Definitive guide to making a popular shot on *

Step 1

Whatever you do never, ever, upload unfinished work or Work in Progress (WIP).
The work you want to upload should be finished and super polished.

Exception to this rule is if you are a rockstar designer with many followers. Whatever you upload will become a popular shot. It is preferred to upload only UI work.

Step 2

Open up the design in PS and with your camera take a photo of the screen from an angle. The angle should be between 30^o and 45^o. In other circumstances I would have called you “idiot” – for not using the PrintScrn feature instead – but for a popular shot on Dribbble it is a must.

If it is an iPhone/iPad/Android/Blackberry design: save the design as a JPEG, close PS and upload it on the device via Dropbox. Then, take a photo of the design, making sure you include the device in an environment (on a desk, in your hand, in a park, on the toilet).

Step 3

If you don’t want to take an angled photo of the design and want to be ‘original’, take a full-width screenshot of the design and make sure you include magnifying glasses to show off the small details.

If you want to upload a website design, include part of the browser in the shot. The placement of the browser should be at exactly 10% inside the edge of the shot. If it’s a responsive design: add a screenshot of the iMac/Cinema Display with the design showing on the screen and an iPhone/iPad in front of it with the mobile version of the design.

If you want to upload a hand drawn design, take an angled photo of the sketchbook making sure you also include in the photo the tool you used (pencil, pen, finger).

Step 4

Once you have a finished design you want to upload on Dribbble, create at least five different shots of that design and pick the best one. Upload only that selected shot and delete the others forever.

Step 5

Be active on the site. Like many shots, follow many people and comment on designs. Word of warning: do not criticise their design! Only praise it with short, cool words like: “dope”, “rad”, “love it”.

Step 6

You must follow me on Dribbble. It’s for good karma **