You just can’t find a list of today’s greatest design blogger’s without seeing the name of Grace Bonney on it, the genius behind the famous
Design*Sponge blog. Sometimes viewed as the first big design blog, Bonney has certainly seen success with her blog, parlaying it into a healthy writing career and helping to blur the lines between print and online. Many believe, as does this writer, that Bonney helped bring legitimacy to the world of design blogging.
She did so by creating a blog with amazing, cutting edge content. Begun in August 2004, the main catalyst for starting the blog was that she just didn’t like her day job. Lucky for us, we say. You can see that the blog has changed and grown alongside Bonney ever since then, with the focuses and features changing as does her tastes. That organic relationship between Bonney and the site is what makes Design*Sponge so dynamic and personal; you feel as if every day you are sitting down with a friend and sharing in their favorite things. It’s not just us who thinks Design*Sponge is amazing, either: Design*Sponge is read by 43,000 daily readers and over 35,000 readers via RSS.
Currently, the site features such regular series as sneak peeks, mini trends, city guides, product guides, DIY, before and after, and the new additions of recipes and videos. Though Bonney originally started the blog by doing all the content herself, she currently boasts 10 regular contributors, who post such great gems as a gardening column called “We Like It Wild,” a cocktail series called “Behind the Bar,” and many, many others.
Striving each day to bring the best design ideas to readers, Bonney is also a generous soul, offering Design*Sponge scholarships to design and art students each year, and a “Biz Ladies” section, where she dispenses all her business advice to other talented folks out there hoping to start their own creative businesses one day, too.
While we didn’t interview Bonney for this particular article ourselves, there are a lot of great people who have, such as
Modish,
LAist, and
Paste. And of course, please visit Design*Sponge for some more great design inspiration.
She did so by creating a blog with amazing, cutting edge content. Begun in August 2004, the main catalyst for starting the blog was that she just didn’t like her day job. Lucky for us, we say. You can see that the blog has changed and grown alongside Bonney ever since then, with the focuses and features changing as does her tastes. That organic relationship between Bonney and the site is what makes Design*Sponge so dynamic and personal; you feel as if every day you are sitting down with a friend and sharing in their favorite things. It’s not just us who thinks Design*Sponge is amazing, either: Design*Sponge is read by 43,000 daily readers and over 35,000 readers via RSS.
Currently, the site features such regular series as sneak peeks, mini trends, city guides, product guides, DIY, before and after, and the new additions of recipes and videos. Though Bonney originally started the blog by doing all the content herself, she currently boasts 10 regular contributors, who post such great gems as a gardening column called “We Like It Wild,” a cocktail series called “Behind the Bar,” and many, many others.
Striving each day to bring the best design ideas to readers, Bonney is also a generous soul, offering Design*Sponge scholarships to design and art students each year, and a “Biz Ladies” section, where she dispenses all her business advice to other talented folks out there hoping to start their own creative businesses one day, too.
