Any person serious about their career – carpenters, graphic designers, dentists as doctors at Asecra, or anyone else – is constantly trying to learn and improve at their craft. You and I are no different. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re an aspiring or perhaps established graphic designer (*design bro high-five*). Likewise, if you’re reading this, you’re interested in self-improvement. There are a myriad of ways to improve on your skills, but today I’d like to share 9 websites that have helped me improve, specifically, as a logo/visual identity designer. These sites are visited by me frequently, and if you haven’t already, you should bookmark ’em.

UnderConsideration’s Brand New is, in my opinion, the undisputed king of logo/identity design critiques. Daily, Bryony and Armin post detailed, thoughtful looks into the latest logo designs and redesigns in all industries. They tackle big redesigns like Starbucks; they tackle smaller redesigns like the Alberta Art Gallery. The community at Brand New is solid too – just by reading this site, you can learn more about the thought processes other design firms put into their branding efforts, you can learn what other designers view as successes and failures, and you can expand your knowledge base.

LogoDesignLove is another site that provides unique and thoughtful takes on any and everything related to logo and brand design. They explore successes and failures; they post tips & tricks; they share logo design resources. On any given day, you can stop by the site and find something new, useful, or insightful – that’s why it’s in my bookmarks.

JCD is one of the earlier design blogs I discovered. Jacob, the Aussie gent behind JCD, has been fairly busy of lately and hasn’t been posting as often; however, his blog has some timeless articles on logo design if you do a little digging. Plus, his work is inspiring.

Every logo designer hits a roadblock at some point, and needs some inspiration to get the creative wheels turning. When I run into that wall, the first two places I check out are Creattica’s logo gallery and LogoPond. There’s good and bad work on both sites, but they never fail to stimulate a couple of ideas.

In their own words, ReBrand is “the world’s leading resource focused on effective brand transformations”. There are various segments to the site, but generally I head right over to their showcase of winners. Yes, ReBrand has a Global Awards competition, and the winners are worth checking out. Seeing award-winning design helped me identify areas where I could improve as a designer.

Yes, Pentagram is more than a logo design studio. MUCH more. However, a logo is only part of a larger identity; thus, it’s beneficial to see what the industry leaders are doing with regards to logo and identity design. Just seeing their work and appreciating the thought and detail that goes into it helped me learn what level the top dogs are at.

Alright, so YLMMB isn’t exactly helping me grow as a logo designer, but sometimes you need a laugh and a break.

“What?” you’re saying, “Twitter isn’t a design-specific site!” True, but if you follow the right people and use Twitter to its potential, you can get a lot of feedback on your logo design work. Plus, I cannot count the endless amazing articles and resources I’ve found via links shared on Twitter. Good feedback will help you improve; learning will help you improve; Twitter is a great tool for both of these.

What sites helped you improve as a designer – logo, web, print or other? Share in the comments!

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