Design Resources
Colour
Color wheel (or image in Extract Theme tab) can be used to generate color palette, which can be saved into Creative Cloud, after signing in.
The psychology of colour and graphic design
Color plays a crucial role in graphic design, as does the psychology of how humans perceive color. Here is a look at the ways that color and psychology affect the graphic design process.
WebAim Colour Contrast Checker
One of the biggest issues when working on games is making sure the text is easily legible and stands out on its background. This tool will tell you how easy it is to read your text.
Typography
Typography design 101 (99 Designs)
Primer on typography that every designer should know.
Typography design: Rules and terms every designer must know
An A to Z of typography design concepts and terms – in words you can understand.
Why is typography important in graphic design?
The importance of typography in graphic design cannot be overstated. Typography contributes to legibility, hierarchy, and brand recognition. Let's explore how to effectively use typography in graphic design to achieve your objectives.
20 Typography Rules Every Designer Should Know
Explore 20 of what experts consider to be the most crucial principles of the art of typography.
Usability
Key Principles of Visual Hierarchy in UX Design
Learn about Visual Hierarchy in UX Design and how you can use it to improve our products and optimize your users’ experiences.
12 Principles of Visual Hierarchy Design
Visual hierarchy is a method of organizing design elements in order of importance. In other words, it’s a set of principles that influence the order in which we notice what we see.
6 Principles of Visual Hierarchy for Designers
Six key elements of visual hierarchy use in graphic design.
5 Principles of Visual Design in UX
The Nielsen Norman Group literally wrote the book on usability. Take heed to what they have to say.
General UX Resources
Established online magazine for professional web designers and developers; check out their dedicated UX Design category for practical tips, useful guidelines, best practices and case studies.
Thoughtful content on mobile & web prototyping, wireframing, mockups, usability testing, project management, design process & more. Their expansive ‘freebies’ section is a veritable goldmine of ebooks and design kits!
A central, one-stop resource for everything related to user experience; great for instruction, opinion and analysis.
Veteran user experience firm offering a huge collection of ‘evidence-based’ research, articles and reports.
A progressive user experience blog that’s devoted to improving the way designers create user interfaces.
This site covers a range of topics from UX and interfaces to conversion and optimization – a slightly more varied roster than other UX sites.
This incredibly useful site has a collection of links, blogs, books, methods, events and tools to keep updated about what’s happening in User Experience Design.
Groups & Forums
Art & Graphic Design for Tabletop Games group on Facebook
With over 10k members, this group is a great resource for getting feedback and asking questions to the mob of members comprised of amateurs and professionals alike.
This amazing resource is teeming with design professionals who are experts in the Adobe Suite. Ask a question in the forum and you’re almost guaranteed to get an answer quickly.
Tools for Freelancers
Harvest Time Tracking & Invoicing
Our tool of choice when it comes to managing project hours and sending invoices.
FreshBooks Time Tracking & Invoicing
Freshbooks is another on of the popular tools for time tracking and invoicing in the industry.
Specifically geared towards creative professionals, HoneyBook helps creative entrepreneurs and freelancers book more clients, manage projects and get paid all in one place.
Great for prototyping! It’s rudimentary design assets allow you to focus on usability rather than design…which is a good thing!
Just need a time tracker? Toggl is great.
Design Podcasts
Design leader Stephen Gates shares his gives you actionable insights to be more creative, become a better leader, create more innovative work, build better relationships with your clients, grow a stronger career and more.
This podcast talks openly and transparently about the life of a designer and learning how to overcome some of the less glamorous, but common obstacles faced by both studio and freelance designers.
A daily talk show for creatives and exploring how others design happiness into their professional lives.
The business side of a freelance creative lifestyle can often be stressful and isolating, so this podcast by Steve Folland goes some way to connecting designers who are struggling with similar hurdles.
Brace yourself for stories about magical colour schemes, book publishing, and extraordinary confessions.
Design Matters with Debbie Millman is a long-running audio podcast featuring industry-leading graphic designers, educators, authors and thinkers from around the globe, including Marian Bantjes, Steven Heller, Seth Godin, Milton Glaser and Tim Brown.
The Deeply Graphic Design Cast
Aimed at freelancers and in-house designers alike, each episode of The Deeply Graphic Design Cast tackles a different topic related to graphic design, from finding better clients to designer fails to advertising your work.