Over 500 designers attended Dribbble Meetups all around the world in May, representing 6 countries within 14 events. As usual, we saw some fun analog playoffs, intimate gatherings, lively discussions, and of course some incredible presentations by world-class speakers.
Getting FOMO? There are plenty more Dribbble Meetups on deck for June in places like Ile-Ife, Charleston, Noida, and more. Or maybe you’re ready to host your own Dribbble Meetup and grow the community in your area! Our amazing hosts talk about the meetups in their own words below, check it out.
Berlin, Germany @ Shopify/Oberlo HQ
“The first ever Dribbble meetup we organized was a great success. We were very happy to meet more than 50 designers in one cozy space and talk design. We were lucky to get such amazing speakers to share their experience with us, thanks to Jude and Justas. And of course, thanks to everyone who came and spent some time with us.
Tampa, Florida @ Cigar City Brewing
“Tampa’s May meetup was a beer-themed blast! We were invited to Cigar City Brewing where we were able to tour the brewery and learn about their design process. CCB’s in-house designer, Mitch Cook, joined us and walked us through his design process for creating can, label, and packaging design.
“Our analog challenge was inspired by our host, with all of our Dribbblers designing their own beer can labels for Dribbbeer using the actual packaging template provided by Mitch. Everyone had a great time socializing afterwords while trying CCB’s incredible array of drink. A total of 12 Dribbblers attended this meeting and got the chance to enjoy the awesome tour and behind the scenes look at CCB’s production process.”
Ahmedabad, India @ Uncubate Coworking Space
“For our second Ahmedabad Dribble Meetup, we were accompanied by Prof. Mahendra Patel, a senior type designer and lettering expert.
“Around 24 people gathered for the hands-on meetup on ‘Construction of Letterform’. The meetup was divided into three parts: Lettering with ink and brush on a vertical surface, lettering with teakwood sticks and ink on a horizontal surface, and visual weight of a letter by cutting and pasting exercise. Beyond the exercises, our conversations with Mahendra Sir about design world experiences were insightful and joyous and kept the overall mood light and cheerful.
“It was a pleasure for us to host this meetup and support the creative community. We are especially thankful to Mahendra Sir to help us with our goal to share and contribute to the community.”
Boston, Massachusetts @ Bevspot
“BevSpot hosted its first meetup on May 22 at our office in Boston! It was a night filled with Dribbble—pink drinks, pretzels, and plenty of fun. Twenty designers came to chat, mingle, and talk about all things design!
“After grabbing cocktails and snacks, attendees settled in for a quick presentation from BevSpot’s Design Director, Stephanie MacLeod, about the importance of building a community, ways to build your brand, and how strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet. With that in mind, everyone set off to create some mad-lib inspired business cards to hand out to their fellow designers.
“Overall, the night was an opportunity for Boston designers to get together and just engage with each other. We were all reminded that you don’t have to be alone in your job or field, there are plenty of connections out there if you take the time to build them.
Leeds, United Kingdom @ The Greenhouse
“We were absolutely thrilled to be hosting Leeds’ second-ever Dribbble Meetup at The Greenhouse. For many of the fifty or so people who ventured out to join us in Meanwood, it was the very first time they’d seen our new suburban creative space. There was such a warm, relaxed atmosphere all night, with plenty of curious questions from the crowd. The talks were as diverse as they were interesting, touching on making time for creative projects, learning from your UX mistakes, code opportunities for girls in schools, the ups and downs of freelance life, and the importance of knowing your own values when it comes to choosing projects.
“Finally, I have to mention the delicious beer being poured by local independent brewery Anthology, and the tasty pizza supplied by nearby Culto—an Italian kitchen known for their signature black Pizza Nera base made with vegetable charcoal!”
Miami, Florida @ Building.Co
“The Miami meetup took place on May 21 at Building.Co. The location was sponsored by Ironhack. The focus of the meetup was a panel conversation between five local female designers with various levels of experience across multiple industries. The conversation centered on embracing risk, owning mistakes, promoting yourself, networking, and overcoming biases at work. The event hosted 30 designers (a mix of graphic designers and user experience designers primarily). It lasted about 3 hours and we had a book giveaway to promote business skills while freelancing as a designer. Attendees enjoyed food and wine while networking!”
Pune, India @ Webonise Lab
“It was a privilege to host our Pune Dirbbble Meetup. We at DesignBoat, a startup focused on providing industry standard design education to the Indian community teamed up with Webonise Labs, Pune to host this Meetup. Over 180 Attendees, 20 Volunteers, and 7 Amazing Speakers were part of this event. Attendees had interactive learning sessions and heard talks from our esteemed speakers.
“Our attendees were inspired and entertained by activities like emoji design and mood boards. A huge shoutout to our creative partners Webonise labs for supporting us in building this event.
Meetups
The following Dribbble Meetups are happening soon. For the full list of upcoming meetups, visit our Meetups page.
Find more Meetups stories on our blog Courtside. Have a suggestion? Contact stories@dribbble.com.
