Ask Nubby #23: Sharing Work Online

October 14, 2009

As creatives, this is something that we all ponder. It is scary putting your work on a platform that can be instantly viewed and accessed by the entire world. It takes a level of trust and confidence in yourself and your work as well because not everyone is going to like or to appreciate what you do. To contrast this, a few people will like your work so much that they will want to steal it.

My 2009 Design Portfolio

But remember that you aren’t doing yourself any favors by staying hidden in the shadows. Consistent exposure will help people remember who you are and what you do the next time they’re in the market for a designer. My motto has always been “It doesn’t matter how good you are if nobody knows how to find you.” At some point, you have to let go of the reigns and show the world what you’re all about.

It all of this makes you highly uncomfortable, that’s okay. Aim for an agency, in-house or print shop job instead and stay away from the internet.

I have a unique stance on sharing work on the internet because as a freelancer, I am very much dependent on showing what I do with the hopes of gaining new clients. My client list, reputation and portfolio are all important factors that weigh heavily with me earning their trust. Potential clients need visual proof that I am proficient in the areas that I claim to be. The only way to get this point across is through openly sharing my work. And, the more new work I do, the more I have to share. The more I share, the stronger my portfolio and reputation become. The stronger my portfolio and reputation become, the more clients I gain. Staying positive and focused on creation really does pay off.

To me, there are very few negatives associated with sharing my work online. Sure, people may want to steal my work. But, I am constantly working on new projects (though many have yet to be be seen because they are client-sensitive or in production). The bottom line is this; only share what you personally feel comfortable with. If you are confident with what you do, having people pilfer your work from years ago seems downright laughable because you’re always moving forward. You’re onto bigger and better things, refusing to live off your past successes alone.

Sharing is almost always positive. We all learn new things from viewing others’ work. Embrace it and chances are, great things will transpire.

Readers: What is your view on sharing your work online? Have you had your work stolen?

20 Responses to Ask Nubby #23: Sharing Work Online

1. Melissa Dominic says:

   This is a perfect topic, oh man. I always enjoy chiming in on this one.

   I’m such a fan of sharing and community based things. I am totally interested in things that come along with a Creative Commons liscense. I love and marvel at the works that people create and share online. I think it’s brought a lot of stuff to a newer level.

   I, myself, have been in works to create a serial novel to release online. I’ve been interested in getting people in on it to do audio-book format for it, some art, etc. I think it’s fun and interesting and sure it blows in the face of traditional publishing and sure it ruins first publishing rights (why things are infinitely trickier for writers, is beyond me), but, I don’t mind at all. For me, sharing, writing and experiencing things with other people matters more, at least to me in this stage of the writing/reading/publishing game.

   I haven’t had anyone steal my work from what I know. But I have had people come across my work and respost or claim it’s an inspiration to them. That to me means more and I would rather risk having my stuff stolen to be able to share what I do with people.

   I know a lot of people don’t feel that way, but I’ve never had it backfire in my face. At least not yet.

   Reply
2. Rhomany says:

   I can’t remember where I read it, but another creative person was asked once about why he posted all his notebooks up on his blog when it left him open to other people stealing his ideas. His answer was “They can steal the water, but I own the well.”
   I’ve followed that philosophy ever since. I think people who are worried about others stealing their ideas are, at the end of the day, worried about scarcity and that perhaps one day they will run out of ideas. It’s a common fear amongst creatives.
   But I’ve found that the less you worry about other people stealing your ideas and the more you share them, the more ideas you have and the more creative freedom you feel.

   Reply
3. True_Tech says:

   I’ve had a few things stolen from me not anything from a portfolio, but things like forum signatures I created used without permission. I’ve since then taken to watermarking everything I put online or putting only very scaled versions for people to see. Of course I’m always open to sharing stuff like that which i do for fun and to try out new techniques I just like to be asked and given credit for it (I’m an attention whore)

   Reply
4. Fajr| Stylish Thought says:

   I agree that sharing is positive and hoarding ideas or work because of fear only stops the pipeline for greater ideas to come. Like you wrote, by sharing you’re putting your work out there and getting more because clients and potential clients see your scope of work!

   Reply
5. Lindsayanng says:

   I agree as well. People can steal stuff from you, but what good is your portfolio if people can not see it?

   My husband is a photographer and I do graphic design. The only time i do any jumping through hoops to make sure photos arent stolen is when the client needs to pay for their photos, and not just right click and save them off of our website

   To me, the scariest thing about sharing on the internet is criticism.. but even then, I will take ANY criticism available.. So its not all that bad.

   Maybe professors who are preaching this idea of keeping everything to yourself come from the old-school world when “community” was just in your town and not on the internet. Things have changed. Designers are now sharing info with other designers.. photographers are offering up critiques to help other photographers become better.

   I was just talking to a really great graphic designer yesterday who is older, and he has worked on MANY large name brands. He said for him, it took him a long time to drop that sense of competition with every designer around. He said when there were no computers, and everyone was in serious competition for the local work. (Local being NYC and surrounding). It was a lot more cut-throat than it used to be.

   Now, people share ideas, create a sense of community, and help each other along. I have been very thankful for the friends that I have made, and for the network of people who I support and who support me. I quickly figured out that the more friends you have in the design industry, the more work you can get. They arent taking your work.. they are more likely to pass on the projects to you that aren’t their specialty, dont have the times to work on, or just cant do.

   Reply
6. Lindsayanng says:

   oh.. and a quick note from a web designer (me)

   You can VERY easily disable the ability to right click and save an image off of the internet.
   http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex9/noright.htm

   its not going to save you from someone really internet savy, but i have a feeling if the person is lazy enough to not create their own work, they arent smart enough to learn how to get around it.

   For writers, you can actually disable copy and paste .. but do so wisely.. people will not be able to copy or paste ANYTHING ELSE from your site as well
   http://www.web-wise-wizard.com/javascript-tutorials/disable-right-click.html

   Reply
7. Sonja says:

   I’ve never had my work stolen online – that I know of.

   I have, however, had my work physically stolen out of a gallery. Which certainly wasn’t on my list of things that I was prepared to deal with. The piece had already been sold, too! It was such a mess to deal with in terms of getting the seller refunded and worse, I live in a huge art-school town and I am forever fearful that someone is passing off my stolen piece as their own.

   So, it’s not just online that there’s a risk of theft. Ultimately, if you put your work into the world at all, it could be stolen. You just have to judge if the benefit of getting your name out there and gaining a reputation (and possible monetary income) as an artist is worth the risk of possible theft.

   Reply
8. joseph says:

   i used to worry a lot about this very thing (but it was before the interwebs were discovered*). it was also a great concern to me that i was going to ‘use up’ all my great ideas.

   after many years i learned that my ideas are only getting better, with more practice, and that ideas are meant to be traded. i’ve been inspired to absorb something, but maybe use it in a completely different way, or someone *gasp* gave me an idea to improve my original concept.

   as a designer i want as many people as possible to be aware of me and to think my ideas are worth stealing. i know someone who insists on giving out passwords for potential clients to view his site so that he can keep track of visitors. i don’t think he gets many (and IMHO his work isn’t so great it needs protecting). if you’ve got an idea which could be the next Pet Rock, i would try to protect that, otherwise why hide your brilliance from the world?

   *i know the internets weren’t discovered

   Reply
9. Yoshi says:

   You have to be prepared to put your work out there, I think.

   I have had people copy and edit my designs, and in some cases people have tried to pass my work off as their own. While this is hard to deal with, and very frustrating… it’s also kind of flattering that someone would like my work enough to want to steal it!

   Reply
10. Lillian says:

    I am very guitly of putting pictures/whatever out there and not thinking about the risk of things getting stolen. I guess its a combo of the fact that I know only a few people actually read my blog, plus I didn’t think anyone would want to “steal” my stuff, but not even a few weeks ago I found one of my drawings (that had only been online a for about a week) on someones blog on stumble! made to look like they had doodled it no less.
    Unfortunetly I clicked out of the window and didn’t save the adress. Its not a huge deal but its still a quick reminder to be careful what you put out there!

    Reply
11. Erin Grace says:

    I’m a young artist and I have some of my work online for all to see. In the past I have had my artwork and concepts stolen by other art students, as a result of this accessibility. I must admit, it feels really horrible to have your work stolen, but it doesn’t scare me away from sharing my work with the world wide web.

    There will always be copy-cats, but they will never be able to reproduce your work to the standards and quality of which YOU created it. I have learned to let it go.. And I’ve realised that people only steal your work because they like it, and identify with it. It saved me a lot of pain to just accept it as some kind of strange compliment.

    <3

    Reply
12. Nubby says:

    It’s great to hear that most of you are positive about sharing and feel that there are benefits to putting your work online. Thanks so much for sharing your views!

    Reply
13. Rachel says:

    I love the way you’re looking at this Nubby. This is a wonderful perspective and very uplifting. The comments are great too, I love “I own the well.” I’ll be linking.

    Reply
14. Lola says:

    I’ve had lots stolen, at some point you realise it’s because your work is good

    I always come up with ideas, so I cannot agree with it (hoarding) having to do with being scared of the well drying up, in the slightest, I’d even say those who are stolen from are probably the most creative

    What I don’t like is how something close to ones heart, with meaning, is so sloppily copied, and without meaning

    So much thrives on that… nd I think a good eye with a strong education can tell…. Many can’t

    I have a bit of a problem with that

    Aesthetic shitehouse

    Reply
15. Lola says:

    The meaning gets lost… so I think a little, what’s the word, carefulness is good

    Reply

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17. Sean says:

    Working in Comics and Cartoons, one of the thing that ends up being a big anti-starter for people is the issue of copyrights. They’ve got sketchbooks filled with concept art and variations on logos, but they won’t put anything out until some indeterminate day in the future when they have their copyrights in order, lest someone steal their ideas.

    When I was first selling comic books and managing to pay the rent off of it, my Dad expressed the same concern for the number of books that I had out there without proper copyrights in place. It took a long time, but I finally got him to understand that the best security for your ideas lies in being prolific and making sure as many people see the work as possible.

    “And besides”, I concluded. “If all I have is the one good idea that someone steals, I’ve got bigger problems than people stealing my ideas.”

    Reply
18. Rose says:

    This post couldn’t have come at a better time. I have only recently started writing on my blog regularly with the decision to turn my wordpress into my official website. I was heavily debating putting my resume and portfolio on there. I was going to have people just email for the info but I feel much more comfortable now just putting it all out there. I know my work is only getting better and my blog is all about learning more about my field and sharing what I know so it makes sense I guess to actually show people where I’m at. I worry about competitors but I’d rather get exposure. Thanks for clearing up my concerns.

    Reply
19. queengilda says:

    i think that no matter which field of design we come from, there are always the big arseh*les who will ruin it for everyone by being nasty pigs without values.

    i’m in fashion design, and deep down i know i do have a constant fear that by putting up my designs on my blog, that someone might copy it because it has happened to me once before. it’s not great to know that you’ve come up with an idea for a garment and then 1 year later you realize that some STORE is selling it.

    i have also had more than 1 friend bring their portfolio for a job interview, only to have had their designs from their portfolio appear in that company’s next collection.

    it’s not an urban myth. the world IS full of scumbags.

    having said that, i think i am still somewhat cautious about putting up all my work, though i do want to share and i do want to put myself out there. for every scum who gets a new idea from my work, hopefully there will be some angel who wants to hire me. i think fashion design is a little different than say typography or graphic design; sketches are worth so much, and the knowledge to make the garment in the sketch is worth even more.

    having someone copying your work is really the most frustrating thing that’s worth tearing hair out over.

    but you’re right when you say there’s no point in keeping everything to yourself and not putting it out there. there has to be more plus points than negatives. more people seeing your work, more people appreciating it, and at least if you put it out there you could always say “i thought of it first?”

    haha.

    Reply

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