1stwebdesigner

Posted by ryan | Posted on 18:37

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST

There are a number of web galleries that feature inspirational web designs. These web galleries serve a purpose, and that is to update people on new trends and showcase sites that are pushing the boundaries. It is important, as a designer, that you know what the latest trends are and see how other people are pushing the boundaries. In this article, you will find some of the best web galleries that you can reference for inspiration.

So, what are web galleries?

What are Web Galleries?

Website gallery (or web gallery)- a web based gallery.

Whyzz defines gallery as:

Galleries are often small spaces, and they’re generally private—meaning that they're owned by one person or a small group of people. They often show the work of one artist, or a small group of artists or works based on a particular theme.

Image by: Glen Converse

With this definition in mind, we can say web galleries are gallery-like or platforms that showcase the works of designers . These are websites created for the purpose of inspiring others. They’re especially great for beginners, and allow the original designers a chance to gain more exposure and show what they can do to the rest of the world.

Why Visit Web Galleries?

There are two main reasons why designers, and particularily beginners, should visit web galleries: to be inspired by others’ works and be motivated.

Image by: photosteve101

In any kind of field, especially in web design, it is important to be inspired by others’ works. This way, you have a role model, or a specific designer that really fires up your creative juices, that you can always turn to when you feel down, or when you lack motivation.

I have interviewed people who I find successful in the field they have chosen to work in and asked them questions regarding inspiration and web galleries. Take time to read and get inspired by their answers.

Questions:

As a blogger/designer/developer, who/what inspired you the most?
Why do you think we need an inspiration?
Do you visit other blogs? How often?

Rean said:

[1]"I’m a fan of theprofessionalheckler, and I can honestly say that I never really dreamt of becoming a full-time blogger, I only wanted to try it and see if it will work for me. Good thing is, I have really love writing ever since I was young and after seeing how blogging works and how wide the audience is I got hooked into it and I’m loving it."

[2]"An inspiration may point towards a person or a dream, or both. Having someone to look up to makes you think “Wow, I want to be like him/her someday” or “I want to be better,” things like this will give you the energy to move forward. Some may go to the extremes of saying having a role model is their Raison d’Etre (reason for existence) but don’t laugh, in order to live people need something to look forward to, otherwise it’s a lonely world. Without an object of inspiration, people will become aimless, with an object of inspiration people are guided. Inspiration plus a touch of madness results in a dream come true."

[3]"Yes, while drinking my coffee I read my favorite blogs. How often, you ask? 5 times a day, give or take a few."

Rassel said:

[1]"Those people that I find are better than I am. I don’t want to be second best, I want to be the very best! You may find that very childish, but for me this is my way of motivating myself and putting in the effort and the work to be even better than the best."

[2]"For when we are inspired, we always do things in an extraordinary way. We always reach for excellence in everything we do. Without inspiration, those things are not possible. And for me, inspiration is proportional to passion. If you have passion in what you do, I’m sure inspiration will also come through."

[3]"Yes, whenever I lack ideas regarding my projects. I often visit Pattern Tap."

Bench said:

[1]“My inspiration is my future. I always do my best so that I can meet my goals in life, and that is to be a successful designer.”

[2]“I believe that inspiration gives you brighter design. It calms your mind and makes your design acceptable.”

[3]“Yes, whenever I design I make it a point to visit web galleries. This helps me to come up with different ideas.”

Jerico said:

[1]“My fellow designers inspire me the most. When I see how beautiful their designs are, I get inspired to make my designs better than theirs.”

[2]“Of course if you are inspired, you tend to make a better design than the one that inspired you.”

[3]“Very often. These serve as my references for new layouts and designs. It’s useful to know what the new design trends are.

Joggerwalk said:

[1]“I don’t have a specific person, but I have some friends and classmates who inspire me with their works.”

[2]“We really need inspiration because it triggers us to do the things we like. It also influences us to come up with a unique idea or concept based on the things around us. Also, inspiration helps me fight laziness. Haha!”

[3]“Yes, when I have time.”

Stephanie said:

[1]“I am easily inspired by designs that I see as beautiful, amazing and full of emotion. It gives me the drive that if someone can do it, I can do at least as good if not better.”

[2]“We need inspiration to do what we want and to deeply express ourselves. It is something that motivates or pushes me to give my best.”

[3]“Yes, when I think that I need to get some ideas or inspiration I visit web galleries.”

Luigi said:

[1]“My inspiration is my dreams. I get inspired to be the best in everything I do to reach my dreams. And my dream is to be successful in the field I chose.”

[2]“For me, inspiration is important. This is where I get my ideas to do my job.”

[3]“Of course. During my free time, I make it a point to visit web galleries. You can learn techniques that you can use on your projects.”

With all of their answers, we can conclude that inspiration is an important factor that affects a persons work and one source of inspiration we can consider is web galleries.

Motivation is also important in any work. This keeps you moving towards reaching your goals. To be motivated, you need to have your inspiration, in any kind of work, motivation is necessary to do your best and enjoy what you do.

To keep up with the latest trends on web design.

It is important to know what’s going on around you. For designers it’s important to know what the latest trends are in web design. Why? The answer is very simple, so that they won’t be left behind. We all know that viewers want to see and experience the newest or the latest design trends.

Image by: Web Interactive Films

People always want the most current technology whether in gadgets, software, or the web design they see, or the website they hire someone to design. With web galleries, designers can stay current and see new technologies in use, and see the trends in design.

How to get the most from Web Galleries:

To better appreciate web galleries,and what you can learn from them, here are some ways that I believe they can be useful:

When you feel your design is ‘missing’ something or if you’re stuck for ideas.

Write down what parts of your design need work then when you look through the web galleries you can ask these questions:

What element(s) don’t look good or work with my design?
What part of the design am I having a difficulty with?

Lack of idea

Image by: Martin Bright

Take note of your answers, for these will be the basis on what type of web gallery you need.

Try and define the type of web gallery you want to find.

After writing down where you are having issues of difficulty, try and search for a web gallery that is relevant to your problem. There are web galleries that focus on CSS, WordPress, typography, etc.

There are many galleries there that focus on a certain niche. Say if you are searching for inspiration for a Flash website, search for a web gallery that showcases great Flash websites.

To help you in searching, I will be listing some of the best web galleries that you may find useful at the end of this article.

Search, then take note on what you liked the most.

Searching is kind of like shopping. When searching, take at least 10–15 minutes of your time finding sites thatmay provide you the inspiration you need. Spend one minute or less on each and when you find one that inspires you, bookmark it so you can come back to it whenever you need.

Image by: Lukas Kummer

Visits web galleries you like on a regular basis

When you visit these sites regularly, you can stay current with new trends and learn techniques being used by others in your field.

Benefits of visiting Web Galleries

What are the benefits of visiting these web galleries?

Designers can keep up with the latest trends in web design.
It can be inspiring and help motivate designers to do better.
It can help designers get out of a rut if they’re feeling frustrated by a design or at a loss for ideas.

And here are some of the great web galleries you can find on the net. Make sure to bookmark those that tickled your taste!

The Best Designs

The Best Designs showcases the best Flash and CSS websites grouped into different categories.

We Love WP

We Love WP, a web gallery that showcases WordPress powered websites.

Make Better Websites

Make Better Websites supports several designers by featuring their designs on the site. The nice thing about this site is you can filter your search with the tags and colors provided on the right panel.

Design Shack

Design Shack lists inspiring web designs, resources and tutorials to help designers.

Minimal Sites

Minimal Sites is a gallery dedicated to, what else, minimalism in web design. Designs are categorized to give comfort and faster searching on users.

DrupalSites.net

DrupalSites.net showcases websites that use the open source CMS, Drupal. The purpose of this site is to present the flexibility and advantages Drupal has to offer.

Design Flavr

Designflavr describes their site as: “A Design and Visual Art Gallery.” They aim to share the best design content they can.

Pattern Tap

Pattern Tap aims to give inspiration to designers regarding the best interface designs on the web.

Design Snack

A gallery that showcases CSS/XHTML and Flash designs as well as the designers.

Creattica

A gallery that compiles great designs and imagery where users can vote on each submitted work.

Styleboost

Styleboost has been showcasing beautiful websites created by several designers and developers for more than nine years from now. The good thing about this site is it gives an introduction to the different kinds of websites they present.

Nice Stylesheet

Nice Stylesheet gives a collection of website designs that make use of CSS and web standards.

Web Creme

Web creme features CSS web designs that can be filtered depending on your choice of color or month.

Design Bombs

A portal for all web designers and developers that aims to make it fun searching for the hottest sites on the web.

CartFrenzy

CartFrenzy gives you the best designed e-commerce and online shopping websites.

Best Web Gallery

Best Web Gallery is an inspiration site for designers with a wide range of websites that use Flash and CSS. They say that a quality design is:

Quality Design = Visual + Technical + Creativity

Your Thoughts

We know that we just touched on some of the ways and places you can find inspiration. We’d love to hear your thoughts, so if you feel so inclined, tell us:

Who or what inspired you the most?
How often do you visit web galleries? Which galleries do you like the most and why? Please include a link so maybe we can include them in a future article.