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Design Reference Sites

The 17 design sites I draw on, grouped by category, each with what it's for and when to open it.

Category
Design
Updated
September 1, 2026
Sources
17

The list I turn to for design research: websites, landing pages, brand identity, app visuals, colour and type decisions. The goal isn't to invent ideas from scratch; it's to put finished, working examples under the lens and extract the pattern.

Section 01

How to use it

The list has two layers: priority sources are for following continuously (they calibrate your eye and keep you current), while galleries and research sources are for solving the job in front of you.

  1. 01

    First define what you're looking for: a whole site, a single section (hero/footer), a logo, a colour palette, App Store visuals? The quick routing at the end maps that to the right source in one step.

  2. 02

    Don't settle for one site: gather 5–10 examples from at least two sources and extract the common pattern (layout logic, type scale, use of space, CTA placement).

  3. 03

    Don't copy, decode: answer "why does this work?" What goes into the output is not the reference itself but the decision behind it.

  4. 04

    Log what you find in the project's notes as a link plus a one-sentence rationale. A reference saved without its reason is garbage two weeks later.

Section 02

Priority sources

The daily/weekly follow list. These aren't opened when a job starts; they stay open all the time: sources that calibrate your eye, show you the ceiling and keep you current. Galleries get opened when you say "I need to solve this"; these get opened even when there's no job.

  • 01Visit site

    awwwards.com

    Where the ceiling is on the web: award-winning work

    The awards side of web design: the best work from developers, designers and agencies, plus an academy, a directory and trend articles.

    When to open it

    For calibration. It doesn't translate one-to-one into everyday client work, but it's where you learn what the best are doing. Don't fall into the trap of starting here and sketching for a client: see the industry standard first, then the ceiling.

  • 02Visit site

    Brand New

    Daily critique of rebrands and identity work

    UnderConsideration's publication, where logo, identity and rebrand projects are published daily, and critiqued. Not just "look how nice": they argue why something works or doesn't, and the comments carry the debate on.

    When to open it

    For identity work and, more importantly, for building a vocabulary. Nothing trains the muscle of justifying a design better; the sentences you use to tell a client "here's why" come from here.

  • 03Visit site

    Love The Work

    A global archive of award-winning campaigns and ideas

    The official Cannes Lions archive: winners and shortlisted work, sorted by category (the link opens the Creative Brand / 2026 filter). Some sections may ask you to sign in.

    When to open it

    When generating ideas. This isn't a design gallery but an archive of strategy and campaign ideas, the densest source for seeing how a brand's problem turns into a core idea. When planning content or a campaign, scan it for method, not inspiration.

  • 04Visit site

    are.na

    Trend tracking and building your own archive

    An algorithm-free platform for collecting and connecting: you build an archive as channels and link into other people's channels. It has an open API.

    When to open it

    For following trends and building your own library. cosmos.so collects images; are.na collects ideas: articles, images and quotes side by side. This is the long-term source: what you save today turns up in a proposal two years from now.

  • 05Visit site

    dezeen.com

    Design news: architecture, interiors, product

    One of the most influential publications on architecture, interiors and product design: news, projects, interviews and video.

    When to open it

    For keeping up. It feeds you from disciplines beyond the web; you read where visual language is heading here months before the web galleries catch up. Also a source of examples and case studies when writing content.

  • 06Visit site

    briefbox.me

    Realistic design briefs for practice

    Realistic practice briefs and design challenges (brand identity, visual design, UI/product), a 15,000-member community and a graphic design course.

    When to open it

    For training when there's no client work, or for trying an approach risk-free. A new style or method gets tested here, not on a client.

Section 03

Galleries and research

  • 07Visit site

    curated.design

    Complete websites and landing page examples

    A hand-picked gallery of live websites and landing pages. Filterable by industry and visual style; beyond whole sites you can also search by section (hero, footer and so on) and by template.

    When to open it

    The first stop when planning a full site or landing page for a brand, to see the industry standard and the top tier.

  • 08Visit site

    before.click

    App Store screenshots, onboarding, paywalls, app icons

    A gallery focused on App Store screenshot design, which is pure conversion work. It also covers paywall screens, onboarding flows and app icons.

    When to open it

    For mobile app work (store visuals, onboarding, pricing screens), to see how the visual language that moves downloads is built.

  • 09Visit site

    details.so/inspo

    Individual UI components, micro-interactions and animation

    A library that collects details instead of full-page screenshots: hero sections, footers, preloaders, page transitions and animations, organised by category. The free tier is limited; Pro unlocks everything. It has an MCP integration, so you can plug the library straight into tools like Claude or Cursor.

    When to open it

    When the page as a whole works but one section won't come together. And for answering "what kind of motion belongs here?"

  • 10Visit site

    inspora.design

    Broad range: web, branding, product, motion, 3D, print

    A multidisciplinary gallery: web, branding, product, motion, illustration, 3D and print. Updated hourly.

    When to open it

    When the job goes beyond the web (identity, print, motion), or when you want a quick look at where current trends are heading.

  • 11Visit site

    umanmade.com

    Digital work made by humans (not AI)

    A directory of human-made digital work: web design and development, UI, motion, micro-interactions, 3D, brand and logo, animation, illustration. They explicitly reject AI-generated, copied or unlicensed content.

    When to open it

    When you want to be sure a reference was made by a real person for a real project. A good antidote to the increasingly uniform look of AI galleries.

  • 13Visit site

    webzooo.com

    Website search by colour and palette

    A free resource that sorts 4,000+ real websites by colour. Search from a colour family down to an exact hex code and filter across 33 industries; each site comes with its palette, typography and a screenshot.

    When to open it

    When you have a brand colour in hand ("what has been done with this hex?") or need to crack an industry's colour code. The fastest route to a palette and type pairing.

  • 14Visit site

    recent.design

    Daily multidisciplinary picks (formerly Godly)

    The old godly.website now redirects here. A daily selection across web, interface, branding, typography, motion, illustration, 3D, editorial, print and packaging. It also runs a job board.

    When to open it

    For daily or weekly browsing. Not for a specific job but to keep your eye current; it's the fastest read on where the industry is going.

  • 15Visit site

    refero.design

    Web and iOS app interfaces, screen by screen

    Tens of thousands of web and iOS interface screens, browsable by pattern with advanced search. Where before.click shows an app's storefront (store visuals), this shows its inside.

    When to open it

    When designing a product or app interface. The fastest answer to "how have others solved this screen?"

  • 17Visit site

    cosmos.so

    Saving what you find, searching by visual similarity

    A tool for collecting inspiration: search by colour and visual similarity and build collections (moodboards). The others are sources; this is the storage.

    When to open it

    For gathering what you collect during research in one place. It also works as a single shareable link when explaining a brand's visual tone to a client.

Section 04

Quick routing

This list keeps growing. The point is a higher hit rate, not more sources.
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