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.
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
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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:
Doing The Things That People Don’t Normally Do
Going Freelance
Making Myself Uncomfortable
Making Myself Comfortable
Moving Slowly
Finding My People
Saying No to Some Things
Saying Yes to Mostly Everything
Asking Myself Why Not
Putting 100% of My Effort into Friends, Family, and My Work
Traveling
Walking Whenever Possible
Writing More
Sharing Everything That I Possibly Can
Working Out Mostly Everyday
Learning How to Surf
Watching What I Eat
Being Intentional with Who I Make Friends With
Making My Goals, Missions
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 ❤️
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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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