19 July 2023

Threads, Twitter, or Neither: Which Social Platforms Work Best for Designers?

In light of Meta launching its new social media platform Threads, we asked designers which social platforms they value most and how they use them.

Dragon Rouge executive director, global marketing and reputation James Byrne

“At Dragon Rouge we focus mostly on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. LinkedIn is key as many of our clients and peers are on there, so it acts as a strong platform for sharing work and building awareness and reputation. Instagram is great as you can do more with it creatively across the feed, stories and reels, but our audience there is mostly future talent and peers, with some exceptions on the client-side, who are usually from design or creative discipline.

Twitter can be good to work with using particular hashtags, especially around industry events or particular sectors. For example, if we are doing the rebrand of a football club it can really help to tag the club, and gets exposure with the ‘Twitterati’ outside of the marketing and design world.

We have been working on new motion case studies for LinkedIn to showcase a whole project within one short video – this works for the more one-dimensional platform format.”

Fuseproject founder and creative CEO Yves Béhar

“To be honest, I think Twitter and Threads are just the same flavour of an old concept of social media that exploits our worse human traits: negativity and confrontation. At this time in our evolution, I would hope that the richest tech folks on the planet focused on something new, something hopeful, something humanizing. If we can’t expect that from the most fortunate men on earth, how can we expect any human progress from the rest of us?

So for now, I am using Instagram as a way to share my discoveries, design explorations and our team’s efforts and dedication. But please, can someone build something new instead of profiting passé inventions they haven’t even created in the first place?”

Blacksheep partner and interior director Toni Black

“At Blacksheep, we currently communicate our brand and share our world as designers across the two social platforms of Instagram and LinkedIn. Both have been invaluable tools to be able to connect, engage and grow our community. Our social platforms are all managed in-house by a collective multidisciplinary team, which helps to convey an authentic, inclusive voice within our content that represents our studio’s dynamic culture and work.

Instagram provides us with the opportunity to showcase the inclusivity of our design work from materiality, technique and craftmanship collaborations – to really delve into the details – while also being able to deliver fast-paced digital content in the form of reels and stories.

LinkedIn is a fantastic platform for the design community and over the years has allowed us to reach a much wider network of clients, creative talent and industry leaders through insight-driven content and detailed case study features. Through networking and events, LinkedIn has helped to create a bridge between our online inspiration and getting us out in the field to really immerse ourselves into the world of design.”

Special Projects director Clara Gaggero-Westaway

“At Special Projects we value LinkedIn when it comes to engaging our audiences and sharing our news, as well as connecting with brands and people we would love to collaborate with. We like the fact that it’s a Monday – Friday channel so it remains a business platform first and foremost. A work-life balance is something we strongly believe in as a studio.

Instagram also continues to be a useful tool in sharing our more visual-led projects and the behind-the-scenes magic of the studio, which we know delights the designers of the future as much as our peers. We look forward to seeing how Threads will be of value to the design industry and are currently trialling it.”

Studio Up North founder and creative director Jamie Kelly

“I have always gone by the principle of focusing on three platforms and doing them as well as possible. We have a presence across Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, but it is LinkedIn where we share and interact most frequently.

LinkedIn as a platform is not only great for sharing work and case studies, which get good traction, but more importantly, it allows us to share insight into our culture here at SUN. This is where we see the most engagement. We champion the team, their achievements and their personalities, and we know that we’re opening this up to an audience who are interested and want to know more.

It’s also a great platform for building your own personal brand, which allows people to get to know us in a more personal way, and this also offers reflections on how we work as individuals, and our approach to our clients.”

Written by: Abbey Bamford