27 Must Follow Instagram Accounts For Creative Entrepreneurs
Welcome to part three of our round-up series, where we cull through all the supposedly ‘helpful’ and ‘inspirational’ resources online and on social media to bring you our selection of what we think is actually worth following.
We’ve already rounded up essential newsletters and Pinterest accounts, and this month we’re bringing you the 27 must follow Instagram accounts for creative entrepreneurs.
To be honest, rounding up creative Instagram accounts is hard, there are just so many. So, our list is a bit longer than usual, and includes a huge range of topics. We’ve surfaced several accounts that help with nitty gritty skills like SEO, social media algorithms, and excel, as well as organizations and groups that support creatives and designers, and finally some good old color and material inspiration.
Happy following!
Creative Instagram accounts with tips & tutorials
1. Shine with Natasha - Instagram
Instagram and social media in general can be so overwhelming, we know. That’s why we love following Natasha from Sol Studio. She’s approachable and authentic and her advice is always actionable and helpful.
Follow her for all the nitty gritty Instagram tips on the best ways to tell your story with reels, guides, stories, and more. She’ll keep you up to date with what’s working in the everchanging algorithms.
2. Chris Do - Entrepreneurship
Chris Do, founder of The Futur, is on a mission to teach entrepreneurship, communication, content marketing, and design to as many people as possible. He brings this mission to his dynamic and uber-popular creative Instagram account, which touches on a wide range of subjects, like how not to blend in, why clients micro-manage, why you should never center justify text, and, our favorite, fonts are like friends.
3. SEMrush - SEO
Interested in learning more about the anatomy of a long-tail keyword? Or perhaps how to monitor your site's progress? Then Semrush is the feed for you.
SEO is an incredibly important and powerful organic traffic driver, but since it leans tech, it can feel intimidating. Follow SEMrush for specific, clear explanations of the SEO concepts and actionable tips you can easily implement on your own website today.
4. Kat Norton - Miss Excel
How many times have you used the words "excel" and "fun" in a sentence together? Zero right? Well Kat Norton, aka Miss Excel, is about to change all of that.
Follow this poppin' Instagram account to watch Kat use her superpowers for good and teach you how to use shortcuts, hacks and special formatting to make all of your excel dreams come true. We didn't even know excel could do half this stuff!
5. Wolf Craft - PR & media
We couldn’t write a list of creative Instagram accounts to follow without including our own!
Our Instagram is chock-full of our most useful and no-fluff PR Tips, media strategy resources, advice for about how to tackle content and media strategy, links to our in-depth blog posts, and announcements for our up coming events and resources.
6. Social Media Today
It's one thing to learn how to create stunning graphics for your Instagram account and social media channels, but keeping up with the relentless updates is a whole other ball game. That's why you need to follow Social Media Today, a site dedicated to making sure you understand how to navigate this ever-changing world. What’s even better, they cover all the platforms- Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, TikToc, and more.
7. We Are Marwan - Branding
We Are Marwan believes in the power of storytelling when it comes to brand building. They also believe that a brand is not a logo or a beautiful name, but something to be thought of like a real person.
Scroll through their refreshingly engaging feed and to see why you should define your buyer persona, why narrative is not the same as story and, perhaps most importantly, how the best ideas are not forced.
8. Red Shark Digital - Adobe
If you're looking to up your Adobe game then this is the account for you. Red Shark Digital's feed is FULL of tips and tricks to get Photoshop and Illustrator to finally bend to your will.
Take your time and peruse subjects like, Hue vs Luminance vs Saturation. Or, dive right in and check out their top 25 Illustrator Short-cuts.
9. Architecture Chat - Arch Business
Just starting out as an architect or interior designer? Then Architecture Chat’s Instagram account is for you. It is dedicated to both professionals and students alike.
We love their clear and concise feed with useful and actionable tips, on topics like, how to build a portfolio, brand building for interior designers, how to add your studio to Google, and how to prepare for an interview at a big firm.
10. Show it Better - Representation
The objective behind Show It Better is simple: to share knowledge around everything related to architectural representation.
Follow this feed to learn about topics like, how to win an architecture competition, how to make seamless textures, and most importantly, how to turn your Instagram into a portfolio.
11. Denise - Website Design
Hatch Website Design, led by Denise Mitchell, is is a small-shop branding and squarespace design studio for creative entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Follow their feed for web design inspiration, advice about writing website copy, plus tips and tricks about content hierarchy, strategies to increase traffic, SEO tips, and free tools.
Instagram accounts for support, laughs, & commiseration
12. small biz memes
The small business struggle is real! Sometimes all you need is a good laugh and commiseration. Thanks to small biz memes, these funny, bizarre, and sometimes downright terrible customer interactions are all logged together in one Instagram account. Sometimes the comment section is as good as the posts themselves!
Follow this hilarious feed to see that you are not alone! We all get to deal with these extra special folk so might as well join in the fun.
13. Good Fucking Design
Advice
Hey ya’ll, when it comes to creativity, it's time to stop fucking around. We love GDFA’s Instagram account for their no-nonsense and much needed approach to getting your work done. As they say ‘lowbrow advice for high-level creativity.’
Need to get motivated? Then follow this fucking feed right now. When you do, you'll get a daily dose of inspiration like, fucking simplify, cultivate some fucking discipline, and our favorite measure twice, cut fucking once.
14. The Creative Independent
The Creative Independent is a growing resource of emotional and practical guidance for creative people. They produce interviews, wisdom and guides that illuminate the trials and tribulations of living a creative life as told by working artists, including: writers, musicians, designers, visual artists and others. Their goal is to feed and grow the community of people who create.
Organizations for creative industries
15. The Female Design Council
Female Design Council is an organization dear to our heart. Led by Lora Appleton of Kinder Modern, FDC is dedicated to providing a strong professional community for all womxn in the design industry.
Their vision is for ALL female-identifying individuals from all disciplines and backgrounds to have access to professional opportunities to succeed in their creative careers. They host events ranging from workshops, to talks on topics like sustainable design and studio processes, to virtual exhibitions. We’ve worked together on a few PR-focused workshops.
16. All She Makes
All SHE Makes is a curated directory for women artists worldwide. Founded by female immigrant artist, Svitlana Martynjuk, their goal is to offer a curated space to locate women artists from any corner of the world.
Follow this lovely creative Instagram account to find inspiring work by women across the globe, opportunities to show your work and invaluable marketing, branding and business tips.
17. The
American Craft Council
For more than 75 years the American Craft Council has championed craft. They support professional makers through their unique nonprofit shows, offer educational resources and conduct a national awards spotlight for emerging artists and established masters.
Follow this Instagram account to get your fill of all things craft, including features like Maker X Maker, a platform for artists to showcase other makers they admire. Pictured to the left are Alycia and Mabel of the fashion line @3rdseason.
18. NYC x DESIGN
NYC x DESIGN is an essential Instagram account for any designer, especially those living within the five boroughs. Not only does this organization provide endless support for the community of independent designers in the city, their Instagram overflows with inspiration, installations and opportunities you might not find elsewhere.
Be sure to check out The Mic, NYCxDESIGN's monthly podcast dedicated to pioneers of design.
19. IDSA
Founded in 1965, Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and its surrounding community help strengthen the industrial design profession as a whole and contributes to the impact of design within business, culture, and society.
This is a must follow Instagram account for creative entrepreneurs. It showcases the latest and greatest in industrial design, including talks, resources, opportunities, and new products.
Creative Instagram accounts full of inspiration
20. TrendWatching
TrendWatching is purpose-built to guide, inspire, and empower business professionals — including entrepreneurs, marketers, creatives, strategists, and innovators — to bring more sustainable and impactful products to market, those that benefit all, not just the few.
The Canadian brand pictured to the left, @helloeverist, has found a solution in waterless shampoo and conditioner concentrates.
21. The Jealous Curator
Danielle Krysa started The Jealous Curator as a place to show artwork that literally "made her jealous." Over time she became fascinated with the inner-critics and creative blocks that artists are stricken with. She believes that if we share these insecurities openly, we can all benefit.
Follow along so to turn jealousy into get-your-ass-back-into-the-studio inspiration.
Image from the amazing @alicewaltonceramics, who you should probably also follow.
22. Fabricademy
The Fashion Industry is the 2nd most polluting sector in the world, right after oil. Fabricademy is dedicated to the development of new, sustainable technologies in the textile industry. The academy includes a education and research platform that delves into technology, material innovation, and craftsmanship. They’re working towards new ways of designing, prototyping, and producing for the textile and fashion-industry.
Follow this stunning feed for inspiration and to see how you can be a part of change. Image from @orangebark.
23. Greendesigns_
Interested in the latest sustainable design news? Look no further than Greendesigns_, curated by Marlene Bruch. Her aim is to create a space where consumers and creatives can find inspiration to make their life and work more eco friendly. We love that this feed is filled to the brim with innovative ideas, fresh imagery, and great color palettes.
Image from BIOTIC by @lionnevandeursen, an ongoing research project and material archive.
24. Material Designers
Material Designers, or Ma De, is a competition, event series, and platform devoted to realizing the positive impact material designers can have across all creative sectors and how they can contribute to the circular economy.
Follow this stunning Instagram account for a thorough education in new innovative materials.
Image from a @atelierlvdw, a surface and material design studio.
25. Warwick Fabrics
Do you love fabric? Do you love fabric that utilize recycled yarns and natural fibers grown using the world's best practices? If yes and yes then you must start following the beautiful feed by Warwick Fabrics.
We love their dedication to the preservation of our environments and their account is full of on-trend colors, patterns and swatches.
26. Material Source
Not sure where to start sourcing materials for your next design project? Material Source has got you covered. They aim to strike a perfect balance between established companies with project-ready materials through to emerging designers, makers and brands.
Follow this stunning account to see how, and why, it's made.
Image from @shawcontract sustainable flooring.
27. Bēhance
Bēhance is Adobe’s social media platform where artists, graphic designers, animators, and all types of creatives showcase their work.
Every day they feature a different piece of work on their Instagram, like this colorful, intricately layered paper sculpture by @maudvantours.
