photo credit: timparkinson

Ah yes, the ever so popular “list” of favorite websites bug has struck here at Insomniac Drivel. Everyday I spend at least 2 hours reading and viewing my favorite design websites for inspiration and encouragement. Most every design blog has a few of these lists today, if not, they are seriously lagging behind. (like us!)

So I figured it was time I put one of my lists together, some may have already seen these sites, or they may be new to you. Hopefully you can find something within this list that helps or inspires you along your design journey.

If you like any of these sites, be sure to comment and let us know!

Design Blogs

Just Creative Design – A very popular design blog covering many topics of design and business relations ran by Jacob Cass

justcreativedesign.com

Outlaw Design Blog – Design blog with many resource file downloads and a great interface ran by Danny Outlaw

outlawdesignblog.com

Graphic Design Blender – Great blog ran by Preston Lee, covering many topics of graphic & web design.

graphicdesignblender.com

Digital Telepathy – Blog covering mainly web design and CSS topics.

dtelepathy.com

Free Resources

Free vectors – Quality, free vectors for personal use.

freevectors.net

Vecteezy – Free vectors from some of the best designers.

vecteezy.com

And of course last but not least, my favorite:

photo credit: bigmick

Deviant Art – Online community to showcase work and receive feedback. Also a great resource for PSD and Illustrator files.

deviantart.com You can find me at Deviant Art here.

Thanks for viewing my list, if you found anything helpful, please comment!

If you work in a creative field, chances are you have a personal blog.  So what makes the difference between your blog and your grandmother’s? You actually have content that you need to share with the world. Similarities?…Unfortunately no one reads either blogs.  So what can you do to finally get traffic to your blog? Try some of the suggestions below:

1. Make it attractive.
Get a personal URL, learn a little code, and set up a nice professional site.  I prefer wordpress blogging platform over any other as do most designers.  Creating a neat, professional look is the first step in setting yourself apart from a good majority of the blogs out there. This shouldn’t be a hurried process. Sit down, even in multiple sessions, and crank out a site that you can be proud of and others will want to visit.

2. Provide Quality Content.
Okay, maybe no one but your girlfriend reads your blog right now, but the goal is to one day have an entire following.  Provide high-quality, well thought-out content on your blog.  Find ways to make your writing unique.  There are millions of articles about how to design a logo, but each logo design process you go through is unique.  Post an article describing how you went about concepting and creating a logo for a client.  The post should be complete with high quality images and links.

3. Publicize.
Once you have high quality, unique content for your audience to read, it’s time to call people to your site.  Advertising can be expensive and less rewarding than hoped.  There are many great ways to publicize your blog, but be careful that you don’t cross the dreaded lines of “annoying blogger” or “spammer”. Visit high-traffic blogs that deal with similar content to your own. Leave meaningful comments and contact the site administrator to get on the site’s blogroll or even write a guest article. Any free advertising for your blog is exactly what you are looking for. Be creative.

4. Rejoice and Reap benefits.
Getting a blog up and running is hard.  Generating interest and creating an audience is even harder. If you aren’t there yet, and feel like you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, don’t give up! If you are finally starting to see progress, rejoice! There is a lot of gratification to be found in being a part of the creative community.  If you feel it would be successful, you can even try advertising on your blog to help subsidize expenses or even generate revenue.

Whatever you do, remember that blogging is as much for your own personal experience as it is for others.  Write not only for your audience but for your own learning and growth as well.

What other steps have you taken to make your personal blog successful?

<This article reposted from http://graphicdesignblender.com/four-simple-steps-to-get-your-design-blog-off-the-ground#more-35>