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24 Design Studios Every Designer Should Know - The Obsessive List

October 1, 2025

24 Design Studios Every Designer Should Know - The Obsessive List

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This list of design studios will get you inspired and wanting to create amazing work. Learn from some of the best design studios in the business.

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Welcome to this very Christmasy edition of Creative Juice. I tried my best to fit as many holiday season finds this week, so I hope you enjoy. I hope everyone has a great holiday and don’t worry—I will have another edition ready for the 1st of the year!

Just a heads up, this edition will be brief...

Creative Juice is a weekly newsletter published every Monday morning so you can start your week feeling inspired creatively to make cool sh*t and get paid for it. Every Monday I share something gorgeous, a portfolio of the week, three creative finds, one amazing post from social media, and one lesson I learned recently.

If you have an idea of how I can improve Creative Juice and make it better, feel free to submit your feedback here.

TL:DR

  • Something Gorgeous: RYTM. Record Player by Jorge Paez

  • Portfolio of the Week: Kurt Winter

  • Holiday Dream by Niceshit & Lobulo

  • TUI Happy Holidays Ad

  • Resilience by Mikko Lagerstedt

  • One Gram: Vintage X-mas Decor is Pretty Sick Actually

  • One Lesson: Things That Made This Year My Best

SOMETHING GORGEOUS

Santa Please Bring Me This Record Player

RYTM. Record Player by Jorge Paez

At this point I probably sound like a broken record with all the beautiful objects and things that I want due to this category, but let's put that aside and admit this record player concept by Jorge is just absolutely gorgeous.

View more here

PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK

The Power of Social Proof

Kurt Winter

I like Kurt's portfolio. It's very tasteful in content and design, but I'm a little puzzled by the header animation as it would seem at some point it sort of moves out of time with the cursor animation.

However, the thing that drew my eye to Kurt's portfolio specifically was his testimonial section from coworkers. While some of us might not be in the freelance market, working with clients that would share testimonials about working with you is powerful. I love that he went ahead and asked coworkers to review him as a way to build social proof on his portfolio website.

I really admire efforts like this, and I think it shows that there is always something that you can do to stand out.

Score: 7.2/10

Built with: Webflow

View portfolio here

Creative Finds

Holiday Stockings Have Feelings Too!

A Holiday Dream by Niceshit & Lobulo

A cute Christmas film shedding light on the real holiday heroes this season.

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What Elves Do When on Their Vacations

TUI Happy Holidays Ad

Elves are party animals and love the display of humor in this short ad from an otherwise boring brand.

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"Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow"

Resilience by Mikko Lagerstedt

These stunning photos from Mikko Lagerstedt give me all the snow I need this holiday season.

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One Gram

Vintage X-mas Decor is Pretty Sick Actually

Magpie Ethel

Take a trip down memory lane and peruse through Magpie's archive of all things Christmas that spans decades.

View more here

One Lesson

20 Things That Made This Year My Best

As the year comes to an end, I wanted to share with you some things that I think made this year pretty awesome for me. This is not a complete list but some highlights:

  1. Doing The Things That People Don’t Normally Do

  2. Going Freelance

  3. Making Myself Uncomfortable

  4. Making Myself Comfortable

  5. Moving Slowly

  6. Finding My People

  7. Saying No to Some Things

  8. Saying Yes to Mostly Everything

  9. Asking Myself Why Not

  10. Putting 100% of My Effort into Friends, Family, and My Work

  11. Traveling

  12. Walking Whenever Possible

  13. Writing More

  14. Sharing Everything That I Possibly Can

  15. Working Out Mostly Everyday

  16. Learning How to Surf

  17. Watching What I Eat

  18. Being Intentional with Who I Make Friends With

  19. Making My Goals, Missions

  20. Playing The Long Game

Happy Holidays!

Thank you for making this year one of my best. I am really excited going into the New Year and can't wait to see where we go. ❤️

PS. If you have any questions, I am always here ❤️

If you would like Creative Juice sent directly to your inbox every Monday, you can subscribe here.

meet the design guy

Jon Sorrentino

I'm a product designer partnering with founders worldwide. I've led design at PepsiCo, Barstool Sports and high-growth startups. I believe the best design happens when you keep your hands in the work.

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