We’ve been thinking about a graphic design contest. Yet, we’re also not trying to confuse the Inkd product offering with spec work sites. I thought Jacob over at justcreativedesign wrote a pretty good article on this topic titled The “Pros” and Cons of Spec Work. It’s worth a read. In fact, his whole blog is a pretty good graphic design resource.

We are flattered that Marcelo Calbucci has invited us here at Curious Office to speak at the Seattle StartupDay 2009 hosted by Seattle 2.0. StartupDay is the conference for pre-entrepreneurs interested in founding or joining a tech startup. Meet one-on-one with advisors. Learn how to pick the right idea, build your team, fund the business, build your product, bring it to market and make a profit. Learn what’s important for creating a tech business from scratch.

Didn’t know that Inkd was developed by Curious Office and some other cool projects? Check out our website and learn why Curious Office incubates startups!

The good folks over at Printed Proof are working on a list of the best postcard designs on the internet. Some of our own Inkd designs are on the list. Go check it out and vote for us!

Inkd finalists for most creative postcards:

Don’t forget that you can purchase and utilize these award-worthy postcard designs for your own projects anytime through Inkd.

Graphic Business Coach Postcard Template by Lisa Harris

Cheery Home Cleaning Postcard Template by Jalene Hernandez

Read on for more finalists… Read More

This is a great, totally unique and inspiring example of the importance of good design. A project we missed from Designer Cardon Webb when it was showing at the Type Directors Club in May, has him grabbing lackluster, to say the least, postings from around the neighborhood, giving them a graphic design makeover, then re-posting them to what I assume is dramatically greater effect.

Does this make you think of how much more effective your own marketing materials might be with a style upgrade from the graphic design templates on Inkd? Sure, this project is an extreme example, but poor design might not be much more effective than Sharpie on notebook paper.

Inspiration can be critical to overcoming a creative design block, or just keeping the air in your creative sails. Finding and routinely following creative design resources is a great way to stay on top of trends, spark ideas, and simply appreciate the great works that inspire professional graphic designers.

In the wide web world these days the amount of variety can be dizzying, and with the melding of graphic design for print with web design, many resources focus on a mixture of tips, tricks and showcase tutorials that jump back and forth between the coded and physical realm. But what’s best for pure print inspiration?

Our library of graphic design templates here at Inkd has become a very popular source of inspiration in it’s own right – with 1,000’s of designs in a marketplace that allows for cutting edge style to flourish without the usual limitations of a client relationship. We appreciate the notoriety, so we thought we’d grab some opinions from our hundreds of contributing designers and our own internal design team. Here’s the top resources hand-picked by inspired and inspiring professional graphic designers.

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Many graphic designers and creatives work in environments that can benefit from mobile access to tools of their trade. If not full-time, many work at least part-time in a freelance manner too.

There hasn’t been a better time than the present for mobile workforces, and one device in particular has pushed mobile utilities to the edge of what’s currently possible.

Last week the Inkd offices officially became an all iPhone workforce, with some last late comers finally joining the party. With every new eye’s wide addition to the iPhone posse comes a flurry of recommended tweaks, tailoring, and app suggestions. We thought we might as well put forth this handy list of our favorites from the mobile savvy Inkd team.

Many of these apps are available for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Some are free, and others cost a little scratch, but all hit our bar of usefulness. Read on and let us know what apps you’re using too!

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There is a wealth of information for graphic designers of all stripes to be found on the web, but nothing beats the in-depth articles (not to mention the sensory benefits) of a good graphic design mag. Inkd has a bevy of resources, but our favorite remains the bound stacks scattered around the office.

Some magazines are highly focused on graphic design, some are great for general inspiration.  Many  have at least annual calls for design and competition. Most also have free trials and discounts for designers belonging to organizations or for students, and all of these magazines have resource rich companion websites.

So read on below, share your favorites with us, and maybe bookmark this one. Here are the top resources you can find in print, and about print, that we keep on our shelves.

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