As a designer I’m constantly needing to stay on top of the latest design trends. One of the best ways to do that is to follow (and study) the work of some of the best design agency’s on the web. If you’re a web designer and looking to continue to grow your skills, below are five design agency’s I recommend keeping in your bookmarks:

zurb.com

I follow Zurb not only for their great work, but the fact that they are strong thought leaders in the area of Interaction design. They continue to create amazing web applications and constantly post great material to their blog and playground.

kurtnoble.com

Simply put, these guys have an amazing portfolio. I visit this site often just to be inspired by their work. As far as talent and innovation in web design, these guys are in the big leagues. Studying from their work is definitely the right thing to do.

happycog.com

Happy Cog lead by Jeffrey Zeldman, a leader in the web standards movement is a no-brainer. Following the work and thoughts of this agency will keep you on top of all the latest trends and techniques in web design. From their blog at A List Apart, to the books they publish or their web design conferences, their content is definitely worth a daily visit.

method.com

Method is one of those agency’s that seems far removed from reality because they’re so good at what they do. But having a website and showcasing their work makes it possible for little guys to learn from them. I follow these guys because they continue to publish innovative top notch work in various areas of design: Branding Development, Web Design, Product UI and Print Communication.

hugeinc.com

HUGE is another top notch agency that I’ve followed for several years. Their bold, simple, innovative approach to web design and execution inspires me quite a bit. They continue to put out great work and has done work on many types of sites such as ivilliage.com, nutrisystem.com and ikea.com.