Take Back Creative Control: Introducing the New Behance

by Scott Belsky

 

There are magic moments in every team's history, and this week we're having one. Our team is proud to announce the brand-spanking-new version of the Behance Network, the platform to showcase and discover creative work.

Since we launched Behance almost six years ago, we have been striving to create a product that puts creative control back in the hands of the people who deserve it: the creatives themselves. And our team is thrilled and humbled by the knowledge that millions of visitors, enthusiasts, and creative professionals from across industries - and around the world - now use Behance every day to connect and showcase their creations.

 

With the new version, we are catapulting the core functionality to a whole new level.

 We've completely redesigned key Behance features - gallery browsing, activity feeds, member profiles, curated galleries, and the follower experience -  to provide a level of discovery, efficiency, and transparency that the creative world has never seen.

 

Since this website, The 99%, is all about the quest - and the journey - of making ideas happen, I wanted to share some details on the new functionality of Behance, as well as the vision for the creative world that's behind it:

1. With our powerful new Explore tab, you can sort the world's creative work by field, location, tools, and more.

Curious about photography trends in Berlin? What work is coming out of the Rhode Island School of Design? Who's using a certain digital camera or type of software to produce incredible work? Our beefed up new Explore functionality allows you to browse the world's creative work with incredible detail according to your tastes, preferences, and interests.

 

2. Our refreshed Activity Feed provides a rich, visual dashboard for tracking the creative work of people you care about.

We've transformed the Activity Feed into a dynamic visual stream of real-time information about the creative work of the people and teams you follow. You can see appreciation and comment trends in a glimpse, view the latest projects your peers have uploaded to Behance, and track your own portfolio statistics.


 

 

 

3. Browse curated galleries from dozens of top schools and creative organizations, as well as work for sale and member collections.

The ability to browse work collected by trusted curators is front and center on the new Behance. You can sift through galleries curated by leading creative organizations like Adweek, AIGA, and The Creator's Project, as well as top schools like SVA and RISD. In addition, collections curated by Behance members themselves are also much more prominent and accessible.



 

4. Redesigned portfolio pages and project views bring a new level of transparency and attribution to creative work.

With our updated profile pages, we're showing more of your work on every single page, indicating where and when your work has been featured, and allowing you to integrate all of your social media profiles. Project pages, meanwhile, display all of the owner's information above the fold, with new details on location, tags, tools used, and more. Now, wherever and whenever someone discovers your work, they'll know it's yours and how to get in touch.



 

5. An entirely new experience for Followers with profile pages and curated collections.

An enriched experience and profile page now gives Followers on Behance (those who track and hire, but don't publish projects) a new level of prominence and curatorial power. Followers can create and share collections of creative work publicly as well as track trends in the creative world - and with those they're following - via a newly integrated Activity Feed.

 

 

***

 

A new era is upon us. For the first time, we can properly recognize the talent behind everything we see. Through the power of social networks, data-mining tools, and platforms that can power thousands of websites, we can gain insight into the creative world at work, across all disciplines. Creative careers will prosper with more efficiency and the stream of opportunity that comes from more exposure with proper attribution. And finally, the friction that makes it difficult to lead your own career and work on your own terms is gradually diminishing.

Suffice to say, we are well on our way, but still in the early innings of Behance. With our roadmap ahead, we want to prompt an era of transparency and attribution that empowers creative careers. We want to build a platform that fosters life-changing collaborations. Ultimately, we want to promote creative meritocracy and make more great ideas happen.

A Ton Of Gratitude

Behance would be nothing (literally) without our incredible internal team - now 28 people strong - our community of members and friends who share feedback and make us better, our partners and collaborators who keep us up and running, our industry peers who keep us on our toes, and the creative community at large. We've been most driven over the years by the community we serve and, specifically, the testimonials we receive from members. Your encouragement has kept us focused and helped us overcome many obstacles along the way. We are deeply grateful, indebted, and we hope to make a Behance that makes your lives better.

Explore The New Behance

    •    Use the new Explore tab to sort the creative world's work.
    •    Browse the curated Behance Galleries.
    •    Members: Login to see what your creative network is up to in real-time
    •    Not yet on Behance? Sign up now as a Follower or a Creative

 

Scott Belsky is the CEO of Behance and author of the national bestselling book Making Ideas Happen. You can follow him @scottbelsky.

 

SOURCE: www.the99percent.com