Dribbble is Not a Platform for Critique
andymangold.com
andymangold.com
A big reason why I disagree with this sentiment so much is because it has become less a place where you post your progress and methods and more a place to hype your startup, post your better idea of an app or site or just plain steal a style from another designer. There's very little "process" and a lot of sleek, shiny finished concepts. A lot of early-adopters, regardless of their talent, have thousands upon thousands of followers that keep their posts above everyone else's in the Popularity algorithm. A lot of these posts could really use improvements, but instead you see comment upon comment praising the designer.
I think this is a huge flaw because we're giving credit where credit might not necessarily be due. We're stroking egos and supporting bad UI and UX because posting a comment on a popular user's page means more click-throughs to ours. This is a flaw in the community and I strongly believe more emphasis on critique would help bridge the gaps we see in poor design, UX and help people feel more at ease about not only giving criticism but receiving it.
> If Dribbble really cared about fostering a community of critical feedback and conversation..
If Dribbble really cared about a lot of things, the site wouldn't look and work the way that it does. It's still very much in its infancy and no where near as convenient to designers or scouts as it could be. There are a thousand ideas I have for improving the usability and getting people more involved, but by how often they update and by what they're choosing to focus on updating, it seems as if they think they've got a pretty solid product. This is pretty much to say that I'm waiting for another service to come around and blow it out of the water since, as a site dedicated to showcasing designers and designs, I think it does a pretty terrible job at it.
>it has become less a place where you post your progress and methods and more a place to hype your startup, post your better idea of an app or site or just plain steal a style from another designer. There's very little "process" and a lot of sleek, shiny finished concepts.
Agreed. The purpose of my post was to point out that THIS is what Dribbble has become, and it's not because the community has dropped the ball as much as it's because the design of the site doesn't encourage more thoughtful, critical interactions.
>If Dribbble really cared about a lot of things, the site wouldn't look and work the way that it does.
This is precisely my point. Dribbble has chosen to not focus on nurturing criticism and feedback, therefore Dribbble is not a platform for critique.
Our observations of what it is right now might be aligned, but I think we differ somewhere when it comes to their knowing what the site is and isn't. Initially it was sold as a place for top tier designers to show everyone how they end up at the final products we enjoy. Now it has become an oversaturated community of subpar rip-offs and forced digital handjobs, and less a place for real conversation and forked inspiration.
When Dribbble initially launched, I was hesitant about the service because it seemed less like a who's who of visuals and more like a rush to get you and all of your buddies in, regardless of qualifications. My Lookwork feed followed the Recents and not the Popular, so my observations were that it was not all that it was cracked up to be and I actually took it upon myself to post the Graphic Design 101-esque shots I'd see fly across my screen in a thread for receiving invites on a forum I was on.
If we continue to treat Dribbble as a place for people of all levels of competency and don't encourage feedback, it won't be as enticing for recruiters or startups to find the designer they want because it will just become yet another pool you have to wade through like Coroflot, Behance, et al. The invite-only aspect of the site makes it seem, to outsiders, that the qualifications of those on the site are greater than those not on the site, which is a huge selling point for both the users and the recruiters. Diluting the community with mediocrity that we all just kind of "deal with" takes that away.
Additionally, I think the ability for a potential employer to see how/when a user gives feedback is important as well. They don't just want your eyes, but your mind as well.
My last point was merely stating that I don't think that Dribbble has evolved much from launch because it doesn't seem like that aspect of the project is a priority of its developers as much as finding ways to get the community rallied together for [dorky] contests. Even outside of new ideas, the UI/UX of the site fails to complement what it is right now, no less what it was meant to be or what it could become. The recent change in removing the Incoming Activity from the sidebar into a nav element you have to hover over every time to view is a perfect example of this. They don't seem to understand how users use their site and I don't think we can just interpret this as "Well, Dribbble is what it is and that's exactly the way it is supposed to be."
Let me know your thoughts.