An aspirant in the field of web design cannot disregard the importance of an art community such as deviantART. It is the largest online community for artists and art-enthusiasts. And you cannot miss the opportunity to be a part of it.
But with the increasing number of members, it can be a really confusing place.
Thank God, deviantART is not your only choice.
You have a bunch of other options to choose from. Let’s take a look at some few online communities for designers those are new on the block. These communities include Behance, DesignMoo, Forrst, Dribble, etc
Behance
An online community for the professionals in the field, this is the place to be if you are serious about getting some work done. What makes it great? Well, for starters, the site is pretty well-organized with every work categorized into groups.
You can create circles based on interests, level of professionalism or projects. You can create a steady portfolio system on the active job board. And once you start sharing your knowledge and experience, you can get feedback from professionals in your field.
The only trouble is that the community has some pretty strict rules for members. And you had better be serious about your work, because the standards are quite high. It’s true that the famous names can be a little intimidating.
Designmoo
If your wish is to be part of a community that lets you get your work done and get feedback on it too, this is the place to be. And your work can get a ‘like’ and a comment. And the marketplace lets you sell your work too.
With its trove of freebies such as icons, fonts, brushes and so on, and in diverse categories, it can be of great help. Another popular option is the ‘Sponsored Freebies’. It lets you get a view of peak traffic on a page marked with the logo of a company.
Dribble
It’s one place where quality remains high. And all credit goes to the invite only system. It’s for this reason that designers feel proud to be included. With categories such as Web Design, Typography, UI Design, Script, it is one place you’ll love to be.
The concept of shots and rebounds is pretty cool too. With shots, you get to showcase your work. And with rebound, you reply to others’ shots. You can also provide a sneak peek into the works associated to a theme with a rebound.
Forrst
This one is as much for the web developers as it is for the designers. It’s another invite only community, but you can also login if you have the membership of GitHub. But the quality of the work remains high due to this restriction on entrance.
Categories include icons, web interface, software and user interface and you can share questions, code, snaps and links. The topics and tutorials focusing on design in the podcast are quite amazing too. And you can download them on iTunes.
The job board is pretty active. Another great feature is the strict step the community takes to keep a check on the content posted. It flags any offensive post to ensure that the members don’t come across anything dirty or irrelevant.
Designshack
An intuitive and user-friendly website makes this community a delight for every designer. You can submit your work in the three categories – web design, branding and logos and interface design.
You can get feedback from members and get access to related news and stories. You also get the WordPress theme ‘Marketed’ at no cost. And you can also get your work noticed with a promotional article prepared for a fixed sum.
Typophile
A place to be for all typography enthusiasts, this is the network where you can discuss everything related to fonts and typefaces, tips and tricks, software to tackle the elements and so on.
With numerous creative pieces within categories such as Typography/Composition, Bitmap Display/Script and so on, it is one community you will love to be in. You can meet your peers and gather experience but you may face some criticism too.
Patterntap
Another focused community where members are more into UI design and patterns; but that isn’t all. It is a dynamic classroom where you can learn all about what works on the web and the reasons behind this.
With diverse categories such as texture, typography, subtitle, sidebars, color scheme and so on, it is one place where you can find your way to improve your understanding of design. And you can get some inspiration from your peers too.
The signup is pretty simple with Twitter. And with it, you can easily become a participant of the network of designers. And don’t think you can’t contribute in any way. Once you signup, you can comment on other’s works too.
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