A top designer was banned from Dribbble. Now he’s building his own competitor.
Dribbble, a prominent platform for designers to showcase portfolios and secure clients, has taken the drastic step of permanently banning numerous designers. This move, which includes influential figures like Gleb Kuznetsov, founder of the San Francisco-based design studio Milkinside, is linked to the platform’s accelerated shift towards a marketplace model and intensified monetization strategies.
Kuznetsov, a highly recognized designer with a substantial following, expressed his shock and frustration on X (formerly Twitter). He reported that his account, which had amassed over 210 million views (archived) and represented 15 years of dedicated work with more than 12,000 shared designs, was summarily deleted. According to Kuznetsov, the ban was a direct consequence of sharing his contact information with a client, a violation of Dribbble’s newly enforced platform rules. He stated, “I brought 100,000+ monthly users. 15 years of work. 12,000+ shots. All instantly deleted, because a client asked for my email. One warning. No appeal. They didn’t care about the community. Just their 3% cut.”
Dribbble, conversely, asserts that Kuznetsov received multiple warnings regarding violations of their updated terms of service. Dribbble CEO Constantine Anastasakis indicated that Kuznetsov was repeatedly cautioned about sharing contact details before project payment was secured, with his account facing permanent suspension only after persistent non-compliance. Anastasakis highlighted that Kuznetsov shared his contact details in six separate messages despite explicit warnings, suggesting Kuznetsov might have presumed his prominent status would offer immunity. Anastasakis also remarked, “I actually think that he’s done us a big favor as far as getting the word out about how seriously we take the terms.”
The core of this dispute lies in Dribbble’s policy update, initially communicated on March 17, 2025. The platform notified its substantial user base of approximately 750,000 approved designers that sharing contact information with prospective clients before payment completion through Dribbble’s system would no longer be tolerated. Dribbble presents this policy as a safeguard against non-payment for designers and a necessary measure for the platform’s financial viability. This directive reinforces rules introduced in September 2024, which mandated designers to either utilize Dribbble’s transaction services, involving a 3.5% revenue share, or purchase a Pro subscription to circumvent this fee.
CEO Anastasakis further clarified that Dribbble’s transformation into a marketplace aims to monetize client acquisition directly on the platform. “It went from it was optional to use our transactional features to it was required for non-advertisers to use our transactional features, if they were on Dribbble, to find clients,” he explained, noting that users solely engaging with the platform for inspiration or peer feedback remain unaffected by these changes.
Feeling disenfranchised by Dribbble’s strategic redirection, Kuznetsov is actively engaging with investors to establish a new platform. He intends for this new venture to be a distinct resource for designers, with a significant emphasis on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI). Kuznetsov believes AI holds substantial promise for designers, enhancing inspiration, creation processes, and elevating overall design quality and earning potential, thereby filling a perceived void in the market for AI-focused startups tailored to designers.
Kuznetsov anticipates releasing a minimum viable product (MVP) within the next three to four months. He stresses that his ambition is not to “kill” Dribbble but to foster a beneficial environment for the design community, drawing from his own extensive experience as a designer. “We need to be really smart about how we invest our time — how we give our best and give our life to other platforms. Diversification of that investment should be something that everyone should be thinking about,” he advised, encouraging fellow designers to consider diversifying their professional endeavors.
