Artist Links of Interest
Designer portals, design associations and publications for fashion artists.
A working fashion artist needs more than talent — the work has to be seen, discussed and hired. This page collects artist links of interest for the fashion industry: designer portals, design associations and publications that showcase artists and designers, report design news, and connect creative people with the companies that need them.
Three outside resources lead the list — a showcase organization for established and emerging designers, the business magazine of the graphic design field, and a design portal built around news, competitions and discussion — followed by the Apparel Search service that matches fashion artists with clothing companies, and two study summaries for artists building their skills.
Designer Portals & Publications
Area of Design
Area of Design is an organization that showcases established and emerging artists, designers, commercial firms and non profit groups based in the United States. AOD provides a forum for artists to express themselves and inspire others by encouraging, educating and nurturing creative talent.
Graphic Design USA
Graphic Design USA (GDUSA), published by Kaye Publishing Corporation for 40 years, is the monthly business-to-business magazine for professional graphic designers and related creative and production professionals. It reaches design firms, corporations, ad agencies and publishers with news, trends, people, events, projects, products, services and ideas, and works to build a sense of community across the design field.
Dexigner
The Dexigner design portal connects the design world with news, competitions, announcements, designers, galleries, boards and links. Its discussion board covers design related issues: one area carries design news and press releases, design competitions, design events, contest tips and calls for papers, while another lets members chat about design, post designs for feedback, and browse design resources.
Apparel Search Artist Resources
Designer Search
A match making service for fashion industry artists to post portfolios so that clothing companies can learn of their talents and hire them for freelance design services. The designer search business-to-business portal is for clothing and textile design only.
Fashion Drawing Summary
A summary guide to fashion drawing — the sketching skill behind illustration, technical flats and design presentation — for artists learning how a garment idea becomes a drawing a team can work from.
Fashion Design Schools Summary
A summary of fashion design schools for artists weighing formal training, alongside the wider Fashion Schools directory in the education section.
How Artists Use These Resources
Portals and publications serve two directions at once. For the artist, they are a shop window and a classroom: a place to publish a portfolio, follow competitions, and watch what other designers are producing. For the clothing company, they are a scouting ground — a buyer or designer who needs an illustrator for a lookbook or a graphic artist for a print can survey working styles quickly and approach the artists whose hand fits the brand.
Within Apparel Search, the natural next stops are the specialty guides themselves: the Fashion Illustrators directory for artwork (in the navstrip above), and the wider Artist Guide for agencies, packaging, technical drawing and the other specialties. Readers who commission artwork as part of a collection will also want the forecasting and styling context that shapes a season's briefs, collected in the More to Explore links below.
Common Questions
What kinds of artist links are collected here?
Designer portals that showcase and connect working designers, a long-running trade magazine for graphic designers, a portfolio matchmaking service for fashion and textile artists, and Apparel Search study resources such as the fashion drawing and fashion design schools summaries.
Who should use designer portals?
Artists and designers who want their work seen — portals showcase established and emerging talent, publish design news and competitions, and give companies a place to discover illustrators, graphic designers and studios for fashion projects.
How can a fashion artist get found by clothing companies?
The Designer Search service on Apparel Search lets fashion and textile artists post portfolios so clothing companies can review their talents and hire them for freelance design services; the portal covers clothing and textile design only.