector image formats
7. Animation Trends in 2021: Popping and Intriguing Animation Ideas [Insights]
An exciting year for animation that glows with colors, textures, rounded shapes and amazing 3D effects. In this article you will learn of rising trends for the ever evolving world of animation. Goes without saying, we’ve featured awesome examples for each trend.
8. Top 80+ Sources To Find Design Assets [Resources]
This resource article packs a huge selection of high-quality sources and assets (free and paid). We’ve done the digging through the massive google search options so you won’t have to. In addition, the resources are categorized depending on what type of assets you’re currently looking for.
Highlights:
- Stock images and photographs
- Illustrations, cartoons, vectors
- Icons
- Fonts
- Backgrounds
- Seamless patterns and textures
- Mockup templates
- Videos and animations
- CSS3 animations and effects
9. Web Design Trends in 2021 That Blow the Cobs From the Web [Insights]
Designers are no longer working in their artistic bubbles and push for sensation, ethos, brand memorability and cutting edge style. With some amazing examples of the creative genius of designers from all over the world, we have gathered the hottest design trends for 2021.
10. Good Color Combinations That Go Beyond Trends: Inspirational Examples and Ideas [Inspiration]
Science and art aside, a big part of the process of accurately combining colors is finding the right inspiration. In this article, you will see a rich hand-picked collection of great color combinations that aim to inspire you and vibe with you.
Highlights:
- The Basics of Color Combinations
- Two Color Combinations Examples
- Three Color Combinations Examples
- Four Color Combinations Examples
- Gradients: Examples Of Gradient Color Combinations
- Color Combos With Blue: Combining the Color Blue
- Matching Red
- What Goes Great With Green
- Combinations With Yellow
- Orange In Combos
- Violet Combinations
11. 10+1 Web Design Secrets That No One Ever Tells You [Insights]
You’ve got the skills and the imagination and the creativity. But how about going a little bit extra and unlock the 10 secrets that will make you even better? In addition, there is an extra secret to never forget.
Highlights:
- No highlights in the preview. It’s a secret! :)
12. How To Build Landing Pages That Convert [Insights]
There are a couple of conversion-proof tricks that will help you create an effective landing page serving your business with successful online marketing. This article by htmlBurger walks you through 13 ideas for building persuasive landing pages.
13. 100 Design Lessons for 2021 [Insights]
This article by UX Trends immediately strikes with some reality check, because things are not ok. Instead of trends, the author chooses to list the lessons on how to make an impact beyond the product and services.
14. 28 Award-Winning Best Website Designs to look in 2021 [Inspiration]
SphinxDigital aims to inspire you with a list of 28 of the best website designs along with the past winners of the Awwwards and current nominees. The web design category of Awwwards offers coming trends, innovation and exciting technology aspects.
15. 37 Amazing Parallax CSS Website Examples That will Blow Your Mind [Inspiration]
Parallaxes, when executed right, can take your websites to the next level and leave a lasting impression. In this article, we have included 37 examples of awesome parallaxes that we hope will inspire you to create something even better. We’ve also included a video overview.
16. The Best Laptop for Graphic Design in 2021 [Insights]
On a more technical level, it’s important to have a reliable machine that will handle your needs in terms of software. In this article by ZDNet, the author lists the best options for laptops for creative users and compares capabilities and prices.
17. The 10 Best Landing Page Creation Tools [Web Development and Design]
This article by htmlBurger reviews 10 landing page creation solutions that are easy to learn and start using right away. In addition, most of the reviewed tools include marketing features for analyzing, testing and page performance. All of this, with zero programming skills required thanks to the customizable templates and design and conversion tools.
18. The Job of a Graphic Designer (2021) [Insights]
What does a graphic designer do in 2021? What aspects of art, technology and marketing they combine in order to be successful? In this dribbble article, the author explores the skills needed to become a graphic designer, the tools and the types of projects.
Highlights:
- Skills Graphic Designers Need
- Software Graphic Designers Use
- Types of Graphic Design Projects
- Working with Clients
- Basic Workflow
- Career Options for Graphic Designers
19. 23 Drawing Software Options to Become Digital Picasso [Insights]
This article gathers 23 drawing software packages (free and paid) for art and design. From the well-known powerhouses to less known tools with great capabilities, the software is listed in two categories, with presentational videos included.
Highlights:
- The Best Free Drawing Software
- The Best Premium Drawing Software
20. The Big Social Media Trends That Rock in 2021 [Insights]
Everything happens on social media, no matter if you’re a freelancer or a company. It is the best way to reach you customers, create a community and share your creations. In this article, you will learn about the latest trends which will help you expand your social media presence.
Highlights:
- Top Social Media Trends 2021
- What Social Media Trends Can do for You in 2021
- How Social Media Looks in Numbers in 2021
21. What Can You Do With Adobe Character Animator: 30 Amazing Examples [Inspiration]
Adobe Character Animator is one of the easiest to use tools for animation as it allows you to create puppets that follow your head movement, mimic your face expression and lip sync your speech through a camera and mic. It’s a wise choice for real-time animation during streaming, and it becomes really popular between designers, marketers, and animators. We’ve gathered 30 examples of animations created with the tool to show you what it’s capable of.
22. Logo Design Trends in 2021 to Drive You Loco [Insights]
Being the vital cog of the branding machine, the logo must be always on the top of its game. This carefully collected and collated selection of absolutely extraordinary logo designs perfectly illustrate the trends that will run headlong into the new future.
23. 5 Easy Ways to Make Your Own Cartoon Character For Non-Illustrators [Guide]
In this guide, we walk through the 5 different ways to easily make your own character without the need to have an experience in the field. The presented tools are easily accessible and offer different results depending on your needs and budget. You don’t know when a client will say “Let’s add cartoon character!”- so get prepared with this one.
24. How to Give Professional Design Feedback [Guide]
For clients rather than designers, this article by TopTal reveals how to make a constructive , valuable feedback that will benefit the design process and help the creators consider different ideas.
Highlights:
For pointers on how to deal with specific situations that are listed in the article, the author has consulted four people at different levels of their careers:
- Mina Adame — Product Designer at IBM Watson & Cloud Platform
- Matt Eng — DesignOps Manager at Genesys
- Bhavika Shah — Principal UX Designer at Procore Technologies
- Greg Storey — Former Senior Design Director at InVision
25. Famous Graphic Designers of 2021 [Inspiration]
It’s important to learn design and get inspiration from the best in the field. For this reason, DesignWizard brings you some of the best graphic designers for 2021.
Highlights:
- The Importance of Graphic Designers
- Graphic Design In 2021 & Beyond
- Some Of The Most Famous Designers 2021
For more graphic design inspiration, trend predictions, insights, and resources, visit GraphicMama’s blog.