As anyone with an internet connection knows, the web can be a strange and distracting place. It’s easy to lose hours scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed, watching cat GIFs or leapfrogging from Twitter to Reddit to your countless online profiles and beyond…
But the internet can, of course, also be a great way to stimulate your grey matter and let your imagination run free. So why not flex a bit of creative muscle and visit a few of our favourite creative websites?
It’s Nice That
This quirky London-based art and design site offers an eclectic showcase of ideas and creations from both established art world names and fresh, up and coming talent. From the zany to eye-catching reports on the latest modern art exhibition, It’s Nice That champions the most cutting edge in creativity from every corner of the web – and the ‘Bookshelf’ feature is a great, insightful addition.
Open Culture
Amidst the web’s chaotic babble of far-out memes and ever-chirping Tweets, Open Culture provides an oasis of free cultural and educational media. Run by Dan Colman, the Director and Associate Dean of Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program, you can delve around this trove of enriching audio books, movies, ebooks, language courses and more. And there are some great hidden gems – from vintage Woody Allen interviews to crash courses in philosophy.
Brain Pickings
In the Google-dominated world of the web, this great aggregator of the most interesting corners of the internet is refreshingly ad-free, and packed full of lively and stimulating content. Brain Pickings attracts around 1.2 million visitors a month to its hive of cross-pollinated cultural gems, covering everything from science, music, technology, politics, art and anything and everything in between. The ‘Literary Jukebox’ is a particularly cool feature that pairs up good reads with equally impressive soundtracks.
Vice
Often controversial, always thought-provoking, the online indie Bible Vice has something of a Marmite-like reputation. But whether you love it, hate it, or love to hate it, Vice’s spiky combination of investigative journalism, documentary and first-person reports from the front lines of 21st century culture offers a microscope into the frequently odd and endlessly fascinating stories that often get lost behind the headlines. If you find BBC News a bit too tame, then this one’s for you.
Longreads
In our age of micro-blogging and Twitter, reading more than 140 characters at a time can leave our brains feeling frazzled. However, this makes the pleasure of immersing ourselves in novels, short stories and other longer pieces of writing more vital than ever. Longreads gathers writing from a whole variety of renowned publications, from the New Yorker to the Atlantic, and you can even select articles based on how long they take to read in minutes. Ideal for that lunch break creative refuge.
99U
When it comes to thinking creatively and energising your career with fresh ideas, 99U is the place to go. The Webby-award winning site is all about inspiration and looking at the familiar in interesting, new ways. Featuring lively posts, videos and insights from creative industry experts and professionals, the site is jam-packed with helpful tips and advice that is ready to put into action – all designed to make your working life smarter and more productive.
Coffitivity
Are distractions getting in the way of your imagination? Have you been staring at the same blank screen for far too long? A good working environment is essential to a productive working routine – and web app Coffitivity is designed to produce the perfect working ambience. Developed in line with scientific research, apparently showing that a combination of calm and commotion makes the ideal creative working environment, the app recreates this stimulating background noise. So plug in, click play and let your creative juices flow!
We hope a few of these sites have helped to provide some creative inspiration. If you'd like to share any more great creative sites you know about, you can use the comments box below.