Inspiration Information: 5 Blogs for Creatives

Recently, a friend emailed me asking for recommendations on articles and sites that focused on trends in writing. She referenced a post I’d written for this very blog about adverbs and their necessity. That got me thinking, where else do I go to find thoughtful, inspiring content about what I do?

It didn’t take me long to compile a list. I have newsletter subscriptions and open tabs for days, all dedicated to copywriting, design and culture. So, in the spirit of my blog from November highlighting my favorite podcasts for creatives, here is a collection of my favorite blogs for creatives.

5 Entertaining and Enlightening Blogs for Creatives

1. 99u | Inspiring the Creative Community

With a mix of online articles, a print magazine, published books and an annual conference, 99u‘s mission is to provide practical insights for taking your ideas and turning them into something great. I own a few of their books, which feature titles like Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind, and I subscribe to their newsletter to ensure I never miss blog posts like “Marketing Your Work: How to Tell Your Story.”

2. Hubspot | Where Marketers Go to Grow

Most will already be familiar with Hubspot. A champion in the online CRM game, they’re also champions of content marketing. They post multiple times daily across blogs dedicated to sales and marketing. This is a team that has their collective ear to the pulse and hit on topics so relevant to my daily work life that you’d think they were informed by some kind of marketing crystal ball. Recent highlights include “The 2017 State of Content Marketing” and “The Decline of Organic Facebook Reach & How to Outsmart the Algorithm“—both of which are subjects copywriters and marketers are constantly trying to keep up with.

3. The Daily Heller | Daily Design News and Insight from Steven Heller

Steven Heller is an art director, author and critic who steadily pens great in-depth stories about the roots of great design for Print Magazine/How Design. Described as “CliffsNotes to the history of graphic design” by WIRED, Heller’s writing combines a respected voice with a clear perspective and a ton of knowledge. I’m just happy he’s so willing to share. Especially when it includes nuggets like this article on a Dan Friedman exhibit here in Chicago and this one about a graphic designer who created icons for all the major topics the President references in his tweets.

4. It’s Nice That | Championing Creativity Since 2007

London-based outlet It’s Nice That covers a crazy amount of creative ground. They interview artists, trainspot design trends, publish daily news for the industry and publish a beautiful bi-annual magazine called Printed Pages. Some recent favorites of mine include a feature about the move from corporate to individual branding and this news alert about a new graphic design documentary called Graphic Means.

5. Brain Pickings | An Inventory of the Meaningful Life

Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings is more general inspiration than industry specific. It features deep dives into what it means to live a meaningful life, brought to you through the lens of anecdotes and lessons from history’s greatest thinkers and doers. You’ll find ponderings on the philosopher Kierkegaard and how to balance the immediate vs the eternal or an examination of the author Neil Gaiman (American Gods anyone?) and his thoughts on how to pen a deeply personal story. It’s heady stuff more suitable for lazy Sundays than Monday mornings, but it’s enlightening nonetheless.

What are your favorite blogs covering design, marketing or creativity? Drop a note in the comments below and let us know.