Breck Campbell RGD recommends:

Having worked on and off in feature films and video games over the years, I've had the good fortune of being able to work alongside of some incredibly talented people. I gravitated towards hanging out with a lot of concept artists, and wasn't always sure what it was about their work that drew me in, until I sat down to figured it out. I now realize, each person has something unique to their approach, style and general mentality that has in some way affected my own work and process in design. I recommend following the work of these artists: 

 

Craig and I went to high school together and I always knew he had a unique ability to draw, but he said something to me much later in life that actually pushed me to decide to go back to school for design. He said, "No matter what you are working on there always needs to be a great concept. Because without a concept, what's the point?" To this day, those words stick with me every single time I sit down to work on a job. That, and Craig's incredible ability to tell a detailed and interesting story within a single frame. He is a master. Take a close look at his work.

 

Thomas is a master of subtlety with colour and light, vast and dynamic compositions and giving the viewer the impression of great detail with very simple gestures and textures. Most of all in my own work, when I am struggling with over-doing a colour palette for a job, I revisit Thomas's paintings and am quickly humbled.

 

Bora Mihalyi RGD recommends:  

This is Maria Popova's quest to quench her unending curiosity. Her blog is about what she uncovers, mostly from books. She has been described as the 'Cartographer of Meaning in a Digital World', so I guess that makes Brain Pickings her map of the mind in the making. 

 

(Podcast from past DesignThinkers speaker Debbie Millman)

Graphic designer Debbie Millman interviews the greats: great designers, great writers, great thinkers, great people. Millman guides listeners through her guests' lives, uncovering trinkets of wisdom and sparking conversations that are always worth eavesdropping on. 

 

Kari Silver RGD recommends:

Clients From Hell (Podcast)

Based off of the website of the same name, Clients From Hell is a great podcast with tips for freelancers on how to find work, pricing and how to deal with certain client situations.

 

Adventures in Design

A daily talk show that explores creative work and general design related news. Of particular note is the “Tough Love” episodes where the host gives constructive criticism to different freelancers.

 

RGD recommends: 

Karim Rashid (DesignThinkers Speaker, 2015) 

Karim Rashid is one of the most prolific designers of his generation. Over 3000 designs in production, over 300 awards and working in over 40 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design.