Books

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: Known as the “bible of advertising”. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone and everyone getting into the industry.

The Advertising Concept Book: This is more of a “textbook” and has a ton of practical exercises. I’d recommend this one for creatives!

Design & Art Direction Stuff

Same.energy: One of the best moodboard helpers I’ve found - click on or upload a photo and get a ton of photos back with the “same energy”. This algorithm is magic, I’m telling you.

Grits and Grids: Branding, design, and advertising inspiration

Dribbble: All kinds of design inspiration: animation, typography, illustration, web design, etc.

Hello You Creatives: Curated collection of videos, print ads, illustrations, and more.

The Inspiration Grid: Design inspiration for illustration, editorial, art, photography, and more.

Portfolio Stuff

VCU Brandcenter Student Portfolios: Get inspiration for your own and see how portfolio school students approach spec work.

Creative Circus Student Portfolios: More inspiration, plus you can see where these students were hired to get an idea of what level your portfolio needs to be at to get a job at your dream agency.

Denver Ad School Student Portfolios: Very new portfolio school, but super solid portfolios from their first class.

Miami Ad School Student Work: Check out how portfolio school students approach spec work.

Productivity Stuff

Coffitivity: Coffeehouse ambiance audio