40 Beautifully Designed Search Boxes to Inspire you

The search box can be one of the most frequently used elements of a site and an element many users will be looking for. Therefore it has to be easy to spot and easy to use. Search boxes seem to be the "red-headed step child" of the web design world… typically it is placed in a corner, only there because it has to be and with little or no time and energy spent on its appearance. This is surprising given the importance of the search boxes role in the website visitor experience.
Why does that little box have to be so boring and non styled on so many sites? Could a search box be beautiful while still keeping its utility intact? Can it seamlessly integrate into a site design without losing the attention of people that are looking for it? I say no! Here are some examples of search boxes that push the envelope. All are beautiful, some function better than others, but they all have one underlying principle:  they have all been given care and attention. It is little details like this that make the difference between a good design and a great one.

1. Cellar heat

2. Register.com

3. Think Vitamin

4. Spokeo

5. Basmati Tree

6. I Love Code

7. Gamers With Jobs

8. Disassociated

9. MenuPages

10. Visual Thesaurus

11. Trondel

12. The Jazz Mann

13. Deborah Cavenugh

14. Lifepod

15. I Love Typography

16. Spoongraphics Blog.

17. Shopzilla

18. Zadby

19. Carbonica

20. Dont Trust This Guy

21. Family

22. The Black Harbor

23. Lulu

24. The Designed Tree

25. Money Crashers

26. Exteel

27. MothersClick

28. Game Daily

29. Creative Curio

30. Martha Stewart

31. Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation

32. Barnes & Noble

33. icontact

34. Jobster

35. Molehill

36. Justin Shattuck

37. Cybers Music

38. CSS Vault

39. Wufoo

40. Massively

What is a good looking search box in your taste? Please leave a comment and let us know what you think and if you know a great design we all should check out!