Top blogs your design startup needs to follow

If you’re a designer and you want to stay up to date on the latest in the design industry, you could follow up-and-coming designers such as Seb Lester and Daniel Aristizabal or attend meetups like Design Driven NYC and SF Design. However, one of the best ways to remain current in the design space is by reading top design blogs. Yet knowing who to follow differs based on intent.

For businesses, it’s essential to follow blogs that lend value from a company perspective. Regardless of the specific industry, every company is a design company. That is, every company should value design. Whether it’s delivering a spectacular user interface UI on a website or nailing that logo, design is crucial to business.

Often finding these sites and differentiating them may be difficult. Aspects like logo design, branding, and marketing are key. Here are the design blogs your business needs to follow:

The Logo Company, as the name suggests, specializes in logos. Their blog features niche topics – from posts on marketing and branding for cleaning companies, charities, and churches, to insights into how to design your own logo. The Logo Company blog is chock full of stellar technical tips, such as how to use gradients for blending colors and how to work with a professional graphic designer.

This blog is a great read from a business and design perspective. The Logo Company blog provides a solid foundation of industry specific knowledge, as well as best practices. One of the highlight articles delves into what makes good logo. The secret sauce: versatility. This piece analyzes the designs of the Nike Swoosh, UPS Shield, and McDonald’s Golden Arches.

Branding, Packaging & Opinion is an excellent blog for business design. Focusing predominantly on logos and packaging, BP&O not only highlights specific examples, but goes a step further by offering reviews.

Freelance writer and designer Richard Baird runs BP&O and wonderfully balances opinion with evidence. For instance, in piece on minimal brand identity design, Baird explains that “The work featured is reductive but well-intentioned, aesthetically restrained and communicatively precise. These often rely on simple forms, few type choices, and solid colour.”

Rather than pure subjectivity, BP&O lends supported opinions. Through exploring specific examples of company branding over a smattering of industries, Branding, & Packaging, is a must-read for businesses.

Web Designer Report

Even if your company is not a web design company directly, you should still care about this space. Kissmetrics has an excellent article on the value of web design and its impact on the bottom line. Web Designer Depot is the go-to for the latest in all things web design. This blog features articles on content management systems, branding discussions, and there’s even a comics section.

Web design is a completely different medium than offline design. Even if you’re not a web designer, Web Designer Depot is an excellent read which will revolutionize how you view sites you visit. Plus, there are web design agnostic pieces such as resources for finding quality stock images.

Logomaker

Every business needs a logo. If you don’t have one, drop everything and go get one (but only after you finish this article). Logomaker is a site that offers logo creation and design. The company blog is a wonderful resource that touches on both the design and business aspects of logo creation.

Notably, it’s spectacular for businesses because of its company-oriented content. Articles like “5 Ways Logo Can Help Market Your Business” offer useful, practical knowledge. Posts vary from logo design news roundups to startup and small business coverage.

Check out the Logomaker blog for a fascinating romp through the importance of logos, from design to business.

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UX Myths

User experience, or UX, is a crucial aspect in design. While UX is often associated with web and app design, there’s a lot of crossover with offline design as well. UX Myths focuses on user experience misconceptions. Although we often discuss what to do, often what not to do is more important. The UX Myths tagline urges companies to “Build your product based on evidence, not false beliefs. Accordingly, UX Myths is incredibly well researched and data driven, adding to its credibility.

Follow UX Myths for actionable, data-driven concepts.

AdWeek

AdWeek boasts wide-ranging coverage. While there’s a dedicated Advertising and Branding section that discusses everything from mobile ads to esports, Press, Television, and Technology sections grace the header as well.  AdWeek offers news on the likes of breaking tech such as IoT and VR, potential ad campaigns, and more.

For businesses, AdWeek not only analyzes more traditional design, but also popular spaces such as trending technology. It’s a top choice for its versatility as a one-stop site for culture, tech, and branding articles.

Fast Co. Design

Looking for the latest in graphics, interactive design, product design, and more? Check out Fast Co. Design. True to the “fast” in its name, Fast Co. Design concentrates on groundbreaking design trends. Neat articles discuss modern tattoos, pollution-tracking wearables, and subway system layouts. If you’re looking for write ups chronicling the best and worst user interfaces, Fast Co. Design is a best bet.

Canva

Canva’s appropriately named Design School blog is data-driven, and really business focused. From case studies to web banner ad examples, and industry-specific flyer templates, Canva provides a bevy of insight into business design.

Further positing Design School as a spectacular site is its tagging schema. Each post features a category, such as Book Cover Design or Social Media Marketing, which makes navigation and topical searching simple.

While these are the design blogs your business needs to follow, there are certainly other excellent sites. Although decidedly less business-focused, Trend List and Eye On Design are great resources. Which are your go-to design blogs for businesses?

Written by Zaheer Dodhia, serial entrepreneur and founder of DesignMantic.com.