36 comments

  • Robert BulloughRobert Bullough, over 4 years ago

    Great initiative so firstly, bravo!

    One (hopefully constructive) piece of UX feedback: This is a design showcase right? You want to elevate black talent in the design industry. Awesome! Yet, the main image on each card is a profile pic which kinda follows the model more suited to either a social site or a dating platform. You might want to consider if someone's face is really the best poster for their skills.

    Thanks

    12 points
  • Mike AbbotMike Abbot, over 4 years ago

    I think you're diving people even more with this initiative. I think they are dumb and makes the racial problem even bigger. We all bleed the same, effin red blood and we should stick together for a better future, by not being put into boxes based on our heritage, race or whatever. Design wise - is ok, but I agree maybe make the pictures smaller and make their skills more prominent.

    9 points
    • Yasen DimovYasen Dimov, over 4 years ago

      I blame Pablo Stanley and his https://www.latinxswhodesign.com/...

      -5 points
    • Jrtorrents Dorman , over 4 years ago

      Let me guess, your probably white? You probably haven’t faced the daily challenges that being black comes with.

      I once went for a job interview and the first comment the guy made was .. “oh I didn’t know you were black, you’re the first black designer I’ve ever come across”.

      Let’s stop pretending racial boundaries and prejudices don’t exist. I think it’s a great thing that black designers are sticking together. Having and knowing there is someone with the same background as you, doing the same thing as you’re doing can help a lot.

      This is something that you might take for granted if you’re white.

      30 points
      • Mike AbbotMike Abbot, over 4 years ago

        I get it, just saying that it's a wrong way to fix a huge problem.

        -3 points
        • Jrtorrents Dorman , over 4 years ago

          I’m curious to hear your solution.

          10 points
          • Mike AbbotMike Abbot, over 4 years ago

            Well for starters, by creating a page where you pick the designers based on their skills/location, not the color of their skin?

            -5 points
            • Jrtorrents Dorman , over 4 years ago

              That's a good solution for another problem (doesn't Dribbble do this already?)

              Say you're a black designer (could be any minority for that matter) and you've experience racism/ or racial prejudiced at work, wouldn't you feel better discussing it with other black designers who might have experienced the same thing?

              6 points
        • Todd BenningsTodd Bennings, over 4 years ago

          Who said anyone was attempting to 'fix' anything? Acknowledging each other, supporting one another and connecting with each other should never be a problem - maybe it is for you. I just don't understand why white people get up in arms when they can't stake a claim on something when you walk this earth as you wish - all the while not being a target, not being labeled 'other' and with a load a privileges that allow you to offer trash commentary when all anyone did was create a space for the 'others'.

          14 points
          • Mike AbbotMike Abbot, over 4 years ago

            Yes, the idea is noble, of course, just think that this sorts of initiatives divide us even further.

            -2 points
            • Adam Fisher-CoxAdam Fisher-Cox, over 4 years ago

              It's always fascinating to me when I hear other white men (because let's be honest, that's always who it is) talking about celebrations of race as "divisive." Exactly what is it dividing? What does anyone lose by one group of people being celebrated? This site isn't called "BlacksWhoDesignBetterBecauseOfTheirSkinColor." It's not attributing any superior value, nor saying anything about anyone else. Don't jump so fast to defend against something that isn't an attack.

              6 points
              • Mike AbbotMike Abbot, over 4 years ago

                Look, I'm sorry if my comment bothered you. It wasn't my intention. All I wanted to say is that the world doesn't need any more diversification at this point, cause we are all the same. That's all.

                -2 points
                • Kemie GuaidaKemie Guaida, over 4 years ago

                  except we're not. because some of us are still discriminated against and treated differently.

                  4 points
                • Adam Fisher-CoxAdam Fisher-Cox, over 4 years ago

                  It's not a matter of personal offense. I'm a white guy too, this doesn't directly bother me, it's just obviously a perspective that has not bothered to take into account other people's experiences for even one second. Listen when people are telling you that how you perceive them is not how they perceive themselves. It's a valuable skill for design, and even more important for life.

                  2 points
      • Ryan Hicks, over 4 years ago

        Let’s stop pretending racial boundaries and prejudices don’t exist. I think it’s a great thing that black designers are sticking together.

        Yes, let's stop. Also, stop dividing it even further by putting everyone in a bucket as these sites do.

        5 points
        • Adam Fisher-CoxAdam Fisher-Cox, over 4 years ago

          Can you explain how you feel a site celebrating black designers hurts anyone or divides us as a profession?

          (Loving the downvotes but would love actual engagement on this issue even more!)

          0 points
      • Ryan Hicks, over 4 years ago

        you're*

        -4 points
      • Marcus Knight, over 4 years ago

        Did you get the job?

        0 points
  • Joey Prijs, over 4 years ago

    Wait.. you can nominate people to be on this list? That's a bit scary.. Do you approach people before you add them (guessing most people don't want to be associated with a site that literally puts people in a box)?

    Edit: Just saw it's opt-out... That's crazy (and most likely illegal in Europe...).

    Also, are these sites designed by the same person or are the people who make these sites just lazy?

    Edit: I like the idea and shared it with some friends, just commenting on the execution.

    6 points
    • Chad Thornton, over 4 years ago

      Curious why you would think embracing consistency = laziness. If a designer establishes useful patterns, why not re-use those?

      2 points
  • Planet Lucid, over 4 years ago

    I came here to read some triggered comments by butt-hurt hypocrites and some of you did not disappoint.

    thanks for the entertainment.

    if you're in the majority and want to stop the 'divide' you can not only hire black designers but also put us in actual positions of power - and stop talking over us - rather than patting yourself on the back so you can feel like you're being 'inclusive'.

    4 points
  • Robert BulloughRobert Bullough, over 4 years ago

    Comment #2 (since i can't seem to reply my own comment)

    Having just done a little browsing through your site and clicking through to some of the links, I must admit- putting a face to the work really personalises it (far more so than it would with a grab of some gfx). So whilst I don't totally rescind my previous feedback there's something rather lovely about connecting a real human to the work :)

    4 points
    • Wes O'Haire, over 4 years ago

      Yeah good feedback. The goal was to first highlight the people (so that we could "see ourselves" in the design community. Almost every designer links to their portfolio in their bio :P Also, Twitter's API is much more sustainable/scalable to work with

      4 points
  • Rhys MerrittRhys Merritt, over 4 years ago

    I think this is a very interesting topic, and judging by a few of the comments, an important discussion to have.

    I feel like society is going through big transitions at the minute when you look at it on a certain timescale, like decades. We are going through a difficult time trying to figure out how we can create a much more inclusive world, and it is important to be able to try things out, and discover what works and doesn't work.

    I don't know if this approach creates a bigger divide by re enforcing the idea of putting people into 'categories' instead of focusing on changing collective mindset to be more open and inclusive, or if it genuinely works by bringing focused to an under-represented group who have dealt with prejudice in the industry. I haven't witnessed this kind of prejudice myself (knowingly) - but I'm sure it happens more than we would like to think. So whatever the actual outcome of this approach, I'm definitely glad people are doing things like this to try and improve the state of things.

    I think things regarding this topic are insanely more complex than surface level discussions like this - so I feel like these will always be hot button issues on the internet where we communicate in snippets.

    All things considered, I like this idea - even though at first the use of the word 'blacks' made me a bit uncomfortable.

    3 points
  • Jeff HilnbrandJeff Hilnbrand, over 4 years ago

    Thank you for this!

    2 points
  • Abhinav SrivastavaAbhinav Srivastava, over 4 years ago

    I am an Indian guy who lives and work in Singapore. I understand where this is coming from and as Dorman mentioned 'Let’s stop pretending racial boundaries and prejudices don’t exist'.

    But I feel it's not a great way to approach representation by putting people into boxes based on gender, race or heritage.

    The power to let people be people and to have a healthy mix of diversity lies in the hands of Organisation and government. An example of this is in how Singapore as a multi-racial country solves this problem in its public housing.

    ETHNIC INTEGRATION IN NEIGHBOURHOODS

    Since 1989, the racial quota in each Housing and Development Board (HDB) block and estate has been controlled to broadly reflect Singapore’s racial proportion under the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP).

    The objective is two-fold: To prevent any particular race from congregating in a location giving rise to “enclaves”; and to give residents more opportunities to interact with those from other races as they “go about their daily lives”, said Dr Puthucheary, who is also Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, and Education.

    The policy has largely met its aim, with every neighbourhood here a microcosm of society at large. Not only have residents of all races formed strong neighbourly ties, they have largely accommodated each other’s practices and customs, such as the burning of incense or the holding of wedding celebrations.

    There are other downsides of this but it's a feeling of equality that prevails, there's more understanding and respect for other cultures and habits.

    I know its not straightforward or obvious solutions to this but I am glad people are talking about it.

    1 point
  • Ridwan SanusiRidwan Sanusi, over 4 years ago

    Crazy how most that criticized this idea talk about how “divisive” the platform is. Guess what y’all, we live in a very divisive society already. Hence, the need for these platforms (for disenfranchised groups).

    When you say this idea will further divide us, you have to explain how. Also, you have to offer your own idea to solve the already existing divisiveness or tell us how you are, in your daily life, helping to get unheard voices heard and leading an inclusive life. Maybe one or two more people can learn and pay it forward.

    If you can’t offer any of this, with all due respect, shut the F up and stop getting in the way.

    1 point
  • Bill Addison, over 4 years ago

    I hire designers from many parts of the world as part of a highly demanding remote studio. I'm curious, in general:

    1. Do designers in our community feel prejudiced against during the hiring process?
    2. Is this a North American issue or a worldwide issue?
    3. Can designers share experiences of prejudice during the hiring process so that we can learn from them?

    Additionally, if there are any talented designers out there who feel prejudiced against and are having difficulties entering the marketplace because of this issue, please send me your resume.

    0 points
  • Jonathan Li, over 4 years ago

    On that note, should other ethnic groups have their own version of www.insertyourethnicitythatdesign.com too?

    These social problems are largely shared by many other ethnicities, and building a site that is limited to only one ethnic group is divisive in nature because you're limiting it to one group of individuals only.

    If black people aren't being hired because of the colour of their skin, do you think a website that focuses only on black people would help raise that awareness to non-black people that are hiring? Would a non-black person visit this site without knowing about it? If a non-black individual went to your site and hired a black person, isn't that just "checking a diversity box"? That to me doesn't really sound as though we're solving a diversity issue, it's just a "black" issue only; but in reality, there are many other issues that we grapple with together.

    Frankly speaking, everyone goes through some form of prejudice, but it's up to the individual to prove otherwise. I personally don't think a website that advertises itself as a singularly inclusive community will help that much towards your cause towards the bigger picture of diversity.

    0 points
  • Jay TJay T, over 4 years ago

    This is awesome! I love it. Thank you for putting this together.

    0 points
  • Alex Sanders, over 4 years ago

    Awesome! Hope you're ignoring the 'Mike's' in this conversation.

    We're hiring soon; I'll be sure to send this to my Design Director.

    -2 points