The most recent collection of creative blog designs was featured here on Smashing Magazine back in July. Only three months have passed and we’ve got a new dose of inspiration for you. Beautiful and sophisticated designs are constantly appearing on the Web; creative activity is in non-stop mode, despite global economic shocks and unfortunate events; and this is surely a positive sign.
Today, we showcase 50 fresh, beautiful, inventive and, hopefully, inspiring blog designs. The variety of styles represented in this collection is considerable, so everyone will be able to find a tasty piece of inspiration for their own creative aspirations. Notice that every screenshot is clickable and leads to the website itself.
Beautiful and Creative Blog Designs
Jason Gray Music
Jason Gray’s blog was initially WordPress-based, but it now has a beautiful and original Flash appearance that we just couldn’t pass up.
The Pixel Blog
This exquisite blog belongs to a Web design and marketing company called The Pixel. Amazing graphics in the header and footer, along with a giant tree (the branches of which separate the posts), make this design pure eye-candy.
Sushi & Robots
Sushi & Robots is the journal and portfolio of Jina Bolton, a San Francisco-based designer, developer and author. If you’re looking for creative inspiration, this website is definitely a master class.
WorkAwesome
The neat desktop-themed design of WorkAwesome’s blog is definitely worth your attention.
One by Four
Jason Santa Maria
Dustin Curtis
Jack Cheng
New to York
31three
Abduzeedo
Abduzeedo, which is bookmarked by every Web design fan, was recently redesigned. The highlights are considerably enhanced usability and unique post teasers.
iA
Darren Hoyt
Point & Anchor
It’s all about the lines here. Point & Anchor’s blog design is quite engaging.
Trent Walton
Neatly combining a few uncomplicated code hooks, the founder of Paravel Web design agency, Trent Walton, has created an original, attractive blog. The presentation of each individual post and the overall layout of the blog are remarkable indeed.
Tumble
Fudge
The website of digital studio Fudge is currently under construction. Still, the way it has designed its latest news log is worth mentioning here. Photoshop interface imitating design is a neat idea. Plus, the navigation is a treat for the eye.
UX Booth
daus.trala.la
Design Intellection
This simple yet admirable blog design is achieved using HTML 5 markup. The dotted typography for post numbers is a nice touch.
Biggest Apple
The pure style of Biggest Apple’s website features a gorgeous sketch in the header and some pretty icons all around.
árbol textual
Helium Workx
Argee
Stripturnhout.be
Mark Boulton
This is a working library
LaMalla.cl (Chile)
This amazing blog belongs to a small community of creative people, a space to share links to inspirational info from all over the globe. A grayscale geometrical background and cool jQuery effects make our exploration of this website a really enjoyable experience.
Contrast
A clean style, nifty typography and hover effects make for a great blog design. Excellent work by Contrast, a Web apps development crew from Ireland.
Demain J’arrête (France)
This classy comic strip is available in French only, but the blog’s design won’t leave you cold.
Fran Fernández
The blog of Spanish singer Fran Fernández features an expressive and slightly careless-looking graphic design, which reflects the passion of the musician best.
Stéréosuper (France)
Stéréosuper is a successful duo of creative folks working in the field of multimedia. Boris and Jean-Francois are keen on karate: perhaps this explains the imaginative fighting characters in their design. The dark color scheme and hatched elements are quite appealing, too.
Music City Unsigned
This cute blog belongs to the Nashville community of emerging artists. Although it is Flash-based, you won’t have any problems with accessibility or navigation here.
Tal & Acacia
Unpretentious beauty: this is how we would describe this design. Pastel-themed graphics give it a special flavor.
Denis Chandler’s Blog (Another Blog About Stuff)
The style of this blog is fairly conventional, but look at the header! This bit of spice elevates the otherwise formal design, bringing in some splash.
Mulletized
This blog of Cape Town Web designer Brendon Grobler features an offbeat layout and great use of typography. This is what Brendon says about his blog redesign: “I tried to create something less “bloggy” and more graphic, focusing strongly on typography (which is one of my great design loves) and imagery.” The result is impressive, wouldn’t you agree?
M1K3
This blog (belonging to UI designer and developer Michael Dick) is an example of an excellent dark design.
Mark Forrester
This awesome blog-styled website is a creative outlet for Mark Forrester, a “half-baked” (his words) English/South African freelance designer and entrepreneur. The journal is easy and pleasant to navigate, and the cartoon illustrations in the header and footer are incredible. (They were designed by Cape Town-based illustrator and cartoonist Alex Latimer).
Jord & Chan
This nice duo-themed layout presents two strips of content on the same page, a very original idea. The smooth background texture adds more charm to the design.
Cog’Nition
This blog has a lovely surprise: you can change the design’s theme, choosing from two amusing cartoon-style backgrounds.
JonahL
Jonah Levine’s blog follows simplicity and a pure style. An attractive dark design, and a good use of lines.
Marcel Müller blog
Marcel Müller’s blog has a stylish, corporate look. Another good example of precise, minimalist design.
TrippingWords
This really is something striking. Everything here, from the header to the footer, is extraordinary and hyper-creative.
The Swish Life Magazine
mesonprojekt
DesignCritique
Manuel Romero