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Today is DN's First Birthday

over 9 years ago from , Product @ imgix

Hey folks,

Today is Designer News' first birthday! Allan and I started putting the site together over a weekend or two during the holidays last year. We found ourselves spending a lot of time reading sites like Hacker News and scanning our Twitter feeds. We were surprised that something called Designer News didn't exist. A few weekends later, it did.

As the lore goes, we put the site online a year ago today before heading out for New Year's Eve festivities. By the time we woke up the next morning, our invite-only site already had 100 users and was humming along nicely.

Since then, Designer News has become a great force in the design community. The community has done a lot and grown quite a bit. It can be read about in depth in Allan's State of the Universe post. The LayerVault team usually spends parts of each Friday working improving Designer News. It's a pleasure to work on.

Anecdotally, it's been great to see some of the connections that have been made via Designer News. Matthew Lew has a few internship offers from his ticket redesign. A few members of the community are getting together to do pro-bono design work for folks that might not otherwise be able to afford it. On top of all that, Designer News is home to some of the most respectfully critical discussions I've seen online. I can't wait to see what 2014 brings.

To celebrate, we're giving everyone who was a part of DN's first year an avatar color. It's a nice orange, #ff8604 to be exact.

Let us know what you'd like to see on Designer News in 2014. Here's to another great year.

Happy New Year!

43 comments

  • Tim ParkerTim Parker, over 9 years ago

    Woo

    6 points
  • Ed LeaEd Lea, over 9 years ago

    thanks for the effort, it's a daily read for me.

    at some point, would be nice to see stories I've upvoted and commented on, unless it's already possible as I can see the count.

    4 points
  • Jeff ShinJeff Shin, over 9 years ago

    Thanks for all your hard work on DN - you guys are awesome.

    3 points
  • Michael SchultzMichael Schultz, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    DN helped with my transition to San Francisco. I was living in the midwest, never thinking I was good enough for the Mecca of tech. But after becoming part of this community, the support I found pushed me to give it a go.

    I'm living out my dream in part thanks to DN.

    DN has not only helped inform our community, it's also created a new community all together. DN'ers are top notch people, I know this because I've met them. The DN Meetups are a huge part of what makes DN so awesome. Meeting up in person allows us to put a face with an avatar. Something that I think is necessary for any online community to thrive longterm.

    Thank you all (Kelly, Allan and team) for everything you have given us. Not only do you have an incredible product, you have fantastic hearts.

    Giddy with what 2014 will bring. Design on.

    2 points
  • Evan KnightEvan Knight, over 9 years ago

    I like the orange :)

    1 point
  • Julian LloydJulian Lloyd, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    Great work guys.

    I look forward to seeing DN grow in 2014, but there’s certainly a quiet charisma in its simplicity—I’d love to see that protected.

    1 point
  • Albert FajardoAlbert Fajardo, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    Congratulations! I dont think I've missed a day without visiting DN since I found it a few months ago. One thing I would love to see added to DN is the ability to save/bookmark a post for later reading or for future reference. Cheers!

    Image alt

    1 point
  • Roy StanfieldRoy Stanfield, over 9 years ago

    DN is fantastic! Thanks and Happy Birthday!

    1 point
  • Justin EdmundJustin Edmund, over 9 years ago

    Man, I remember being super excited when you guys first told me about the idea, and even more excited when it launched.

    I don't really go to Hacker News much anymore, and despite initial growing pains, I do still come here multiple times a day to see whats going on. You've really created something integral for the design community, I think, and something that was really missing.

    Cheers guys! Here's to the next year!

    1 point
  • Meng ToMeng To, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    Has it been 1 year already? I still remember sending LayerVault an email and getting back a great response from Kelly. LV had some of the best support I've seen and it's that personal touch that makes you guys special.

    I'm very pleased to see DN grow beautifully. The conversations and articles here are top notch and I find myself coming back on a daily basis. Great work on the mobile-friendly site. Keep it coming.

    And happy new year 2014 to all! :)

    1 point
  • Davor TomicDavor Tomic, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    I know I'm four days late to the party, but nevertheless - Happy Birthday! :) For me, and I'm sure for many others as well, DN has become an invaluable resource of design information, daily. Also, you've done a fantastic job with building a community of users who have enormous respect for each other and are always ready to discuss things in a constructive manner.

    Thank you for the great work, stay awesome and have a Happy New Year! :)

    0 points
  • Patrick LoonstraPatrick Loonstra, over 9 years ago

    Thanks for making this happen. And we were very very lucky this all worked out this great.

    0 points
  • Bady QbBady Qb, over 9 years ago

    Happy Birth Day DN! hope it become better and better!

    0 points
  • Kevin Hon Chi HangKevin Hon Chi Hang, over 9 years ago

    Thank you for creating DN to help pushing the whole industry to the right direction. Keep it up!

    0 points
  • Edouard U.Edouard U., over 9 years ago

    Happy birthday and Happy New Year to the team!

    0 points
  • Nathan NNathan N, over 9 years ago

    Glad to be a part of it, happy new years DN!

    0 points
  • Account deleted over 9 years ago

    You guys are really, crazy awesome. It's one of the better communities that I enjoy catching up on from time to time to be honest.

    0 points
  • Juliano DasilvaJuliano Dasilva, over 9 years ago

    Thanks for creating DN! Dn is usually my first stop in the morning when I get on my computer at work. DN and HN are the two sites I check daily, although sometimes I get really busy (focused) that I skip checking it out for a few hours. Again, I hope we can grow this ever-growing community of talented folks into something ever bigger, not only in size but in meaning. Thanks!

    0 points
  • Alex CasonAlex Cason, over 9 years ago

    Happy new year to everyone in the Designer News community. :-)

    I only joined recently but I've been reading since the beginning and there is a really great group of people here.

    0 points
  • Sacha GreifSacha Greif, over 9 years ago

    Woohoo! Orange!

    0 points
  • Nick PfistererNick Pfisterer, over 9 years ago

    Happy New Year! Here's to another year of inspirational site designs, hot new apps, workflow methods, and all the comments that come with them. :)

    0 points
  • Carlos HermosilloCarlos Hermosillo, over 9 years ago

    Thank you for sharing the backstory I never knew! Designer news has become my "go-to" spot for random, interesting and insightful information that isn't always easy to find or stumble upon. Here's to another great year of success!

    0 points
  • Andrew LiebchenAndrew Liebchen, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    I've kind of had a love/hate relationship since I joined DN a year ago exactly (just checked my email, my invite was dated 12/31). I guess since DN was instrumental with connecting me to a new, awesome job, I have to say it's more love now...

    0 points
  • Joe Blau, over 9 years ago

    Happy Birthday and thanks for putting this together. The amount of knowledge I've received from being part of this community is priceless. I wish DN many more amazing years!

    0 points
  • Justin JacksonJustin Jackson, over 9 years ago

    Congrats! That's a lot of momentum for one year! Well done.

    0 points
  • Tierney CyrenTierney Cyren, over 9 years ago

    Like a lot of people have already said, DN has become the center-source for my daily routine. It's the first site I check when I've got a minute to do it, and I almost always find something interesting or provoking that gets me thinking. I really can't imagine a routine without DN now.

    0 points
  • ポール ウェッブポール ウェッブ, over 9 years ago

    Hooray!

    0 points
  • Mathieu MayerMathieu Mayer, over 9 years ago

    DN is awesome. I think it's the only website I check everyday, no matter what. Keep up the good work guys.

    0 points
  • Nick Dominguez, over 9 years ago

    Happy Birthday DN and thanks to the guys at LayerVault for building this, it's become a great source of info for me this past year.

    Cheers!

    0 points
  • FJ Giroux, over 9 years ago

    It was a great first year, congrats guys!

    0 points
  • Noam ElbazNoam Elbaz, over 9 years ago

    Happy Birthday DN.

    0 points
  • Ian GoodeIan Goode, over 9 years ago

    Yay! DN has already become part of my morning ritual, looking forward to seeing it grow over the next year.

    0 points
  • Gearóid O'RourkeGearóid O'Rourke, over 9 years ago

    DN has been a great resource this year and has really helped with getting the word out about Design+Banter. Looking forward to seeing how it grows in 2014!

    0 points
  • Roy AbbinkRoy Abbink, over 9 years ago

    Congratulations! DN became a Safari bookmark. That's my highest possible reward for a website.

    0 points
  • Thibault MichelThibault Michel, over 9 years ago

    Happy Birthday ! DN has quickly become one of my favorite sites to visit, keep up the great work.

    0 points
  • Surjith S MSurjith S M, over 9 years ago

    I'm also completing one year in my current company. 2nd Jan.

    Happy New Year :-)

    0 points
  • Collis Ta'eedCollis Ta'eed, over 9 years ago

    Congratulations guys - a wonderful little site and community you've built, I've been enjoying reading here these last few months :-) Happy New Year!

    0 points
  • Maurice CherryMaurice Cherry, over 9 years ago

    So glad to be part of the inaugural year! Happy birthday DN!

    0 points
  • Eric FilkinsEric Filkins, over 9 years ago

    Woot Woot Happy Birthday/New Year's DN!

    0 points
  • Pedro PintoPedro Pinto, over 9 years ago

    Happy birthday. During 2013 I discovered a lot of amazing content in DN, nowadays is the 1st or 2nd site I visit in the morning.

    0 points