Archive for 2012

Most Appreciated Projects on Behance

Appreciations are a way to send genuine kudos to another creative professional on Behance. This is our community’s way of curating the network, so that the best projects gain the most exposure. Here’s a look at two of the most appreciated projects on Behance this week:


Nike + Training is an interactive mobile app that lets you track how high you jump, how fast you run and how intense your workout is, what more could you ask for? Check out the full project here.


 Maria Corte Maidagan compiled some illustrations she created for publications like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal into one project. See the full body of editorial works here.

Workspace Wednesday: Halloween Hurricane edition

The Behance team was very fortunate to make it through Hurricane Sandy safe and sound last week. However, power outages and floods kept us from commuting to our beloved Soho office, leaving us to work from wherever wifi could be had, mostly our couches and coworkers’ homes.

For this special Workspace Wednesday, we’ve got a roundup of our team’s workspaces from last Wednesday, which also happened to be Halloween!

 

Photo Report: Thousands Gather at Behance Portfolio Review Week!

Portfolio Review Week is still going on around the world – here’s another photo report from a few more locations! Check out our Pinterest page for updates as well: Portfolio Review Week Collection

Dublin, Ireland (hosted by Lukasz Kulakowski)

Timisoara, Romania (hosted by Sorin Bechira)

 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (hosted by Ramy S Maki)

Read more →

An Ode to Creative Work

Creative work is a labor of love.

All too often, we celebrate creation and overlook the difficult and emotional labor behind the scenes. Anyone who creates for a living knows all too well the doubts and barriers – both within us and around us – that challenge us every day. From the very beginning, our team at Behance has sought to discuss and support the “work” part of the creative world – the “99% perspiration” – that goes into making ideas happen.

Today, I’m pleased to share a short film – an ode to creative work. In recent months, our team embarked on a side project to film an eclectic group of creative minds at work. From the Behance community, we asked some folks we admired (interactive designers, art directors, graphic designers, fine artists, and others) to allow us to film them over the course of a day – the ups and downs and everything in-between.

We all share common struggles, yet collectively, we have more opportunity than ever before to make an impact in what matters most to each us. It is this hope and vision, grounded by the reality of the hardship of creative work, that motivates our team to build 99U and Behance.

An Ode To Creative Work

Behind every great advancement, in every industry, there is a creative mind.
Creativity may come easy, but creation is hard.The late nights spent trying, and failing, and trying again.

All the while, holding onto our vision. Pushing what we see in our mind’s eye into the world.

But our potential is being held captive by forces around us and within us.
Middle men who play us down while marking us up.Not giving us credit. Getting us to work for free.

And worse, we get in the way of our own success.We rely on chance encounters. We’re disorganized and isolated, liable to go unnoticed.
We can do better.

When creative minds come together, the sum exceeds all expectations.We connect, we learn, we critique, we prosper.

It’s not about money or fame, it’s about doing what we love.It’s about creating our greatest work on our own terms.It’s about realizing that creativity is not just an opportunity – it’s a responsibility.

Here’s to unleashing our full potential. For us, and for the world that awaits what we will do next; Take creative control.

Most Appreciated Projects on Behance

Appreciations are a way to send genuine kudos to another creative professional on Behance. This is our community’s way of curating the network, so that the best projects gain the most exposure. Here’s a look at two of the most appreciated projects on Behance this week:


Ukrainian illustrator Andrey Koval takes us on a visual journey through the history of aliens (and their costumes!) in her recent project. Meet the full cast of extraterrestrial characters here.


Combining typography with automotive design, Chris LaBrooy‘s recent personal project has Behance members talking. See a few more detailed shots here.

Behance Team Holding Strong Amidst Hurricane Sandy

A quick note from Scott Belsky, Behance’s Co-Founder, on Behance’s status this week.

It has been a wild week for all of us, but everyone on the Behance team is safe and sound. At this point, our thoughts are with those people and families that have lost lives, their homes or were otherwise impacted by the storm.

All of Soho lost power – and many of our homes are still without electricity or internet, but the team stayed coordinated to take care of each other, keep Behance up and running, and continue to serve our members.

As I look back over the years we have worked together as a team, it’s clear that adversity always makes us stronger. Server mishaps, broken elevators, missed planes, minor earthquakes, and yes – even hurricanes – bring us together. We become better communicators, more tolerant, and we learn how to prepare for next time. It’s easy when it’s all smooth sailing. But when something goes wrong, the greatest teams rise to the occasion…and really stand out.

I want to express gratitude to team Behance for their patience and commitment this week. Makes me especially proud to be on this journey with all of you.

Behance members: Our community management team is accessible and doing their best to respond to your questions. If you are having trouble getting ahold of us, please email energy -at- behance -dot- com.

Thanks and be well!
scott

Portfolio Review Week Begins! Events around the globe…

This week, Portfolio Review Week kicked off around the world! With almost 200 events scheduled wordwide, we’re seeing news from this inspiring gatherings to share work & get feedback buzzing all over the internet. Despite Hurricane Sandy, which has caused postponement of East Coast events, the communities in the rest of the world are thriving. Here’s some early news from these events:

Budapest, Hungary:

 

Rome, Italy:

Kyiv, Ukraine:

Hamburg, Germany

Read more →

Most Appreciated Projects on Behance

Appreciations are a way to send genuine kudos to another creative professional on Behance. This is our community’s way of curating the network, so that the best projects gain the most exposure. Here’s a look at two of the most appreciated projects on Behance this week:

No Entry Design is a Brooklyn-based, multi-disciplinary designer with specialty in hand-painted signs and custom murals. A recent project involved both with a facelift to a local cafe’s facade. Check out the custom mural and hand-painted signage here.

The “Weird Beauty” project is a collaboration between photographer Alexander Khokhlov and makeup artist Valeriya Kutsan. This series, one that Khokhlov refers to as an “experiment,” sets out to prove that simple shapes and forms, characters and familiar patterns can be part of beauty. Check out the full project here.

Meet the team: Sean Blanda

Who are you and what do you do at Behance?
 I’m Sean, the Associate Editor and Producer of 99U.Basically: I handle all the day-to-day work of running a blog with an audience of a million creatives. Stuff like finding guest writers, editing posts, writing posts, determining article topics/themes and brainstorming long-term growth strategy with EIC Jocelyn Glei. We hope to provide our readers with all of the stuff they need to execute on ideas. I’m constantly testing and tweaking to discover what resonates with our readership. Additionally, I play a role in helping to organize the 99U conference and a few other super-secret events we have up our sleeve.

What are three desktop tools you can’t live without?

1) Evernote – I’m a new convert to the church of Evernote but I use it, without exaggeration, every 10 minutes. For someone like me with a terrible memory, it’s a life saver.
2) Spotify – If it weren’t for Spotify I’d be listening to the same four Black Keys albums. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
3) Twitter - It’s how I reach out to writers, promote our work, get exposed to new ideas, and complain about the Philadelphia Eagles.

What have you worked on recently that you’re extra proud of?
I’m only 6 weeks on the job, but I’m proud that we’ve had the highest trafficked day in 2012 this month. I’m also proud to see the comments and tweets from readers who use the content to make their lives better. The best is yet to come.

What are some startups that you’re a fan of?
In a past life, I covered startups and venture capital so I’m a big fan of ambitious businesses that affect the general population and not just other tech-savvy startup people. My favorite of the moment are Uber (car service), Frank and Oak (men’s clothes), Lore (education), Circa (journalism), and Duck Duck Go (search). Also: anything Elon Muskis involved with. America needs more ambitious startups.

Name something you’ve learned since joining the Behance team that you weren’t expecting:
“Attention to detail” is usually some throwaway phrase on job descriptions. But here, I’m learning from the care that everyone takes in their day-to-day. I’ve seen (and taken part in) discussions about tiny details like the kerning on a site’s footer or the perfect copy to use in an article teaser. Whether it’s the new project editor on Behance, a partnership with a sponsor, an article on 99U, or some print collateral – everything is well considered, well designed and well executed. And that’s just been in the six weeks since I’ve started. I’m excited to see what happens next.

You can find Sean on twitter: @SeanBlanda.