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Some resources to get you started

If you are using sketch, Sketch App Sources has A LOT OF STUFF. People also post their design files on there, so you should definitely download those designs and study them.

Most of the time you don't need to draw your own icons, or take your own photos. You just find free stuff online and combine them to create your design. The links below will help you get started:

Images

Beautiful high resolution images (and free to use!) at Unsplash.

To get fake user profile images go to randomuser.me.

Background Pattern

  • http://thepatternlibrary.com/
  • http://subtlepatterns.com/

You'd usually need to change the pattern's color to fit your color pallete. See this video:

Icons

  • http://www.pixellove.com/free-ios-and-android-icons
  • http://www.streamlineicons.com/
  • http://www.pixeden.com/media-icons/tab-bar-icons-ios-7-vol5
  • https://dribbble.com/shots/1344983-Simple-Line-Icons-100-free-icons-Ai-Eps-Svg-Psd

Fonts

Use the whatfont Chrome plugin to see what fonts are used.

Usually you'd see typekit (Adobe Foundry's paid service) or Google Font (free).

A lot of the time you can find the font you want at Font Squirrel

Choosing Colors

The easiest way to build a color pallete is by sampling colors from an existing image.

  1. Find a photo / album cover that you like.
  2. If you have a specific color in mind, view Dribble designs by color.

I find color tools like kuler too difficult for design noobs.

Design Inspirations

Blogs

  • https://medium.com/sketch-app
  • http://blog.mengto.com/
  • http://sachagreif.com
  • http://sebastien-gabriel.com/freebies.html
  • http://osvaldas.info
  • http://www.sketchcasts.net/episodes

Mobile app designs

  • http://beautifulpixels.com/
  • http://app.itize.us/

Sketch

Sketch & Tutorials

Sketch Resources

  • http://www.niudana.com/#sketch
  • http://bohemiancoding.com/sketch/resources/
  • http://www.sketchappsources.com/all-free-sources.html