This week I thought I’d switch things up from my usual tutorial posts and publish something more along the lines of an opinionated article. This topic in particular is something I’ve had in mind for a while so I’ve eventually got round to jotting down my thoughts. Hopefully this little article will give some insight into my life behind my blogs and maybe even give some inspiration or advice.
The topic in question is an overview of things people both love and hate me for in the design community – Well, some of them aren’t directed at me personally and the terms love and hate might be slightly over exaggerated, but these are things that I do that all have polar opposites in terms of how people perceive me because of them.
I run a design blog
Well, two actually! Since 2007 design blogs have boomed to the point where the community is on the verge of over-saturation. Once upon a time designers acquired their knowledge and latest news from books, magazines and online journals of select high profile designers. Nowadays design blogs litter the design community with hundreds of new posts every day, some of high quality, some of low quality.
Why people hate me for this
Over the past few years the number of design blogs in the community has grown exponentially. Unfortunately the large majority of these blogs were set up with an aim to earn a bit of cash on the side so they were posting more and more link bait articles in order to gain the most traffic. As time went on the quality of the posts decreased which resulted in design blogs getting a bad reputation. Design blogs like mine are now seen as an infection to the design community that constantly spread low-quality content.
Why people love me for this
Many blogs, including my own are the primary source of knowledge, inspiration and creative drive for many designers. I’ve heard from plenty of people who cite my design blogs as their favourite places to visit on the web, as well as those who look forward to checking out every new posts in order to learn something new or receive a boost of creative inspiration.
Why I keep doing it
There’s the obvious advantage that I’ve seen some amazing opportunities from my design blogs, but the reason I started my blogs and the main reason I continue publishing articles is to help people out and share what I know with others. I find it hugely satisfying that my posts, whether they’re tutorials, roundups of resources or creative inspiration provide designers with a drive to continue designing stuff to fulfil their creative passion.
I write design tutorials
As I’m sure most of you who have visited my blogs before know, I write design tutorials that describe the process of building certain types of designs or how to recreate particular effects. These tutorials are commonly for Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop or HTML/CSS web design topics.
Why people hate me for this
It has been mentioned by a good selection of people in the design industry that design tutorials are ruining the community, creating nothing more than an army of zombie designers who are coming into the industry with no skills except being able to follow a step by step guide to create ‘cookie-cutter’ styles and effects.
Why people love me for this
Many designers, including myself have used design tutorials as an insanely valuable resource for getting to grips with the design software we’re required to use in this industry. Students and veteran designers alike have used my tutorials to boost their knowledge and develop their skills in Illustrator, Photoshop and in general web design. They’ve learnt new tips and techniques that they’ve then been able to put into practice in their subsequent design projects.
Why I keep doing it
I receive awesome emails every day from people thanking me for sharing my design knowledge through tutorials. Many have stated that my tutorials have seen them through college/university and a few teachers and lecturers have even explained how their classes have been based on my tutorials. I always post out my guides to explain processes so designers can put these techniques into effect in their own projects. The large majority of designers take the foundations from my tutorials and build on them using their own knowledge. This doesn’t sound like an army of zombie designers at all in my opinion.
I write list posts
List posts is the term that has been given to posts on design blogs that do nothing more than showcase a number of designs purely for visual interest or inspiration. List posts don’t provide any knowledge, facts or opinions but they’re the amongst the most trafficked type of post.
Why people hate me for this
Due to their success in bringing in huge traffic list posts have become over-used to the point where some list posts don’t even have a specific focus on what they are showcasing. Now, list posts and the blogs that post them are seen to be ruining the community by saturating it with content that has no intellectual value.
Why people love me for this
List posts are amongst the most highest trafficked and best performing posts a blog can post. Many people enjoy them because they’re easy to digest and provide useful visual inspiration that can help generate ideas for a designer’s upcoming projects. The list posts I create are usually roundups of resources or a showcase of designs all created with a particular style – All of them are well received by a large portion of my readers and subsequently receive the most traffic, social votes and comments.
Why I keep doing it
List posts don’t particularly take a lot of effort to produce, when compared to design tutorials and thoughtful articles, yet they always receive almost double the attention. I use the roundups and showcases to quickly put together posts when I’m short on time, or to give my blog a boost in traffic if stats are running low. Most importantly I enjoy creating list posts to discover new resources or design trends I can play around with myself, and furthermore share these things with my readers. In my opinion other types of articles are important to develop a blog in the long term, but I’ll always produce the odd list post as long as they receive the traffic, social votes and exposure they do today.
I write catchy titles
Attention grabbing titles aren’t anything new to the blogging world. They’re used extensively in the real world in everything from newspapers to advertising and marketing. A catchy title will usually ‘big up’ its content using exciting adjectives between the key words in the heading.
Why people hate me for this
Some people feel cheated if they follow a link that doesn’t turn out to be as interesting as the title suggested. In some of my titles I’ve been criticised of using the word ‘awesome’, because that particular person only deemed the design worthy of ‘cool’ (true story!). Some of my post titles have provided high expectations as to what the viewer will see, which has resulted in disappointment in the past.
Why people love me for this
In most cases people have followed a link from social websites such as Twitter because the title sounded interesting and have subsequently enjoyed my content. Those people may have missed out if the title used simple or plain wording to describe the post. ‘How To Create a Colorful Abstract Design in Illustrator’ will always perform better than ‘How To Create a Design in Illustrator’.
Why I keep doing it
As long as newspapers and advertising companies use intriguing headlines in their content, I’ll continue to use vibrant adjectives or metaphors in my titles to inject excitement into my posts. People click on interesting, exciting or thought provoking titles while plain or boring wording simply passes them by.
I promote my posts too much
Every week I post a new article and tweet out links to my followers on Twitter. Due to the differences in time zones and the general working of Twitter I post the same link multiple times throughout the week in the morning, afternoon and evenings on different days.
Why people hate me for this
People hate being spammed. Unfortunately some of my repeated tweets catch a select number of people multiple times throughout their day or week. This can be annoying, particularly for those who don’t follow many people as the same link from the same person can quickly fill the whole Twitter stream on third party apps.
Why people love me for this
For every person who is unfortunate enough to be online to see a repeated tweet the second, third and even fourth time throughout a given week there is always a larger proportion of people who are seeing it for the first time. These people would have otherwise missed out on the news. Even on the fourth time a link is posted it receives just as many favourites and retweets.
Why I keep doing it
The obvious reason I keep retweeting is to squeeze out as much attention on my posts as possible as I only post one main topic per week, unlike other blogs who post every day. I’m forever aiming to get feedback from people who are getting annoyed from seeing my tweets multiple times and have recently decreased the number of times I re-post. However I’ll always schedule up multiple tweets in order to catch people across different time zones.
I tweet too much in general
Every now and again I’ll run through my RSS feed and tweet out links to the design articles I found interesting. A year or two ago I posted a link every 15 minutes, nowadays I’ve had to decrease it to one tweet per hour or less.
Why people hate me for this
Even if the content I’m tweeting isn’t my own, if my tweets are too closely timed in that they fill the stream of users who don’t follow many people it quickly becomes annoying. It doesn’t take long for people to label you as a spammer.
Why people love me for this
I’ve managed to build a following of over 40,000 people on Twitter primarily from tweeting useful design links. This has always added value to my profile in that designers receive tips of interesting articles and tutorials as well as general life updates and conversational tweets.
Why I keep doing it
The large majority of my followers enjoy receiving design links, but I’m always aiming to spread out these links in order to avoid ‘spamming’ those who don’t have an active Twitter stream. At the moment I post one design link per hour after picking out topics from my RSS feeds. I’ll stick to this frequency until more complaints are sent my way.
I display ads on my blogs
Over the past four years my blogs have reached a level in terms of visitors, subscribers and search engine rankings that it has become lucrative to earn revenue from selling advertising space. Currently I have a series of 125px ads in the sidebar, and a larger ad above the content on older posts.
Why people hate me for this
Earning money for doing something that isn’t considered ‘hard work’ or ‘skillful’ can often be frowned upon. To some earning money from writing blog posts, tutorials and articles isn’t something you should be doing. The ads on my websites to some people cause too much of a distraction or don’t fit in with their ethical views.
Why people love me for this
Some people find my content hugely beneficial to them and enjoy seeing revenue being generated in return. I’ve also heard from many who have found the story of my blog and how it has changed my life inspirational and has given them the drive to earn money from doing something they love.
Why I keep doing it
Ever since I first introduced an ad spot on my blogs I’ve always aimed to keep them non-intrusive. There are plenty of advertising opportunities I don’t make use of, many of which can be seen on larger design blogs. Earning passive income and more so a living from a website is something everyone wishes for, so it’s a dream come true that I have the opportunity to do so.
I post content that isn’t design related
On my Twitter and Facebook accounts I’ll often post out photos of my dog, general life updates or gameplays from my Black Ops gaming hobby. Generally people follow me because they have an interest in my personally, others only want to receive updates based on the topic of design.
Why people hate me for this
Many people know of me and follow me on social websites for design related knowledge, updates and links. Dog photos, general updates, what music I’m listening to and gaming links aren’t something they want to know about. Anything other than design content can quickly result in the ‘spamming’ of their accounts.
Why people love me for this
It’s awesome that I’ve made so many friends and contact via Twitter and other social networking sites who have an interest in me personally. Most often I’ll find people with similar interests when I post non-design related content and in most cases I find it helps develop these friendships and bonds beyond my blogs.
Why I keep doing it
I’ve always built my blogs and profiles around myself as a person, rather than a company, so general life updates and tweets based on my hobbies and interests will continue. Design is obviously my largest passion so that kind of content will be in the majority but there will always be dog photos and gaming links. Setting up multiple profiles to post different content simply isn’t practical, nor would those updates go out to the people who would otherwise enjoy them.
The moral of the story
So basically what I wanted to point out is that no matter what you do there will always be a selection of people who disagree with what you’re doing. The question is how much notice should you take? If you were to try to please everyone, no one would be happy. I personally try to balance things in order to keep as many people happy as possible, but I’ll always look at the bigger picture and try to figure out what the general consensus is.
It’s also worth noting that usually positive feedback will be much more scarce than negative feedback, but you can often discover how people feel by checking behind the scenes at statistics and trends.
Let’s take list posts for example. You don’t need to look far to see how hated they are by a fairly large portion of people. There’s tweets and blog posts describing how terrible they are so it would be easy to assume they’re worthless. But looking at the traffic statistics and seeing how much more popular these posts are than thought-provoking articles and tutorials just goes to show the larger majority of the audience, although they don’t vocally express their opinion, do actually enjoy them.
Why do you hate/love me?
So to finish off I thought it would be fun to ask for your opinions in terms of what I do online. What do you love/hate about me? What would you change? And what are your thoughts about balancing between negative and positive feedback?
Hopefully this doesn’t end up with me sobbing in the corner ;-)
Keep doing what you do! Your success is obviously working for you so don’t stop :) Its great to see a post like this and it’s really interesting to see someone dissect the way they do things and the reasons why they do it.
ok, wow! information overload!! best textual source ever!
Keep doing whatever you want to do! It’s a shame you feel like you need to justify the way you do things. Isn’t the whole freedom of expression thing what’s so great about the web? If people don’t like it they can stop complaining and go elsewhere.
Good post, and a good summary of the design blog culture, we all know that the web is currently overloaded but many people know which blogs to go to for good resources/inspiration/tutorials, which this is one. Keep up the good work and ignore the negative people, you get that in any walk of life.
The haters will all ways hate, no matter what you do they will all ways find something to pick at and go on about!! Both your blogs make excellent reading, keep up the good work :-D
You’ve pretty much covered everything I’ve thought about the design community. What I like about your posts and writing style is that you’re a human being and not just a brand. Seems to me like you’re being honest and just doing what you do without trying to be someone else. I think that’s commendable in an industry where it’s easy to take criticism personally.
Just wanted to pick up on the bit about ‘tutorials’, if a designer just copies step by step, then yes they’re going to be ‘zombies’. What’s important is the techniques learnt, taking that knowledge and doing new things with it.
Can’t remember who said it but, “It’s not where you take it from, but where you take it to”.
So yes keep posting, it’s valuable stuff in the right hands!
I think i enjoy everything about what you do! even if i dont like black ops i still find it interesting and fun to watch what you do in your spare time !!! :) its great! And your doggy is just so cute, gives it a good mix so its not just always design stuff!
Keep doing what you are doing. I follow because I want to get a good idea of what is possible for the designers I work with – and your blog gives me a good idea (plus I pick up some tricks and tips myself).
Keep doing Chris!! You are one of my inspirations day by day… Thank u!!!
Love your tutorials, keep them up please!
I love your tweets and your blog posts. I get useful tips and inspiration from you all the time. Thank you for doing what you do.
well i love you, man. you’re very helpful. and your design is high quality stuff.
keep going, man. just like what Guy Kawasaki said once, “good product polarize people.”
The best thing I like about your blog Chris, apart from the amazing tutorials which allow me to update and get to grips with bits of software I should know intricately but don’t, is that you do base the blog around yourself.
I don’t want to hear about everything design (although that is the main reason I come here). A little light hearted Black-Ops video and pictures of your dog break up the day which is why this is slowly becoming one of (if not my favourite) design blogs to visit.
Hi, i’m all for your blog! It’s one the first resources I go to if there’s a technique on Photoshop or Illustrator I need help with. Your blog always seems to have the user in mind and isn’t totally full of ads and pop-ups. Why not make some money from these? I would if I could! You’re imparting valuable knowledge which has certainly helped me develop my skills over the years. I studied Illustration but computer software sessions were quite limited for us so I had to rely on blogs such as yours as well as magazines and manuals to learn what I needed to keep up the pace! Perhaps some people will use the techniques in blogs such as yours to become ‘cookie-cutter’ designers but surely these people are in the minority and even if those type of designers are out there, so what! The designers who are genuinely talented and have imagination to bring to the mix as well as a knowledge of a computer program will ultimately get the good commissions. Ignore the negative people out there and carry on doing what you’re passionate about :)
Hi Chris,
for me personally, you have most certainly been an inspiration. Since I discovered your blog, my skills and confidence have grown to the point that I am now advertising my services on a freelance basis too.
Oh by the way, I’m loving your new series on BBC, Wonders of the Universe. LoL.
Cheers Prof.
This is a great (and very brave!) post. Like many others, I’d say keep doing what you do. I find most, if not all, of your posts teach me something new or lead me to a fantastic new resource or piece of design. I am also better at Black Ops, thanks to your videos! :D
At the end of the day, people are subscribing to Chris Spooner, so you should just be yourself, do what makes you happy. #perfectworld
Last but not least, thank you for all of your hard work!
Love your work, Chris. Don’t change a thing.
Your blog has inspired me to crawl out of a major creative rut. Thanks to all the inspiration and knowledge you post here, I feel like my own design ideas can fly once more. Many thanks! :)
The Internet is big enough for everybody, I find easier to unfollow people than to complain about them, and by the way, how can anybody hate the boss of the cutest junior ever?
Love what you’re doing. Keep it up. :)
Man… Chris! People complain a lot. If your practices are that bad, why do they follow you? Just to complain?
Hi Chris!
I think that people is very envious. Nowadays people have option to follow or not your work, this way, nobody have to do nothing for obligation.
I like your blog, your tips and tutorials, and i think you’re someone close and don’t live at clouds seeing the other designers over your shoulder.
Thanks to do this, and I hopefully my blog htt://blog.dashaft.net will have the same media repercusion as yours.
Been a graphic designer since I first met my centris 650 Mac back in 93! Love what you do, always look forward to your latest blog popping up in my inbox. You provide inspiration, humour, education and a whole lot more. If people just want to ‘clone’ that’s up to them, personally I love being inspired, taking what I learn and help me always develop. Which you have to do in an ever changing design led world.
Hurry up with the next blog :-)
I can’t imagine anyone would have a complaint about your blogs. They’re of the highest quality! Oh, wait a minute…now that I think about it… ;)
That’s the awesome thing about the web, no one has to stick around if they don’t find your content to be what they were looking for. I’m not in design, nor do I plan to be, but I find your content/tutorials interesting for my own personal curiosity and point people in your direction if they talk about design. I think it’s a very telling trait that you asked your readers what they think. Just keep doing what you’re doing, you have a great blog. (love the COD stuff too)
As opposed to many of the pretentious, self-proclaimed design elite, you are a genuine human being whose blog I actually read (rather than skim) because you write like most of us talk. Your blog is easily and pleasantly digestible. There’s a reason why lists are so popular: it makes it easy to skim and absorb it all rather than having to read through paragraph after paragraph of filler. Your tutorials are very well done. I themed my first WordPress site thanks to you and also tackled my first photo slider. Promoting, tweeting, using ads… who are these people who don’t realize that 99% of us designers are out here to make money? If only we could all love and practice design simply for the personal satisfaction. And finally, please keep posting/tweeting non-design stuff. It gives your audience a window into who you actually are. As a result, if I passed you on the street, I wouldn’t hesitate to say hello because you come off as a very approachable, personable person. There’s quite a few designers out there who I’d be afraid to approach for the fear that they’d look down upon me through their thick, square-rimmed glasses and scoff.
Keep up the GREAT work!
Chris, I think that you are doing a great job as a designer/blogger. I was impressed to hear that they use your tutorials in schools! Thank you Chris for all the tutorials and articles that you provide for designers such as myself. They have been invaluable for my growth as a graphic designer in México. Keep up the awesome work and don´t listen to all the haters out there. greetings from the design community in México!
Keep up the great work, Chris. I’ve been inspired by your work and enjoy the content you put out. I wouldn’t worry about “zombies”… you have no control over that. Anyone who puts out a “step-by-step” guide or tutorial for any topic or industry (not just design) runs the risk of being copied… but I think the design community is pretty good at policing that and calling it out when it occurs. It will never go away, but unless it causes you lost income, I as a consumer of your content am not worried.
You know, you’re a person representing yourself on your blog. This isn’t a faceless, design magazine or company; you’re name is on the site… you want to put photos of your pup and anything else, you can. Frankly, it’s made you more personable. This is why I enjoy following you, James White, Nick Campbell, and others to name a few.
Plus, I just started playing Black-Ops about 4 weeks ago… where else am I going to get an Illustrator tip and some COD gameplay tips at the same place?
Keep up the great work, Chris! This was the first design blog I fell in love with when I was in school, and a couple years later, I still think it’s a fantastic resource. You’re down to earth, fun to read, and the tutorials are always top notch. They’ve helped me grow and learn new tricks and techniques that you don’t necessarily get in school. There will always be zombie designers creating cloned work, but for every one there are dozens of new designers who you’ve genuinely helped create better work. Thanks on behalf of all of us who have learned from your passion and dedication.
Keep doing what you’re doing. I enjoy the tutorials. It’s too easy to get isolated as a designer. Even if I don’t find the end result engaging, there’s usually a tip or two along the way that I can carry into my own work.
The list posts—you’ve been a reliable filter for interesting stuff out there on the web. And that keeps your blog from being all about you. It’s also about other cool people doing other cool things.
The miscellany—I like dogs. I like video games. I like knowing what other people are listening to. These are the things that help give the site a genuine personality. And you know what, a lot of us live design, we don’t leave it at the office. But it works in reverse, too. We bring our everyday lives into work.
I love you because you and your blog are the exact direction I’m aiming at with myself and my own blog. I hate you because you’ve reminded me that list posts, ads, and tweetspamming is on the hate list, which makes it drat, drat, and double drat for me.
Damn! Don’t know why would people hate a source of knowledge and inspiration and collection of awesomeness! We still dig your blog mate! Keep it going on!
Cheers!
I believe not many people are fond of you because you are a “famous” designer. You’re well-known in the design community, and many famous designers are known for damaging the community with their egos. However, you are much different. You are humble, and helpful to beginners.
While I’m not a fan of list posts for the reasons you stated, I’m not going to bash your blog for it. You do a good job of creating an equal set of list posts and informative articles. If design blogs could do that more often, then that would be optimal.
if 1% of the world is crazy and hate ppl that help other ppl learn design that is still 60 million crazy ppl. The other 99% appreciate it.
I’m amazed at the stream of super kind comments left on this article so far, thanks everyone!
Don’t worry, most of the things I talked about aren’t usually directed at me personally and I don’t take these things to heart, but even if I had a hoard of haters banging down my door these comments alone are enough to make to keep on doing what I do. It’s really humbling so thanks again everyone!
I don’t think any of these, especially posting off-topic content are reasons to hate someone. It’s just a proof that you’re a normal human being.
Also, I agree with David.
No one hates your stuff – if anyone asks for design help, I instantly send them to your site, maybe not because it’s OMG THIS IS INCREDIBLE (which it usually is), but all your stuff is consistent, and just extremely useful.
I’m a subscriber but I do not subscribe to your Premium content. Just want to let you know that I greatly enjoy reading you blog.
Just like you wrote, no matter what you do, it seems like there are always haters.
I’ve always loved your work and blogs. Those ads on your blogs or list posts never bothered me. BTW, I actually love list posts on your blogs.
I hate ads and list posts on blogs only when it’s obvious that the person behind the blog is more interested in making extra cash than writing high-quality posts…choosing quantity over quality.
The exchange of ideas makes the world a better place. Your blog serves a great purpose in sharing and generating ideas. Although I’ve found your blog very useful for some tips and tricks (“oh —that’s how you do that in Illustrator!”), I’ve found it much more useful in giving my brain a “kick-start” (“that’s a good idea… but what if I do it *this* way instead?”).
Thanks for sharing your skills, ideas, and insight with the rest of us.
Wonderfully honest post, Chris. Thank you for laying it out there.
I highly value your blog.
Do what you do best, that is, be awesome. I love reading your blog and dig your Black Ops shinanigans.
Like everyone else here, I find your insights and personal opinions about the industry, design tips, and the plethora of amazing things you bring forth highly valuable.
You’re like a graphic design super hero! Seriously, I think the majority of people love what you do and will stand by you in the choices you make. I’ve recommended your design blogs to designer friends of mine and they always appreciate it. Keep up the great work!
Great post. It had me smiling. Honest without taking yourself too seriously. I have kept following you for years because the quality of posts and that your blogs have a personality behind them. Half of my work is in the church world in the US. Their are a lot of bloggers in that world that could learn from from the humor, humility, and manner of self defense in this post.
Keep doing your thing!
It’s your intentions that say it all: “I started my blogs and the main reason I continue publishing articles is to help people out and share what I know with others”. And you’re doing just that.
So forget the ‘Haters’ and keep doing YOU! If they can not relate to where you coming from, than they have more much serious concern they should focus on (like where there coming from with their intentions) rather than what your about,
So…………Keep the Knowledge Coming.
Peace
Chris, keep on keeping on. I refer my students to your line25.com site all the time. My favorite content is when you design a site in PS, then code it later with HTML/CSS. It’s a great way for anybody to get started with web design.
Hello, Chris!
I am wondering that someone could hate you for something! I am completely satisfied with this blog and we all need to say very big THANKS to all that you are doing! That’s amazing. Thank you very much :)
P.s. Sorry for my English :)
Good luck to you and stay cool! :)
well I am one of many who love you! =D
I want to see more, not less, dog pics please. From one designer / dog owner to another.
I hate you because your site looks way better than mine! Keep doing your thing, I drop in every so often and like what I find here.
You’re doing fine Chris. Haters can sod off.
Jake the Lab posts are awesome and your posts that aren’t design related just show that you’re a human with a personality and not some robot pumping out spam tweets everyday like every other design blog out there.
I should add the variety of tweets/posts you make are the reason I’m still following you on Twitter/Facebook.
As for tutorials, even if you don’t do it someone else will. While I agree that it CAN cause zombie cookie cutters to exist, I’m sure there are experienced people that take a peek anyway.. even if it’s a quick peek.
They’re good reminders and you might even pick up something that you can use combined with other effects.
Keep on rolling.
Chris – you are amazing! Thank you for your down-to-earth, approachable style. Every single industry in the world has different styles, different levels of competency, education levels, etc. Why is it that in the design community people can be SO judgmental of where other designers “come from” as far as their credentials? There are some pretty amazing self-taught creatives out there who could show some MFA grads a few things IMO! If someone has the wherewithal to buy photoshop and make money using it GOOD FOR THEM! Keep it up Chris – be you! The world needs more of what you’ve got…
I’ve enjoyed reading your articles and tutorials for years now, despite the recent arrival of a thousand other design blogs. You’ve always spoken with your own voice, positively, with encouragement to others. I know myself and many others feel a great debt to your instruction, but also your incredible attitude!
You also have a gift in writing and analyses: Other blogs might come up with a handful of interesting items, but you’ve been hitting home-run articles so consistently over so many years. You spot pertinent details and break them down in ways that help me understand, learn, and enjoy.
You are a powerhouse! My sincere gratitude for years of instruction!
you da bomb dude. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, it makes the world a better place.
keep doing what you’re doing chris! i love visiting your blog and reading your tweets. if people have a problem with you it means you’re doing and awesome job and they want to bring you down..show them to the left!
Your tutorials have been extremely valuable to me and my students at Seattle Central Community College. Keep up the good work, Chris.
Thanks for this post, Chris. Full of info, I had been thaught again. Keep doing. You rock, anyway.
este texto no es mas que la confirmación de tu egocentrismo, hasta que no lo he leído creía que eras un crack, escribiendo esto ahora pienso que eres un absoluto egocéntrico.
PD: la mayor parte de tu bloq es un re-tweet de otras webs y el diseño de esta deja bastante que desear. Pero te respetaba por intentar ayudar a la gente de forma altruista.
Google traducción :
this text is but a confirmation of your selfishness, until I read thought you were a crack, writing this now I think you are an absolute egomaniac.
PS: most of your autolock is a re-tweet from other sites and design of this leaves much to be desired. But I respected for trying to help people unselfishly.
this text is but a confirmation of your selfishness, until I read thought you were a crack, writing this now I think you are an absolute egomaniac.
PS: most of your autolock is a re-tweet from other sites and design of this leaves much to be desired. But I respected for trying to help people unselfishly.
This seems to be the week for self-referential lament in the design community. For better or worse, this blog is the “Two and a Half Men” of the design community, full of zippy easy to reproduce recipes to help anybody that calls themselves a designer to actually believe it. You can apologize for not being “Arrested Development” or Cryer all the way to the bank with your swelling sacks of Sheeny gold coins.
i just loooooooveeeeeeee your blog because it help me alllllllllllll time!!! million times thanksssssssss
I wish I had a quarter of the drive you do to create original and interesting artwork, nevermind then actually document the process so others can benefit. Keep going dude, you’re one of the good ones.
Really great article. I got more information about you. Hate and love is part of life.
Chris! I love your tutorials! Went to uni in 1999/2002 and learned absolutely nothing of any value technically that I didn’t teach myself, in some respects it was a complete waste of time. Result: a knowledge of illustrator/photoshop/layout programmes that could suffice through the first jobs I found but left me without a solid foundation knowledge of them. So even though I’m now completely confident in these programmes I will often follow your tutorials as a mini refresher course, and there is always something to learn that either saves time, is a more accurate working practice than what I usually do, or sparks a bit of inspiration for how to improve whatever project I’m working on. Not to mention the rest of your content, for example articulate and very entertaining arguments such as this one! Keep it up! And thank you.
i like you del the comments dont like you
yet again and awesome post…but i love your posts…no wonder you’re the mentor to thousands of graphics designers around the world…i don’t see a reason for anyone to hate your work…its A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!!
I was particularly marked by your opinion about tutorials, that people hate you for writing tutorials for starting designers.
I must say, old designers are basically jealous because they did not have access to so much information on the web and today’s generation is able to learn everything so fast and on the spot. Tbh, i started from scratch, with no money or teacher, just tutorials and articles. The rest was just me. School should not be a criteria to be a good or even great designer. The will to learn more about your craft, tips and exchange of experiences between designers is a much more fruitful approach than schooling, although combining them is better.
Chris you are a web designer, that doesn’t have to limit you to certain content on YOUR own websites.
I follow your youtube account because I too have a COD addiction lol. Infact, I’m watching a video on Facebook right now that you posted. I find them fun to watch when I can’t be playing myself.
Keep it up and let the haters hate. You are obviously successful at what you do, or you wouldn’t have the following you have regardless of where the followers came from.
I also love the line here at your comment input “Tips: don’t spam, dont troll, dont be an idiot”. lmao Made me laugh.
I love coming to your site! Please keep doing what you are doing. You are an inspiration to me and I use your tutorials to unwind. Sometimes it’s just practice and sometimes I do learn something new but either way it’s like sharing ideas with a coworker which I miss sometimes since I’ve been freelancing. I appreciate your work SO MUCH! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A very honest post, I’m not overly bothered with the dog posts (when they appear in my twitter feed) but everything else is cool. Its good to have some personality and not just be a faceless machine. Also as posted above if it works (selling the BS Ads slots) then you cant be doing that much wrong.
I don’t think you can please everyone…
D
I am always thrilled to see your email alerts and know that I will educationally entertained. I have been in this business a long time and there is always more to learn, tricks I have forgotten, skills I need to improve. Your site is one of my favorites.
ads – more power to you
and a mix of the personal stuff keeps it interesting.
I agree with Anastacia … I thank you for what you do and sharing it with us.
I look forward to your blogspoon updates, and pay the monthly fee because your blog has some of the most down to earth, in depth, lessons / tips / tricks / hook-ups, that even in my 20+ years of experience in this industry, I find it useful. Even when I have used absolutely every version of Illustrator and Photoshop there has been in existence, It is still great to see your angle at design. There’s nothing to hate here, keep spreading the love! Keep posting and tweeting, does not always need to be about graphics, we’re our own community too. Thanks for being there Chris, peace bro. – Mark
im from peru.
Imagine u reach over south america, im a designer and honestly im always looking for inspritation and tutorials this actually a really cool blog and I thank you.
You saved me more than once!.
keep it up!
I don’t use twitter, so I can’t comment on that, but on all your other points I fall into the love category. I love your posts/tutorials and you constantly give me inspiration! Also I like the fact that you don’t post everyday. When you do post it’s quality content and my inbox isn’t flooded with useless information.
I’m happy that you’re able to earn some money from your blog. Those who don’t see it as work, well I’m guessing they never tried to write one (or they don’t care what they write). Keep doing your thing and thanks for sharing. I really appreciate it.
I am one of the “loveyou” people. Why? I love the way you write, I love the things you write about… I love your your way.
mmm, sounds like a declaration of love!
You can’t please everybody every time, but you have a good mixture of useful tuts, handy links and an upbeat writing style that makes the blog definitely worth the time spent reading it. Sprinkling in bits of personality (lifestyle stuff) is just part of having a blog. Cheers Chris.
I really enjoy your blog. Keep doing what you’re doing. Do whatever YOU want whether it be a tutorial or list post. If someone doesn’t like that they don’t have to read it.
My only question is how do you find the time to do it all???
Well it is true there are a lot of Photoshop HACKS that call themselves Designers, most of us can see through them just by looking at their typography and excessive use of filters/presets. That said, it’s not your fault and I don’t see you and your work as anything but a helpful and talented Designer. Keep up the good work mate.
I personally love that you allow yourself to keep your personality involved with your blog and social media sites. I love the posts about Jake. He’s so cute! And I think it really separates you apart as a “business”/designer in general in that you do interact on the web about your other interests. We don’t often see “other sides” of professionals on the web (hobbies, etc).
Plus dogs are the best :) Keep doing your thing!
I love you Chris. Every time I come here, I get to learn something new. And I’m not a designer or developer until I started coming here. Your blog is really awesome!
While I understand the reason people hate tutorial based blog posts such as yours, I have to say I find them completely helpful. Not only do they help me get out of a slump where I dont feel like working with Creative Suite for whatever reason, but I also consistently learn new ways of building shapes and other workflow improvements.
I have to say thank you for all your hard work over the years as I have been benefiting from your blog posts for over a year now, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. :D
I really like how you flatter yourself, very honest and sincere. I think you are in the high profile designers lists. Your style is elegant, your design is very stylish, your words are modest and your passion just inspires me. I like all of your blog ( of course some is more than others :D)
I’ve learnt so much from your tutorials. Although you haven’t taught me a single day personally, but I already respect you as one of my greatest teachers I’ve had a chance to learn from.
Some of your tutorials are very unique and always applied with the coolest and latest technology. I like how you explain clearly the functions and effects of the codes, not just let us copy like a cat. If there is a contest of best bloggers or online teaching I definitely vote for you!
Keep up great work Chris, and no worries about thoughts of people that are out of your league. They are usually don’t matter and worth your time, focus on what’s working! x
Keep it up!
Your blog and tutorials are a great source of inspiration and information for ppl like me, who’s not trained but likes doing designing. And knowing the personality behind the blog makes it better, makes it more…erm, human. Just keep it going!
Chris, As a designer working to reinvent myself, your posts are extremely helpful. I love your easy approach, and plan on working through your tutorials. My training lacks many of the computer applications available and your blog helps me to update my skills easily. You make me realize that there is nothing I can’t relearn.
Thanks for the support. I love what you do, and how you do it.
I want to take another opportunity to thank everyone since my last comment on this post – There’s a whole page of new comments since so this particular article is definitely proving popular.
It’s really humbling to hear such kind words and a big drive to create lots more tutorials!
I like your blogs, the spirit of sharing information is really great! Don’t stop doing that! :)
Many greets from Vienna, Austria!
Don’t worry Chris! I love you! Just ignore those hater, okay! You’re too great for them, they just envy you.
Been in the design business for 15 years, in my opinion, there is no reason why design blogs and tutorial resources should not be celebrated in the design community. They provide an amazing resource to those at all levels of skill and experience. The only people who would possibly ‘hate’ on such a thing are just elitist punks who get off on thinking they’re better than someone else because they didn’t need a lesson or tutorial or source of inspiration to design, they’re just naturally gifted artist GODS.
A personal opinion, it’s sites like Dribbble that just continue to support this behavior – instead of spreading out to the entire community, they allow people to be judged and invited based on the *opinion* of other “elite designers” who are actually more mediocre than 99% of the open communities out there.
Keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll keep reading and enjoying the inspiration now and then. :)
Chris, nice insight!
Keep doing what you’re doing man! BTW You’re very popular in the spanish community because it’s really easy to translate your posts =)
I like you and your blog actually, you give very important informations & useful tutorials to every Newbie or expert !!
and i think that you have lovers and followers more than haters .
Keep on !!
Great read, and lots of good insight from a seasoned blogger. As a baby blogger who’s still finding his voice and audience, this info is greatly helpful. Keep up the good work! And I’d love to get your opinion on my blog if you get a spare minute between Tweets. :)
Keep up the good work Chris! You are THE Best! <3
Chris, keep doing what you’re doing. Not only do you run all of these blogs but you also interact with others on a personal level, like myself. If people are bothered by your topics such as your dog or Duty, then they have the right not to follow you – you’re not making them. I appreciate what you do and there’s only a handful of designers that I consider continuously produce pure, valuable information and you’re one of them. Keep it up, cause haters gonna hate! If I could change one thing about your blog, I’d add a WebBlend button to every post! haha, had to throw that in there. By the way, what’s your Call of Duty screen name? PS3?
Chris, keep doing what you’re doing. Not only do you run all of these blogs but you also interact with others on a personal level, like myself. If people are bothered by your topics such as your dog or Duty, then they have the right not to follow you – you’re not making them. I appreciate what you do and there’s only a handful of designers that I consider continuously produce pure, valuable information and you’re one of them. Keep it up, cause haters gonna hate! If I could change one thing about your blog, I’d add a WebBlend button to every post! haha, had to throw that in there. By the way, what’s your Call of Duty screen name? PS3?
Screw the naysayers. Keep on doin’ what you’re doin’!
Well, judging by the number of comments you have on here, it sounds like more people love you than hate you.
I am with Markus, I dig you and your blog because even with you being a designer such as myself, you are a person. You cannot get any realer (not a word,lol) than that. I’m not a zombie designer. I just find it kind of cool that I can communicate with other designers and keep up with my skills and learn a new trick or two to better my work and process. Hopefully it will continue to push myself to start my blog one day and stop procrastinating. Anywho, enjoy the fact that you are getting paid for what you love to do, you are helping others and that at the end of the day you are still “you”.
Keep it up.
As a designer, I appreciate your tutorials. I consider myself an expert in Illustrator but there are still things even I don’t know how to do or have little experience in doing. Designers tend to get in a rut and do the same types of projects. Because if this it’s easy to neglect some of the amazing features that the software has to offer, especially with new versions and new features coming out every couple years. It’s virtually impossible to become well-learned at every single feature of the software. I don’t really view your posts as something I can just ‘copy and paste’ but rather a stepping stone to be able to do other things. Don’t worry about other designers with huge egos that frown on this stuff. There are plenty of us in the design community that appreciate what you do.
Personally? You are one of the few blogs I check regularly. I always come away having learned something and marveling at your generosity in sharing your knowledge and skill so freely. (and as a Lab owner I just plain love your dog!) ;)
I think I love you. I don’t think you create zombie designers. Those guys are always gonna be around. I think your site is a lovely supplement to what isn’t taught in school. I remember we got just one class that covered indesign, photoshop, and illustrator. If we wanted to learn more than the basics we would have to do it on our own. Actually, I could do a long rant about my experience in school, but I won’t. So thanks for the tutorials and the inspiration. It’s lovely to see examples of good design and the process behind it.
I guess you don’t have too many readers from Spain, but I’d like to let you know that I always feel quite close to your thoughts. As an experienced designer I don’t frighten about admitting that I’ve used many tutorials you wrote. They’re really inspiring and even if i’d already knew the techniques you describe, i think they’re awesome as a quick coffee read. Keep up the good work, pal. BTW, I’d be visiting London soon and I’ll be happy to meet you for dinner or whatever. Cheers from Murcia, Spain.
yo i have learned many things from coming to your blog and i want to thank you for taking a little bit of your time and sharing it with everyone who needs that little push of inspiration…
-Isaac Lazo
Chris, your mix is just right. I like knowing that you’re not a tutorial-generating robot, so keep adding in the dogs and hobbies. The way creativity works, you never know when the dog may have something to show us about design. Thanks for sharing your work!
You’ve created an amazing resourceful place. Thanks for questioning yourself, writing and sharing about it!
Chris, I can only say thank you for your efforts with this blog. It’s been a source of inspiration and learning for me throughout the design course I recently completed, often helping me out of a jam by sheer practice with your tutorials which taught me how to properly use certain functions in any of the Adobe packages. You’ve got nothing but love from this little corner of the world.
Oh, and PS – keep doing what you’re doing! It’s a great mix.
I love you because of your pure tutorial especially in creating WP themes at Line25. I hope I can becaome more better than you in the future. I challenge myself to beat you, master.
It’d be interesting to know how much of their own time and energy the people who moan about the things you mention give to helping out others with free tutorials and resources. Ignore the haters and keep on truckin’ I say.
I hate you because you stole my girlfriend… after I spent all that time blowing her up!!! Damn you!!!
I hate you because you are in a position most of us envy.
I first came across your blog in 2007 and it was one of the first few websites that got me interested in design. Thank you so much for all the tutorials and guides you’ve posted, I’ve learnt a lot from them! I’m really glad that your blogs are so popular now, congrats!
Keep it up, I check your site and line25 for articles and inspiration :)
I love what you do and hope it’s just the beginning! The tutorials are great — so detailed and really help me understand what I’m doing. I’ve been a print designer for 10+ years but still on baby steps learning the web and brushing up Photoshop skills. Any of those zombie-designers out there are zombies of their own doing. Folks should know not to pass off someone else’s work as their own.
And I love that you share about your dog. Quite frankly, our dogs are a part of the family, so I love to hear other people might feel the same.
Thank you for all you do and keep up the good work — AND keep making money for it!
Keep it up, Chris. The haters are just jealous, methinks. The resources and education you provide are priceless.
You got it man most of people like you!
I love the fact that your blog brings in so many links to other sites. It makes my life easier by not having to look at twenty some odd sites to find interesting stuff to learn. Using all of the information you put on your site and only charging for some is like free classes to kick start many designers. Teachers charge why should you not?
Something I don’t like is well at the moment I cannot think of a single thing.
Keep up the good work.
i love your blog. your stuffs..cause those are so much better helped me doin all of my art hobby :)
thank you Mr. Spooner!!
Hi Chris, keep doing what you do, and nevermind what the other said.
I agree with you that out there there’s many other “REAL Designers” who don’t like too much what you do or the way that you choosed to share your knowledge, but I have to thank God that people like you exist, really!!
I’ve learned many new tricks with your GorgeousTutorials or on Sites of other “Zombie Designers”, like this people said,and you know what????
I ‘m a Zombie Designer too and I don’t give a F*** for this.
This people has to finish to block up all other creative people out there that maybe aren’t so lucky to buy a Master Collection from Adobe for 4-6000 bugs, or they are not so lucky to be part of an Agency and to share trash for an Awesome expensive Price.
One time these guys were unknow too but now, they are afraid that some Zombie Designer or better simple people with more creative skills can be better and cheaper and more competitive then their complicated and silly Designs that noone can be able to understand : “What’s that? Why so expensive?”
Chris you be part of a new generation that teach to be better, some other guys are part of an old generation that are afraid to die, but someday it will definitively happen for all of us.
And my last thing, Albert Einstein was a silly boy at school and all his school friends spotted him everyday for his ignorance.
We don’t need now to tell nobody what such of role did Einstein play on this World, don’t ya?
But for some guys out there, once upon a time that would be better if Einstein never existed.
You know what I mean?
God bless the freedom to talk, to reach and to teach without extra purposes, just for fun.
Go ahead Chris and thx a lot for every idea you have.
Gio
I love about you and your work , whatever you are doing, with out hate love can’t possible :)
Cheers
I enjoy everything that you do. Great Work; Keep it on……..
Ha! I hope no one accuses you of creating this post in an attempt to generate the most replies to a blog ever seen!!! I think the messages you have received say it all Chris – keep up the excellent work!
I’ve come to think that we shouldn’t care too much about what people think about us. Just do what you feel is right, nothing else matters.
Your site has recently been a huge help to me, as a young designer who’s trying to learn the mediums of photoshop and illustrator. Every time I visit I end up “ctrl+click” -ing multiple other posts until my browser has about 10 tabs open. These have been truly valuable and helpful resources to me.
hmm I don´t see the reason of why people hates you. Maybe is because some people are jealous haha, with lot of “design blogs” that does not have quality content and just shitty stuff, your articles, tutorials, etc. are one of the most decent websites I´ve ever seen.
Diana
muchas gracias por la nutricion diaria de conocimientos, de tu parte tu blog es el mas interesante, excelente forma de pensar y transmitirla muchas gracias por la inspiración que es el motor que nos impulsa a los Diseñadores.
sigue haciendolo siempre este agradesido y lleere tu blog y tutoriales.
I have never commented/tweeted you but I just want you to know that whatever you’re doing is right to me and I love you for inspiring me, always.
I find that those who complain the most on blogs like yours are either jealous, or have nothing better to do with their time.
Good on you for making a success of self-employment, Chris.
Keep doing what you’re doing Chis. It’s all good
Thanks Chris to the works this amazing, please out to the new tutorials, articles and layout site to photoshop!!
:)
Haters gonna hate.
In all seriousness, I can see where some people can be upset with list posts & tutorials.
My local community is plagued by zombie designers with no skill. We, the real designers that paid for an education, can’t find jobs because of it.
Because of the sheer number of these zombies, they end up with a huge amount of design contracts, while we remain partially invisible. I’m not entirely sure why that happens.
We have 2 great graphic design & multimedia programs in our local schools here, but clients seem to flock to people that can’t design. For example, a local Karate school seems to get their stuff designed by a 14 year old that pirated Photoshop and finds the Artistic Filters cool.
And don’t even get me started with the nightlife ‘design’ scene.
Of course, as stated, the availability of tutorials is the main cause of these zombies. However, I myself still use tutorials to achieve specific effects, even though I’ve done a 3 year web & design program in College and am about to do a 3 year Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design. I’ve learned the basics, but tutorials let me soak up even more knowledge. Tutorials are even better for people that are trained since we’re able to deconstruct a tutorial to isolate different techniques used and find new applications for them.
As for list posts, you execute them very well and the information provided is always interesting. I really love the Sites of Week you do on Line25. However, now all blogs operate like yours. A lot of what I’ve seen feel more like spam posts than an interesting list of links.
I’m not sure if all of that made sense. Regardless, your blog has always been and always will be a great source of inspiration and information.
Hey Chris,
I’d say just keep doing what you’re doing. Life’s too short to worry about people who might ‘hate’ you for posting general life updates on facebook/twitter.
I’m guilty of doing the same, although I don’t run a design blog. I post all sorts of crap on my twitter in amongst things about design/technology/development and probably annoy a fair few people for doing so. But I’d rather follow people like you on twitter than be spammed by SEO or Marketing companies trying to promote their own business by hooking up with my account.
I’m not really into design, just the basics, but I subscribe to your blog because of the awesome how-tos! This post humanised you, and it’s good. I shall now read with more attention <3
I don’t love and hate you ;)
I, for one, just discovered this website on Bloglovin’. I’ll reserve judgement for now ;-). Good stuff mate!
Chris, I just want to thank you for being so humble and honest. Your blogs are prime examples of those kinds of places that have ‘that something about them’ that make me want to keep reading them. Content, or the mix of good content, is the main thing, but, it is the pet shots and game tips and the honesty in your writing that makes it feel like a ‘letter home’ more than a ‘design blog’. Don’t change a thing.
Su
screw ’em. Im from Mexico, and thanx to people like you i’ve been able to learn so much! keep doing your thing man.!
I like you because of your content.
I dont like you because of your british accent
I hate it when you go on too much, like in this post :o)
I like your blogs because you make me feel connected to the design community. I live in a really small town where it’s hard to communicate with people who have similar interest; let alone same type aesthetics. No matter what you do there will be always someone out there who hates you for the you do, like you said. I say post more stuff and tweet way more, if they have a problem with that tell them not to go to your blog or follow you on twitter! ;)
Chris, two words… YOU ROCK!
I think you are amazingly generous. Most of the critics are just Authoritarian types masquerading as individuals. They probably say they believe in free speech. Much better to be an authority than an authoritarian, and you are an authority. Keep it coming!
Love your site! Your tutorials and help have been an invaluable resource for someone like me who is just beginning to learn the ins and outs of Adobe programs and web design in general. Keep up the great work! :D
I hate you because your accent is so awesome and for some reason I’m ultimately more interested in what you have to say? You must get so many girls because of it.
Dear Chris,
Don’t ever stop what you’re doing! You’re a breath of fresh air…
Unfortunately in the design industry, hate comes from jealousy. Other designers and bloggers have issues with other people’s success. Hard to find competitors that will actually compliment you on your work.
As a Graphic Designer for 17 years now, I love working with other designers and getting inspired by them.
You are one of them …..a true inspiration!
Shir
I love your work because you show that you have alot of passion for the game and you’re determined to assist others in it. Chris, you have inspired me to take more of an interest in becoming a better UX developer and I’m glad that I have experienced your work.
You understand what your brand is, also. To write something of this topic takes alot of courage to bring this forth. Consistency, too.
Hi Chris when I started out teaching myself web design this was the place to go. To learn how to design cool stuff and I based my 1st site on your one page portfolio :)
I have now come a long way now but I still drop by to learn something new :) keep up the good work and visit my site and let me know what you think knowing I learnt most of my tricks from you :)
I thought you’re doing this for money :P
좋은 글입니다.
All I can say is that this is a personalized post… Its not that you are personally taking the ‘why do they hate me’ part but I love the humanized tone instead of having the designs commercialized…