Dribbble! That's correct. 3 "b"s.

If you're a web based designer, you'll no doubt have heard of Dribbble. And if you are pretty good at what you do, you'll probably have been drafted in and, therefore, have an account.

I'm possibly a little late to the party in terms of blogging about Dribbble, but I was lucky enough to be drafted in pretty early, when the site was a closed garden to invited members only. I've also not blogged about until now because I really wanted to give it some air miles. And I'm also a bit of a lazy blogger :) Anyway, here is my account: http://dribbble.com/players/kevadamson. Have a look around yo.

Dribbble? WTF?

OK. So you for those who may not have heard of it, here's a quick summary:

"Dribbble is show and tell for designers, developers and other creatives. Share sneak peeks of your work as 'shots' - small screenshots of the designs and applications you're working on."

You can find out more here: http://dribbble.com/site/about

You already have a portfolio on your site, so why bother?

My portfolio on this site is made up of completed pieces of work, and are chosen and ordered mainly for potential clients to view. So they have a different purpose to work and examples I add to Dribbble.

The beauty of my Dribbble examples are that:

• The audience are fellow designers and illustrators, so I can get decent feedback and reaction quickly on either "work in progress" or "completed" work
• Screen shots are a lot quicker to prepare and upload, compared to when I am preparing images for my portfolio
• I can show teaser images on upcoming projects, and also rebound my designs to document progress

It's almost like a visual diary of work, which I love. I also enjoying being able to "collect" inspirational examples of other members work, via the like button.

A response to the inevitable critcism

Predictably, because the site is invite only, many have be quick to be negative about Dribbble, claiming it is merely a site for back-slapping between already established designers and illustrators. Does that sort of thing go on? I don't know. Perhaps.

What I will say is that the top designers and illustrators in the industry are in that position for a reason: they are very good and what they do, they know how to present and market themselves, and they know what they are talking about. Simple as.

Bitter that your work isn't getting any exposure? Frustrated that you haven't been drafted into Dribbble? Work hard on improving your portfolio and how you present yourself, and if you have talent, you will get the exposure and respect you deserve. Put your energy into positive action, and not into being bitter and complaining.

Mouth watering extras?

As good as I believe Dribbble to be, I do have a couple ideas of perhaps improving and tweaking things a little:

• A Random tab / feature? I believe it would be a good way of finding new examples of inspiration - so 'recently added' and 'older shots' can come up in the same result
• A different approach to "liking" examples? There are many examples that I think are successful and would wish to give kudos to the designer, but it may not necessarily be an example I would wish to add to my "like list". Sometimes good design is not necessarily something that you "like", if that makes sense. Perhaps a "+1" button, and then also the "add to like-list" button.

Let's wipe things up

So yeah. I really love Dribbble. It's useful. It's simple. It's very well thought out and designed.

If you're a decent designer / illustrator and would like to join the party, please do not post your portfolio details in the comments here, but feel free to contact me with them. Not promising anything, but I'd be more than happy to draft in some new talent.

What are your thoughts? Are you also a fan, or do you think Dribbble is Drabbble?