25 Winter Backgrounds for Design Inspiration

Author: Tara Hornor \ December 19, 2011 \ Illustration, Inspiration, Photography \ 2 Comments

Working on a winter design project and not feeling the “wonderland” part so much? White, gray, freaking cold — that’s winter. At least that’s how you feel after staring through the screen for too long. Have no fear. With a little inspiration you can find your winter wonderland again.

Winter has many visually beautiful elements to it. This collection breaks the designs into three categories: landscapes, illustrations, and holidays. Between these inspirational images, you should be able to get out there and find backgrounds for your designs, whether it’s for a web project, greeting cards, or a print ad.

Landscapes in the Winter

If you just need a nice backdrop, these landscape photos are a great way to set a wintry tone. Snow covered trees and mountaintops allow for high contrast typographic elements, making it a great deal easier to read.

Mountain Snow Forest

Snow Tunnel

Trees Sleeping in the Snow

Tahoe Snow Mountains

Cabins at Mt. Assiniboine

Winter

Winter Ice

Shapes of Winter

Besides landscapes, some basic shapes are excellent for winter designs: snowflakes, snowmen, icicles, and snow covered trees are just a few examples. This section has a combination of images, vectors, and brushes for you to use.

Winter Wallpaper

Snowflake

Winter Tree with Snow

Snowman on Blue

Snowman Constellation

Shiny Icecicles

Icicle Brushes

Winter Trees (Brushes)

Snowflake (Vectors)

Holidays

Last, but hardly least, the holidays are an obvious part of the winter season, and the hugest time zapper of the year. Save some time in projects by using pre-designed elements. From Santa Claus to Christmas trees and Hanukkuk, this part of the collection has vectors, graphics, brushes, and tutorials for your holiday design projects.

Cartoon Christmas Santa (Vectors)