Competition Tips: Wrap-Up

But a word of caution when using other magazines and designs as inspiration: this is YOUR entry, YOUR design. Do NOT copy someone else's. Previous entries have been disqualified for being a copy of something else already out there. It's perfectly okay to get ideas and inspiration from other pieces ... in fact, that's what we all do everyday. But just make sure you take those ideas and make them your own. 

• SPD.org: Our homepage blog is chock-full of great design that should spur your imagination. 

• SPD Pub 43 and Pub 44 Gallery: Check out the winners of our annual competition online here and here.

• SPD Annuals: While Pub 43 and 44 are online as we just mentioned, there's a lot more from those years and all the others in our actual printed annuals. If you don't have copies of your own, see if your library or local bookstore has them in the Graphic Design section. And while it may not get to you in time for this competition, you could also buy copies from us for future reference.

• AIGA Design Archives: If you haven't already checked this out, you should; not just for this project, but for pure entertainment. Check out their Editorial Design category specifically, but also look to any of their collection for great inspiration.

• Robert Newman Design Facebook Page: If you're a reader of our Grids blog on the homepage, you'll have seen a lot of posts on past and current magazine design from the legendary Robert Newman. He's got all those and more on his Facebook page, definitely worth bookmarking.

• Print magazine Image Galleries: Of course you should check out back issues of Print magazine, especially their annual Regional Design Competition issues. But they also have a great Inspiration page and galleries online here.

• FFFFOUND!: Lots of designers use this community online image gallery for inspiration. It's way more than magazines, but you SHOULD be looking at everything for ideas.

• MagCulture: This is a great book by Jeremy Leslie, but also a wonderful blog. While it's more about the news and trends of magazines, especially in the UK and Europe, he's got lots of great images on the site.

Of course there's tons of other great sites and books out there to look at. And as we said, don't just look at magazines ... album design, book covers, packaging design, etc all can give you great brainstorms and ideas. 

So now... you have all the nitty-gritty entering info, the Frequently-Asked-Questions and the Competition Tips here. And now you have tons of sources for ideas. All that's left is to stop procrastinating and get to designing. Good luck!