Thoughts From The Outside Looking In
I’m not on Dribbble, and I definitely shouldn’t be—I’m not a designer, and I have no talent for design—yet I still want in because its an intriguing and fantastic sounding service. Obviously, I don’t expect to be offered an invite, and to be honest, if I got one, I might give it away to someone else who would put it to good use. I do, however, have some thoughts on it.
I read a very interesting post tonight by Darren Hoyt about how opening up Dribbble would lead to the inevitable degradation of the service. Random users would be signing up just to sign up, and others would be posting a lot of crap in the hopes of having someone “famous” take a look at their work. I can completely understand and empathise with the point Darren is making. I even agree that perhaps it should be kept private to protect the integrity of the service.
What I would personally like to see, if only to try to satisfy my insatiable curiosity for looking at beautiful design, is viewing opened up a little bit more. One of the commenters took the basketball analogy that Dribbble is known for and applied it exactly to my frustration at not being involved—I can’t watch “the game”. In a second comment he went on to suggest the introduction of a “Developmental League” similar to what the NBA apparently has (I have no idea, basketball is about as interesting as synchronised swimming and ice dancing in my opinion), where anybody can join, but you have to be “drafted into the big leagues”.
I like the idea that this guy had, and it certainly solves some of my frustrations with it, as I would be able to see whats going on in the “big leagues,” but I can’t help but feel that perhaps that won’t solve the problem Darren writes about. I thought about it for about 20 seconds and came up with my own idea’s.
Essentially, what I’d like to see is the site be opened into 4 levels of visibility, in the following order:
- Open viewing—Allow anyone and everyone to see whats put up there. This may not be a realistic possibility, but I personally think its better than keeping everything behind closed walls
- Allow me to sign up for a “Couch Potato” or “Supporter” (or some other such name) account—I can view it all, and even favourite things, but I still can’t comment on anything, or upload anything.
- Enter the “Development League”—I can join up, or be invited, and be able to post images, and leave comments in the development league, and favourite anything that has been uploaded.
- Join the “Big Leagues”—After I’ve been a member of the “Development League” for long enough, preferably a predetermined minimum amount of time, and I have done enough impressive work that I get to join in with the big boys. Also now give me the option of filtering the content I see, depending on the current set up of it.
I don’t know if any of this would help or hinder what Dan and Rich are trying to do with Dribbble, its just my two cents worth. What are your thoughts?
1 Comment
Eric
I love the idea. 4 levels is a brilliant concept. Level 1 would be like a casual viewer like someone who only watches basketball during the playoffs.
Level 2 would be like a fan who can watch but of course not participate in the game. Level 3 would be like a D-Leaguer who works on his game until he’s good enough to get drafted into the pros. Level 4 is of course only for the pros.
The only problem with this format is the workload. Who determines who gets drafted to the pros. You would need to have some type of committee to monitor D-League Designers and draft new designers who qualify for the pros. If D-Leaguer’s start to number into the thousands then that becomes a lot of work. I think designers should have to submit a decent looking portfolio to even qualify for the D-League. Not allowing just anyone to sign up for the D-League could control the saturation.
Dribbble can have a draft day once a year just like the NBA. They can limit how many designers will be drafted. The NBA only drafts about 57 -60 players a year. Dribbble should also keep the number small and only draft the very best designers. Some designers will be pissed if they don’t get drafted but tough luck. Many guys want to play in the NBA but never make it.
I like dribbble but I was a little disappointed when I found out it was for members only. I do understand why it must be this way. However I think it should eventually change for the greater good of design. One thing I’ve noticed about designers is most of them seem to hoard their design knowledge and techniques. Developers and programmers seem to be a little more charitable and less secretive about coding and helping less knowledgeable developers.
If Dribbble can figure out a way to keep the quality of their uploads top notch while at the same time not excluding aspiring designers who need direction and critiquing then just think of how much good can be done for the design community in general. Think of how many design students could benefit from dribbble. I hope dribbble can become much more than what it is now but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.