Snippets: May 2026

Snippets is a monthly roundup of resources, news items, inspiration and fun for designers. Have a cool book, show, site, game, app, resource, etc. that you’d recommend to your designer friends? Send it to ed*******@*********ro.com.

Just My Type

Searching for that elusive typeface shouldn’t feel like looking for a needle in a haystack of serifs. With MyFonts’ AI-powered search, you can stop scrolling and start finding. Simply describe the “vibe” you’re after, or upload an image and let the algorithm play matchmaker. It’s like a dating app for your layout, pairing your content with its font soulmate.

Tag, You’re It

It’s all fun and games until you need to get serious about creating compliant content. Venngage can be your a11y ally with AI-driven solutions that handle everything from alt text to color contrast. With accessible templates and a PDF checker to ensure your work meets WCAG standards in real-time, you can take the complexity out of compliance.

Word Watching

Ever wonder how a typeface actually behaves once it leaves the specimen sheet? Fonts In Use is the ultimate digital archive of typography in the wild. From vintage vinyl covers to modern brutalist posters, it’s a massive library of real-world applications that shows you exactly how fonts perform under pressure. It’s the perfect place to stalk your favorite serifs and see who they’re hanging out with IRL. 

Panda-monium

Don’t let chunky file sizes drag your beautiful web work down into the depths of slow loading times. TinyPNG uses smart lossy compression to shrink your images with such precision that nobody will notice the difference. Keep your site snappy and your assets light, because in the fast-paced world of web design, nobody has time for a lagging landing page!

Cover Story

We’ve all been told not to judge a book by its cover, but let’s be real: It’s what we do! The Casual Optimist blog is
a celebration of the best in book design and publishing art. It’s a curated gallery of literary eye candy that will leave you feeling inspired for your next big project. It’s a great resource for anyone who loves a good spine-tingling design.

Nice One!

Looking to savor some inspiration along with your morning coffee? It’s Nice That is the gold standard for contemporary creativity. For nearly 20 years, this site has been a fountain of inspirational content, showcasing the projects that make the design world spin (or maybe pop?). It’s a daily dose of “wow” that reminds us why we fell in love with this craft in the first place. Go ahead, treat your eyeballs to something fresh—after all, it’s nice to be nice!

Game of Tones

Think you’re the rightful heir to the Pantone throne? Prove your worth at Dialed.gg, where a color-matching challenge tests your ability to replicate specific hues using only your design instincts, visual memory, and some sliders. Single and multiplayer options are available. Will you run the gamut to victory or be the victim of a mysterious Hex? Color us intrigued.

HTML-lelujah!

Say goodbye to the soul-crushing dread of manual coding! Text-HTML is the answer to your digital prayers. Whether you’re wrangling messy copy or just want to turn a simple list into clean, semantic markup without breaking a sweat, this tool is heaven sent. You can insert links, images, video, and tables with just a few clicks. It’s free, fast, and perfect for anyone who wants to do more designing and less debugging.