The Creative Finder is a site from the creators of popular daily creativity and innovation news site, designtaxi.com. Around since 2009, the site dubs itself as a global search engine for creatives, aiming to connect people for business, networking or just collaboration. Creator Alex Goh just launched a new edition of the site, which not only integrates with existing social networks like Tumblr and Pinterest – where many creatives choose to host imagery outside of the standard Facebook and Twitter spaces – it also offers a way for users dubbed “finders” to locate creative types for commission-based work. If Facebook is a space to display the finished product in front of a willing audience, then the Creative Finder is a network for discovering the people who will help you make that product.
I mostly use Facebook to network with writers, artists and people in the arts, so I curated my profile on The Creative Finder with the same imagery. In this updated version of the site, a search for “kittens” brings up both profiles and images containing that keyword.
The Creative Finder also provides a main image-only news feed, which you can sort by recent, popular or “images by me.”
Much like on design-focused site Pinterest, users can easily “love” something (on Pinterest, that would be a “repin”), and it will be added to their feed and the public feed. This is one easy way to keep track of the imagery that you enjoy in one single space.
On Facebook, if you’re a creative person who wants to save images that you like or are inspired by, there’s no real way to do that, unless you download the images or share them directly to your self-curated wall.
For a creative type, it’s slightly easier to keep track of images on Pinterest – just repin them to your pinboard. On The Creative Finder, much like on Pinterest, if you find a user whose images you enjoy, you can easily follow their feed.
The Creative Finder provides information on each creative person’s portfolio, making it easier to follow and far more contained space-wise than the free-wheeling Facebook, the streamlined Twitter and the image-centric Pinterest.
Case in point: Arlen Schumer’s profile shows a complete gallery of her work, along with easy ways to follow, message, visit her website or download the PDF. It also shows news of the artist’s latest lectures, a home address and a phone number. A messaging system makes it easy to send a note, keeping it inside this professional network.
Overall, the site is not nearly as busy and fast-paced as Facebook or Twitter. Rather, like a coffee shop where artists hang out, it’s slow-paced and easy to chill at. Think quietly flipping through magazines and chatting with folks who come and go throughout the day.
Image via Shutterstock.
