DESIGN:: Before & After Magazine offering FREE articles for download

If you're anything like me, part of living a creative life is actively looking for inspiration to fill your creative well. There are a number of online magazines that I read but one of my favorites is Before & After, an online graphic design magazine.

I found B&A some time ago and have found useful tips on graphic design, creative direction, color use, etc that have given me jumping off points for various projects both in my work at the newspaper and in my freelance work. Their design aesthetic is very much in line with mine: it's clean, bright, lively and modern. The first article I got in my subscription (yes, it's a paid service but I find it well worth it!) took several existing logos and branding material and re-designed them to bring them into this era. They went from subtle to all out radically updated and I was hooked from that point on.

They offer articles in PDF form available for download but to get you started, there are a number of free articles available for download covering subjects from designing a logo with letters, to finding the perfect color, choosing the best typeface for body copy, etc. The paid subscription articles run the gamut from billboard design, to mini business cards to web design and they engage subscribers in conversations delving into design schools of thought, critiquing of established brand logos, walking readers through re-designs, etc.

Here are a few previews of the kinds of content in their PDF downloads:

I hope you find these inspiring!

Until next time, 

Ani