Instagram: 20 favourites

What follows is a selection of twenty of our favourite creative Instagram accounts. Some are very design-led and others just inspire us, or make us go ‘wow’. We’d love to hear your thoughts on any you think we’ve missed, or that inspire you.

1. 50 Words on Grey

Typography, design and art focused. Full of beautiful, mostly hand-rendered typography. Also some computer-generated work and the odd short video of lettering work in progress.

The professional association for design. Chock-full of old and new design from all areas including typography, print, packaging, architecture, illustration and sculpture. Some great design inspiration, especially for typography.

3. Arnolfini Arts

A Bristol favourite of mine, as I’m based nearby and can always pop in for some art inspiration at lunchtime. They also have a great bookshop, with lovely art and design books as well as more unusual design-related gifts. A good mix here of images of their exhibitions, book shop stock and café bar goings-on.

4. Creative Boom

A huge creative blog launched in 2009, celebrating, inspiring and supporting creative professionals worldwide. Champions work from across many fields including design, illustration, photography, crafts and fashion. The website also offers tips and advice to help creatives succeed in their chosen profession. (Yay that!)

5. Design Boom

Another ‘boom’ profile from Milan / Beijing / New York offering sumptuous photographic imagery of architecture, sculpture, design and technology. Some of the property featured on here is to die for, but we all have to have something to dream about or aim for don’t we?

6. Design Milk

Originally a website set up by Jamie Derringer – dedicated to modern design in all its aspects – architecture, graphics, automotive, furniture, painting and, occasionally, the odd bicycle – which we never complain about, obviously!

7. Dezeen

One of the world’s most influencial architecture, interiors and design magazines. This Instagram account stems from their website at www.dezeen.com. Often some great images of corporate business office interiors as well as ridiculously amazing private houses that push the boundaries of architecture and design.

8. Eye Magazine

I used to buy copies of this magazine from the Arnolfini book shop I mentioned earlier. This Instagram account is run from the desk of magazine editor John Walters. Mostly a typographic feast for the eyes, but also some great insights into modern graffiti, packaging and brand identity.

9. G.F. Smith Papers

Every graphic designer’s favourite paper stock company, this account showcases not only the paper stock itself, but the designs and work that agencies and creative individuals have produced, using the stock. A great insight into print techniques and the techniques possible. Whoever said print was dead obviously didn’t see these images.

10. Graphic Design Blog

A simple graphic design inspiration blog promoting the work of good designers and inspiring others. A little bit more illustration focused this one, but still some great brand identity inspiration in there, as well as some fun little illustrated videos.

11. It’s Nice That

Founded in 2007, It’s Nice That website reaches over half a million readers per month. They also have a bi-annually printed magazine. Based in London, they champion the most exciting work online and in print.

12. Herb Lubalin Study Center

Lovely typographic examples from the vast collection of work in the Herb Lubalin Study Center. Lubalin was one of my favourite typographers at art college and created famous fonts such as Avant Garde and Serif Gothic. This feed shows examples of fonts and design work using them.

13. NASA

OK, so not necessarily a design-related Instagram feed. However, I can’t fail to be inspired by the images that come out of this account. The universe still leaves me bewildered on a daily basis. The images from the ISS and beyond are stunning. Sit back and take a minute …

14. Pantone

The designer’s world-wide standard for colour … or color since 1963. Some lovely insights on here including colour trends, Pantone’s Colour of the Year, Pantone products and how colours are used in design and fashion.

15. Stack Magazines

A great idea, which I bought for my wife one Christmas. Subscribe to Stack Magazines and you’ll get a different design/culture magazine delivered to your door each month – but you never know what you’re going to get. This feed showcases the magazines, but is also a great inspiration for magazine design.

16. Star Wars

Again, loosely design related, but who COULDN’T follow the official Star Wars Instagram feed?! Joking aside though, some great shots from behind the scenes including model-making, make-up and set construction. As for the full-scale wooden mock-up of the Millennium Falcon … whoa!

17. The Cool Hunter

As well as art, fashion and culture, The Cool Hunter literally travels the globe, so you get to glimpse design, nature, architecture, fashion and photography from many corners of our fair Earth. Definitely worth hunting down.

18. Do Lectures

Whilst we’ve never attended the Do Lectures yet, we love their inspirational feed from the USA and Wales. Images of the events, prep for the events and inspiration before and after the events. Lionel Richie even appeared in the feed on day – what’s not to love?

19. VNA Magazine

Independent art culture magazine with a definite urban and street art bent. Some beautiful illustration work on here too, a lot of it created large scale on buildings and in the urban environment.

20. London Design Festival

Instagram feed of the London Design Festival, due to take place mid to end of September. The festival promotes the creativity of the city across over 400 events and exhibitions. A bit more product design in here as well as architecture.

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