Even the best of designers are often in need of some mobile design inspiration when starting out a new project.
We can be super-creative and have so many ideas, but sometimes inspiration of a mobile design dries up and achieving that perfect layout that everybody will love just seems impossible.
It turns out, there's an easy way to get some fresh ideas:
You just need to get inspired by others and, in today's post, we’ve made the job easy for you.
We cut through the noise and narrowed down the list of the 46 best mobile design blogs to follow and get inspired.
But we didn't stop there...
Some of most respectable experts on mobile design in the world gave us their real, actionable strategies and examples that will help you achieve your design goals right away.
You can read their advices straight away in our new infographic about mobile design inspiration:
Love this infographic? Share it on your favorite social network clicking on the icons on the side or embed it in your website:
[su_spoiler title="Click to get the code to embed this infographic"]<b>Click Image to Enlarge</b><br /><a href=”https://ymedialabs.com/mobile-design-inspiration/″><img src=”https://ymedialabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mobile-design-inspiration-YML-infographic.jpg” alt=”Mobile Design Inspiration – How to create an amazing mobile design”></a><br />Source: <a href=”https://ymedialabs.com/mobile-design-inspiration/”>Mobile Design Inspiration – How to create an amazing mobile design</a>[/su_spoiler]
Get more mobile design inspiration
We hope that our list of great tips will help you get some inspiration for your mobile app or website.
If you need more inspiration, we have the solution right here!
We are listing below (in no particular order) 46 of the best mobile design blogs out there, as well as our favorite articles and tips from them.
99designs
Find and work with talented freelance designers online.
99designs posts on creative inspiration
We love 99designs because...
Apart from being a great place to hire creative freelancers, they’ve got a super blog where they share design tips and in-depth tutorials, as well as talking about business and, of course, creative inspiration.
Favorite article: The sky’s the limit: How strategic networking helped this entrepreneur take his skyline t-shirt company to new heights.
Invisionapp
The world's leading prototyping, collaboration & workflow platform.
We love Invision because...
You get a high-fidelity prototype of your project in under 5 minutes. Use the app to upload your design files and add animations, gestures, and transitions to transform your static screens into clickable, interactive prototypes.
In their amazing blog, they give great insights mostly on UX design and principles you can apply to your product.
Favorite article: 13 impressive statistics on user experience
Creative Bloq
Your daily dose of design tips and inspiration
We love Creative Bloq because...
Creative Bloq delivers a daily dose of creative tips and inspiration across web design, graphic design, 3D and more. They showcase some great design work and offer in-depth insight that allows the reader to keep up to date with trends and developments in design.
Favorite Article: How to really annoy a graphic designer
HackDesign
An easy to follow design course for people who do amazing things.
We love HackDesign because...
Hack Design, together with some of the world's best designers, curated the best and most useful blogs, books, games, videos, and tutorials to help you learn critical elements of design. They organized it all into a digestible and iterative lesson plan.
And the best bit? It’s completely free.
Engage Interactive
A great digital agency and web specialists in Leeds
We love Engage Interactive because...
They are experts in delivering innovative digital solutions to forward-thinking organizations. They achieved results for some of the UK’s most successful brands and of course they practice what they preach both in their blog and in their case study pages.
Favorite Article: Back to the Future of Web Design
AWWWARDS
The awards that recognize the talent and effort of the best web designers, developers and agencies in the world.
We love AWWWARDS because...
At AWWWARDS, they aim to create a meeting point where web professionals from across the world can go to find inspiration. See it as a space for debate, a place to share knowledge and experience, and to give and receive constructive critiques.
Favorite Article: 100 Greatest Free Fonts Collection for 2015
Another great page to check: Mobile Website Design
Boxes And Arrows
A Peer-Written Journal Featuring the Industry’s Best
We love Boxes and Arrows because...
Since 2001, this community of contributors has consistently educated and pushed limits on design and all things related.
Boxes and Arrows is perfect; whether you’re the grizzled vet or a complete new guy on the scene, they have something for you.
Favorite Article: Five Things They Didn’t Teach Me in School About Being a User Researcher
Nielsen Norman Group
Compelling Articles Using Evidence-Based User Experience Research
We love Nielsen Norman Group because...
World-renowned experts in User Experience since 1998, most everyone knows Nielsen Norman Group. But, did you know they offer killer articles on their website?
Perfect for reading on your lunch break, the train home from work, or just about any other time. These articles are thorough, detailed and packed with insights that are easy to digest and simple to execute.
Favorite Article: Mobile: Native Apps, Web Apps, and Hybrid Apps
A List Apart
An Exploration of Design & Development
We love A List Apart because...
Aptly titled, “Quick updates and practical approaches,” A List Apart offers a blog that delivers just that and then some. Delving into issues such as working for free within the industry, career consultations, and using roleplay in preparing design managers, this blog offers a unique perspective that is truly unmatched.
Favorite Article: How We Hold Our Gadgets
Web Design Tutorials at Envato Tuts+
Learn how to design for the web with thousands of free web design and development tutorials from expert instructors.
We love tutplus because...
Created by the guys at Envato (a marketplace for themes, plugins, and much more), Tuts+ have hundreds of in-depth tutorials, available in several languages. For example, if you are new to web design you can find free, complete courses to create websites or to master the fundamentals of typography.
Favorite Article: 15 Inspiring Examples of CSS Animation on CodePen
Usability Geek
Many Articles Focused on Topics to Help You Grow as a Designer Today
We love Usability Geek because...
Starting back in 2011 as a personal hobby, “to evangelize about the importance of usability,” Usability Geek has since evolved to cover many topics useful to get some inspiration on mobile design.
This blog is chock full of articles that offer actionable insights to help you in your development as a designer and is certainly one of the more robust sites providing a authentic “experience” for all those who visit.
Favorite Article: How To Tell If Your Business Really Needs A Mobile App
UX Pin
Sensible Advice from Wireframing & UX Design Gurus
We love UXPin because...
You know what no one likes? Articles that ramble on and on, claiming to offer some sort of actionable advice and yet never delivering it.
UXPin couldn’t be further from that. Just as the headline states, they offer sensible and practical advice from the perspective of Wireframing experts.
You know what people do like? Simple, actionable advice that is going to make their lives better right away – and that is why UXPin is on this list.
Favorite Article: Lean UX vs. Agile UX
Smashing Magazine
Popular, Do-It-All Site Offers Amazing Amount of Resources & Tools
Smashing Magazine - UX Design ArticleS
We love Smashing Magazine because...
We’re guessing you likely already know of Smashing Magazine, but it would be a complete disservice if we left them off.
This popular site has an insane amount of resources for so many different topics but don’t let this fool you; their “Mobile” category is quite impressive.
Answering and addressing some difficult topics with relative ease, Smashing Magazine is one of the industry favorites for good reason.
Favorite Article: A Guide To Simple And Painless Mobile User Testing
Usability Post
Simple, No-Frills Approach to Design
We love Usability Post because...
What can we say? While it may be lacking some of the bells and whistles that others like Smashing Magazine have, Usability Post packs a mean punch with its content.
Dmitry Fadeyev has an excellent thing going and provides the insight to further your career, mature as a designer, and challenge how you think about design. Bravo, sir.
Favorite Article: Hybrid Mobile Development
UX Magazine
A Community Resource Covering All Facets of Experience Design
We love UX Magazine because...
One of the HUGE benefits of frequenting sites like the ones we’ve listed is having the ability to learn from your peers. Not only from their successes, but also from the inherent failures that come along the way.
4 Techniques of Successful UX Executives, for example, will help you on your journey as a designer and, hopefully, save you time and pain.
And this is just one of the many fantastic articles this community resource has to offer. It’s so massive that it almost doesn’t make sense that UX Magazine doesn’t charge. Be sure to check them out.
Favorite Article: The Experience Makes the Product, Not the Features
52 Weeks of UX
“A Discourse on the Process of Designing for Real People”
We love 52 Weeks of UX because...
Authors Joshua Porter and Joshua Brewer have compiled an impressive collection of blog posts that span the year, dubbed “52 Weeks of UX”. While the posts are from 2011, a lot of what is said is still relevant today. Moreover, the content builds week on week and ties together nicely, and the depth and imagery of the writing is unique.
Favorite Article: Solve Existing Problems
Foolproof
Tips and Tricks for “Making Better Business and Design Decisions”
We love Foolproof because...
Do you want to improve your business in 2016? Uh, yes, please.
Would it make your life easier if you made better design decisions? Duh.
If you answered yes to any of the above, and you should have, you have to check out the UK-based blog by Foolproof.
Among the many services they provide (they’re a full design firm) they have a fantastic blog titled “Thinking” that gives you the tools to “think” as a designer.
Favorite Article: Experience design: a definition
Inspired UI
Mobile App Design Patterns for Inspiration
We love Inspired UI because...
Not so much a blog or collection of articles, Inspired UI provides hundreds of different examples for you to draw inspiration from. Let’s face it, we all have our own way of finding inspiration and sometimes seeing examples of others’ work can help.
If you find yourself in need of inspiration, look no further.
Beautiful Pixels
Collection of Great User Interface Designs
We love Beautiful Pixels because...
Much like Inspired UI above, Beautiful Pixels isn’t so much a collection like the other blogs on this list, but rather Beautiful Pixels aims to bring you a collection of their favorite apps; from iPhone to iPad to Android, these guys do a fantastic job of breaking down every relevant app out there.
Whether you come either to find what you’re missing out on or to draw inspiration from, we’re convinced you’ll find something that will make your life easier today.
Favorite Article: The Highlight 2015
Inspire UX
The Impact of User Experience on People, Business, and the World
Inspire UX
We love Inspire UX because...
Inspire UX is a San Francisco-based blog, produced by UX designer Catriona Cornett.
As she eloquently states, “This blog aims to inspire User Experience practitioners to embrace our ability to impact the world around us and to become better at what we do every day.”
After reading that and seeing her posts, it’s clear this blog belongs on the list and is one you should be following.
UX Booth
Best Practices For Beginning-to-Intermediate Designers
We love UX Booth because...
With an extensive community of authors, UX Booth offers “a publication by and for the user experience community” that is wildly popular.
Knowing that the many articles you are reading come from accomplished experts in the field, UX Booth provides a great starting point for beginning to intermediate designers.
So, whether you’re just starting out or looking to continue your education (aren’t we all?) head on down to UX Booth. You won’t be disappointed.
Favorite Article: 2016 Recommended Books for your User Experience Library
Proto.io
Mobile Design Blog With a Focus on Prototyping
We love Proto.io because...
Proto.io is unique; they’re a prototyping platform first and foremost. However, their blog is equally as impressive and provides a ton of content that is fresh and relevant.
For example, this article, “3 Clever and Creative Ways To Use Mobile App Mockups to Drive Business”, gives you three creative (EASY) ways to use mockups to grow your business.
Not only is this relevant, but it’s also super helpful and to the point. We like it.
Favorite Article: Top 10 Mobile App UI of January 2016
UX Movement
How Good and Bad Interface Design Practices Affect User Behavior
We love UX Movement because...
If you look at the “About” page on UX Movement they state, “We believe that a clear, fast, and easy-to-use interface is the greatest user experience.”
This mindset carries over to their blog which provides numerous articles that deliver valuable content to help you as a designer. Articles are backed by research, experience or rationale and it shows. These folks are clearly experts.
Abduzeedo
Popular Design Blog with Tons of Articles for Those Seeking Inspiration
We love Abduzeedo because...
Combining a slick website with the incredible content of articles, interviews, and tutorials, Abduzeedo is a favorite of ours for good reason.
To top it off, this site has been around since 2006, and has since accumulated an ENORMOUS visual library and offers a focus on Mobile App Design. Sweet!
Favorite Article: What UI really is (and how UX confuses matters)
Little Big Details
“Your Daily Dose of Design Inspiration”
We love Little Big Details because...
Much like Inspired UI above, Little Big Details is a curated collection of design inspiration. A tremendous resource that provides ample content to keep you busy for hours.
Little Big Details receives hundreds of submissions daily and is a popular site for designers that will help you with your mobile UI creations.
Designmodo
Crazy Helpful Resource of Material for Designers
We love Designmodo because...
Designmodo is an active blog that consistently puts out relevant and useful articles for mobile design.
As mentioned above, there is a good chance you already follow Designmodo, but it would be a colossal mistake to leave them off. This has everything you need, no matter where you are in your career.
Favorite Article: Android Out of Memory Error: Causes, Solution and Best practices
Pttrns
Finest collection of design patterns, resources and mobile design inspiration.
We love Pttrns because...
Not only will Pttrns provide you with a great collection of examples and ideas, it also will deliver to your inbox a handpicked selection of design resources every week. Great if you are starved of inspiration.
Latest article: Great Books for Designers to Read in 2016
Mobile1st Blog
News about the mobile industry & m-commerce.
We love Mobile1st because...
There’s a great tool you will find on the homepage of Mobile1st, that will check if your website is mobile ready: you will see exactly what your users see when they visit your website on more than 15 actual mobile devices. On top of that, the blog offers great advice on mobile strategies and, more generally speaking, how to adopt a "mobile first" mindset.
Favorite article: Mobile CRO: The Top 15 Mobile Optimization Tools
Mobify
Better mobile shopping.
We love Mobify because...
Mobify delivers a mobile customer engagement platform to manage content and applications for all your mobile customers. Their blog is packed full of great mobile design and development tips.
Favorite Article: Top Retailers Weigh In on Mobile Use In-Store
User Testing
They help companies eliminate bad user experiences.
We love User Testing because...
By getting videos of real people speaking their thoughts as they use your website, mobile app or prototype, User Testing help you create a great experience for your users. On their blog, they give great UX advice and analyze web design trends with a focus on conversions and psychological triggers.
Favorite Article: 9 Pieces of UX Advice I Stole From People Smarter Than Me
Webdesigner Depot
One of the most popular blogs about web design trends, tutorials and much more. Run by Walter Apai, web designer from Vancouver.
We love Webdesigner Depot because...
They write about the very best in web design news, views, techniques, and resources. You can find inspiration from both well-known, and up-and-coming designers, grab some free stock, discover new techniques and even transform the way you think of the web.
Favorite article: 7 secrets for enhancing UX with micro-interactions
LUKEW INNOVATION + DESIGN
Humanizing technology.
We love Luke because…
LukeW is an internationally recognized digital product leader who has designed and built software used by more than one billion people worldwide. He founded Polar (Google acquired) and Bagcheck (Twitter acquired).
His blog focuses on mobile strategies and provides key insights from experts regarding the mobile experience, like this post about above the fold and scrolling.
Favorite article: As Mobile Screen Size Increases... So Does Activity
Web Design Ledger
The Web Design Ledger is a publication written by web designers for web designers.
We love Web Design Ledger because...
The primary purpose of this site is to act as a platform for sharing web design related knowledge and resources. Their mind-blowing articles cover a variety of subjects from great examples of winter photography to how to apply minimalism in Logo design.
Favorite Article: 32 Examples of Clean Flat Web Design Mockups
Felt Presence
User interface design and product management articles by Ryan Singer of Basecamp.
Felt Presence
We love Ryan because...
He believes that "Interface design should drive product development because it's what people actually use.” His blog helps you toward an in-depth understanding of UI, UX and Product Design.
Favorite Article: Want to understand Design Forces?
Designers and geeks
Life at the intersection of art & technology.
We love Designers and geeks because...
Designers + Geeks is a community of people interested in design, art, and technology. They host monthly events that boast great speakers and interesting topics. Their events currently take place in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. The website features several talks recorded from the live events.
Favorite talk: Popular Versus Brilliant
Designer Fund
Help designers create businesses with meaningful impact.
We love Designer Fund because...
They invest in startups co-founded by designers, build and educate design teams through Bridge (a professional development program that connects experienced designers with top startups) and share their best practices.
Favorite article: How to Use Photography in Branding
DesignTAXI
Ideas - sometimes disturbing, mostly interesting, always creative.
We Love DesignTAXI because…
DesignTAXI is a highly influential daily news source with content that is shared by leading media (The New York Times and CNN). They talk about design, art, photography, advertising, architecture, style, culture, technology, and social media - basically anything creative or innovative.
Favorite Article: Infographic: 72 Ways To Think & Present Your Ideas
DesArt Lab
Desire to Innovate Art
We Love DesArt Lab because…
DesArt Lab makes web design comprehensible to people that are not in the industry. They not only “draw design” but rather are an integral part of every project’s creation process. In their blog, DesArt Lab covers many topics that aim at educating business owners about the need and use of web design for their success.
Favorite Article: How to Design Mobile Apps that are Engaging and Appealing
Radesign
The website of Rakesh, a sensible mobile and web designer.
Radesign blog
We love Radesign because...
Rakesh made his hobby of User Experience Design his job, and decided to share his thoughts and insights on mobile and apps on his blog. You’ll find some great tips to improve your design workflow and find inspiration in the other apps he analyzes in his posts.
Webcredible
A London-based UX agency with a global reach
We love webcredible because...
They are great at UX, but not only that; they are great teachers too! Their courses on designing for digital will teach you everything you need to know: from the fundamentals of UX to selling your product. They analyze some of these concepts in detail in their great blog.
Favorite article: Visual design and colour accessibility
UX Myths
Build your website based on evidence, not false beliefs.
We love UxMyths because...
UX Myths collects the most frequent user experience misconceptions and explains why they don't hold true. And you don't have to take their word for it, because they back it up with research and articles by design and usability gurus.
Our favorite Myth is Myth #29: People are rational.
UXmatters
Insights and inspiration for the user experience community.
We love UXmatters because...
Founded by Pabini Gabriel-Petit, UXmatters provides insights and inspiration to both professionals working in all aspects of user experience and students who are just beginning their journey in user experience. UXmatters offers a platform where the authors (who include many of the leading experts in user experience) can teach UX best practices and influence the future direction of the UX community.
Favorite Article: Who Needs UX Strategy?
Akendi
User experience designers and user researchers.
We love Akendi because...
Akendi focuses on experience thinking. They answer the most critical questions about the experience: Is it usable? Is it useful? Is it engaging? They explore these concepts on their blog.
Favorite Article: Why Your Designer Should Be Your Best Friend
Konigi
Michael Angel’s design blog.
We love Konigi because...
He post resources and review tools and writes blog posts on UX Design. His website features a tools section and a wiki, and you’ll find lots of inspiration from the sketches on his blog.
Favorite Tool: Graph Paper
Joshua Garity
Trusted Digital Marketing Consultant to Small Businesses and Fortune 500s.
We love Joshua because…
Joshua is a great design psychologist and brand strategist, working with both Fortune 500s and startups. In his blog and newsletter, he focuses on providing valuable insights into using brand psychology to boost the success of your business.
Favorite Article: Great Website Design: The Golden Ratio
Digital Telepathy
Customer Experience & UX Design Agency.
We love Digital Telepathy because…
Digital Telepathy is a UX and product design company passionate about elevating life’s experiences. In 2009, they started their blog as a way to share their learnings with the world and to advocate the value of design. Their goal is simple: educate and inspire others to positively impact the world with design.
Favorite article: Boost Your UX Design with Neuromarketing Research
Usabilla
Your users have the answers, start listening.
We love Usabilia because…
Usabilla helps brands to improve the performance of their websites, apps and emails with live user feedback. Their software means you can stop guessing what users want, and start listening to what they need. Their blog focuses completely on User Experience and how to use it to boost conversions on your website.
Favorite Article: 6 TED Talks Every UX Professional Should Watch
Measuringu
Usability, Customer Experience & Statistics.
We love Measuringu because…
Jeff Sauro is the founding principal of MeasuringU, a company providing statistics and usability consulting to Fortune 1000 companies. In his blog you can find several insights on UX, mobile UX facts and ideas for tracking the ROI of UX.
Favorite Article: The Importance Of Evaluating UX
Even more resources
There are lots of websites that don't cover mobile design inspiration on a regular basis, but they have great resources that we need to include here.
- Mobile Device Mockups Sketch Resource - Sketches you can use immediately of the most famous mobile devices
- 6 Mobile Web Design Tips for Google’s Algorithm Shift - Google favors websites with a mobile design. Check some best practices here.
Now it’s your turn...
Phew, that was a long ride!
We hope you enjoyed our selection of 46 mobile design blogs, our favorite articles and, of course, the advice from the experts in our infographic.
Now it’s time to put these tips into practice.
The first step?
Apply at least one of the tips you learned today in your next design!
And if you liked this article, we would love you to share it on your favorite social media channel.