How to get the most out of the Dribbble platform is what I will be writing in this post. Before we begin I must say, I’ve heard about dribbble back in 2013 when I was first starting as a designer. It would be then that I would see lots and lots of cool stuff such as UI kits, icons, mockups and great web pages.
I’ve only started uploading in 2015, 1 year before I went freelance and had a basic account where I would occasionally post a shot of a website interface or logo I just finished.
It was in September 2017 when I started to be more active there and bought a PRO subscription, after discussing with a designer friend of mine who mentioned he is constantly posting there 2-3 days a week and has made out of this a routine that he follows strictly.
3 years later, I’ve been highly active on this platform and would like to share what dribbble has taught me, what works and what doesn’t and more importantly is how to get clients and get known.
In the last years Dribbble has made a lot of updates that only added to it’s value as a platform. 3 years ago you could post 800 x 600 images and attachments, now you can post twice the size of that and multiple images into one shot. Impressive right? But wait there’s more! Possibillity to add videos, cover image, find designers and hire them.
In order to start with Dribbble I recommend setting a new basic account and studying it’s features. You will feel the need to purchase a PRO subscription as the perks of having one make the dribbble experience the best. Once you do that follow these simple rules for posting:
Have you ever met a person that pretends to be good at everything? But deep down is mediocre because he lacks concentration skills. If you want to be perceived as an expert you have to be good in a specific field and strive to do your best at it. I see a lot of feeds where people post a lot of stuff and this only leads to visual clutter. You want to show people you are good at something and you want to do it with consistency. People are more likely to hire you and reach out if they see a pattern of great works within your feed. If you do 3D, post only that, along with 3D animations for example. If done correctly over a period of time you will notice an increase following wise and not only, there are lots of platforms that are in search on Dribbble for great work to promote it on blogs that have lots of views. This leads to exposure and attracts people and clients.
When it comes to presenting your work, the way you do it usually determines a shot’s overall success. There is no secret formula or magic trick that ensures it’s going to be popular, but there are ways you can attract people visually.
I can only speak for logo and identity design as that is what I post mostly on Dribbble, so in order to ensure you capture attention you want to look at the most popular shots in that category and then try to apply it into your context.
I noticed that people tend to like images where grids are included as that gives a behind the scenes look and you show how the logo was constructed.
Showing your process is also a great way to engage with your audience, when working on a logo make sure to duplicate the latest version before you make any changes, when done with it you will notice lots of iterations which will tell viewers how you got from the initial option to the final approved one.
Include sketches of your ideas prior to jumping into the digitizing phase so people can see the initial thinking in form of drawings even if it’s rough ones.
Make sure you use proper and relevant tags that are popular within your category and that contain keywords that have to do with the logo you posted.
PRO Tip: Here is a page that contains the most popular tags used on Dribbble include them next time you post something.
Include info within the description field, where you describe the thought process behind your logo and why you made the certain decision. Give people some context so they can more easily relate to your work.
I.e. Exploration phase for the logo design of an IT company who handles middleware and software development as well as integration for large companies,
The idea here was to create a symbol that would translate the idea of middleware or something that stands in between two processes,
The last option is unused and from a recent project of mine — Meego which is a product of this company,
Feedback is more than welcome, have you seen something similar?
Thanks a lot.
PRO Tip: Since Dribbble is a platform where you can upload work in progress also, you always want to ask for feedback (if you need it of course) from your followers. This makes the engagement process much smoother, and people see that you actually care about their opinion, and don’t just post work there for the sake of validating it.
Followers don’t come easy, you have to earn them. One of the things that attracts people is seeing consistency within your feed, whether it’s style wise or because you are really good at something and you post only that.
However posting only works will not get you very far, you need to be active and engage with people so that you can create relationships that can help you grow as a designer and not only.
You need to like other people’s work and comment their shots where you express your feedback in a nice and constructive manner. Other ways of engaging is saving shots to specific buckets for later inspiration. One way that I used to practice and still do is heading over to the New & Noteworthy page and be active there, if you see that someone is New to Dribbble and has posted a “Hello dribbble” shot, be nice and welcome them to this platform, chances are they will more likely follow you or engage, if they find your content relatable to them.
This is the first thing people see when viewing your Dribbble page. Make sure to:
— Have an avatar, wether it’s your company / personal logo or a professional photo. You always want to have a symbol / photo that stands near your name.
— Dribbble now allows adding a Headline bellow your name, so make the most out of it. Keep it short while thinking of something catchy.
— On the left of the Headline there is room to upload a Cover image. Use it by showcasing something great, like a logo collection, a Freebie, something that lets people know right of the bat what do you do.
PRO Tip: If you hover on the color near the cover image you can change the accent color by introducing a HEX code there.
√ Focus on one or two things
√ Present your work in a consistent manner
√ Give people a behind the scenes look
√ Use proper tags
√ Include relevant and contextual project description
√ Ask for feedback
√ Build a following by engaging with people
√ Make your profile captivating
Hope this has been helpful, if you want to help me and support what I do, a share and shoutout is appreciated.
Thank you,
Mihai.
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