Behance

Behance, stylized as Bēhance, is an online platform for presenting, discovering, and discussing creative work. Founded in November 2005 by Scott Belsky and Matias Corea, it was designed around the idea that creative work should be organized into visible projects rather than treated as isolated images or informal personal portfolios. Users can create profiles, publish projects, follow other members, receive comments and appreciation, and use the platform as a public-facing record of their creative practice. Although anyone can view published projects, registered members gain access to the platform's social and portfolio features. The service developed at the intersection of professional networking, online publishing, recruiting, and creative inspiration. Its audience includes designers, illustrators, photographers, art directors, animators, architects, fashion professionals, industrial designers, typographers, artists, and other creative practitioners. The platform's project-oriented structure distinguishes it from more general social networks and from image-focused communities: a project can present a body of work with images, video, text, process material, and contextual information. This makes Behance useful both for discovery and for professional self-presentation. During its independent period, Behance generated revenue through banner advertising, job postings, and tickets for the 99U conference. The company received its first reported outside investment in May 2012, raising $6.5 million from investors that included Dave McClure and Bezos Expeditions. Adobe acquired Behance in December 2012 for a reported $150 million. The acquisition placed Behance within Adobe's broader creative software and services ecosystem and expanded its strategic role beyond a standalone portfolio website. Adobe's ownership also connected Behance to products and services such as Creative Cloud and Adobe Portfolio. Behance has operated a range of related initiatives. Adobe Portfolio, formerly known as ProSite, provides tools for creating a personal portfolio website and can synchronize with a user's Behance projects. The Served sites distributed selected Behance content through category-focused destinations covering areas such as fashion, industrial design, typography, branding, digital art, advertising, and architecture. Behance also created Action Method, a productivity system for creative professionals that included paper products and an online application, and developed 99U as a conference and consulting-oriented media initiative focused on implementation, leadership, teamwork, marketing, and productivity. In 2021, Behance introduced a subscription feature that enabled users to sell tutorials and other services. The platform also added crypto-wallet integration during the same period. These changes reflected an effort to broaden Behance from a showcase and networking service into a platform supporting creator monetization and emerging digital-asset workflows. The service has also been associated with awards and industry recognition, including Webby recognition for its community and for the 99U editorial project. Behance remains an active Adobe-owned platform with a global creative audience. Its central proposition is the public presentation and discovery of creative work, while its wider ecosystem supports portfolio construction, professional visibility, learning, recruitment, and community participation. Public reporting stated that Behance had more than 24 million members by October 2020. At the same time, Adobe's acquisition generated concerns about user trust and monitoring, and demographic research cited in coverage identified a substantial gender imbalance in the platform's user base and engagement patterns.

Behance was established in November 2005 by Scott Belsky and Matias Corea. Its founding concept was to improve how creative professionals displayed and discovered work online. Rather than centering the service on individual image uploads, the founders organized the platform around projects: structured presentations that could contain multiple images, explanatory text, and other material. This approach was intended to make creative output easier to evaluate as a body of work and to provide users with a more professional alternative to scattered online portfolios. The resulting Behance Network combined portfolio publishing with social-network features. Members could create profiles, publish projects, follow other users, comment on work, and receive appreciation from the community. Published projects could also be viewed by people who were not registered. This combination gave Behance two complementary functions: it served as a professional identity and presentation tool for creators, and as a discovery environment for employers, clients, peers, students, and people seeking visual inspiration. In its early business model, Behance generated income from banner advertising, job postings, and tickets to the 99U conference. The company also developed adjacent products and editorial initiatives. The Served sites distributed Behance content through category-specific destinations, including areas such as fashion, industrial design, typography, branding, digital art, advertising, and architecture. Action Method extended the brand into productivity for creative professionals through a methodology, physical stationery products, and an online application. The online Action Method service was later discontinued, while the paper-product line was sold by The Ghostly Store from 2014 rather than directly by Behance. Behance also developed 99U, a New York-based consulting and conference initiative focused on turning ideas into action. Its subject matter included marketing, leadership, teamwork, and productivity. The name referred to the idea that execution and effort account for most of achievement. The 99U editorial project received a Webby Award in 2011, and Adobe later presented the 2019 99U gathering as its eleventh annual event, with 1,000 registration tickets reported. Behance's first reported outside financing took place in May 2012, when it raised $6.5 million from investors including Dave McClure and Bezos Expeditions. Later that year, in December 2012, Adobe acquired the company for a reported $150 million. The transaction brought Behance into Adobe's creative-services ecosystem and made the platform part of a larger strategy linking software, cloud services, publishing, community, and professional presentation. Adobe Portfolio, formerly called ProSite, became the principal related website-building tool. It allowed users to create personal portfolio websites and synchronize them with Behance projects, although access was tied to an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. The acquisition also raised concerns among some observers about whether Adobe ownership could lead to greater monitoring of user activity and reduce trust in the platform. These concerns formed part of a broader debate about the relationship between large creative-software companies and online communities whose users contribute much of the visible content. Separately, demographic studies cited in public descriptions of Behance found that male users outnumbered female users by more than two to one. Those studies also reported that men and women created roughly similar numbers of projects, while men tended to obtain more followers and appreciations. Behance continued expanding its platform functions after the acquisition. In 2021 it added a subscription feature that enabled users to sell tutorials and other services. It also added crypto-wallet integration, signaling interest in creator monetization and digital-asset applications. By October 2020, publicly cited information placed the membership base above 24 million. Behance is currently an Adobe-owned, globally available creative-networking platform whose core role remains the presentation, discovery, and professional circulation of creative work.

• 2021

  Subscription and crypto-wallet features are added

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Behance introduces subscriptions for tutorials and services and adds crypto-wallet integration.

• 2020

  Membership passes 24 million

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Publicly cited information reports more than 24 million Behance members by October.

• 2019

  Adobe presents the eleventh 99U gathering

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Adobe presents the 2019 99U event in May; public descriptions cite 1,000 registration tickets.

• 2014

  Action Method paper products move to The Ghostly Store

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  The Action Method paper-product line begins being sold by The Ghostly Store rather than directly by Behance.

• 2012

  Behance raises outside capital

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  The company raises a reported $6.5 million in its first outside funding round.

• 2012

  Adobe acquires Behance

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Adobe acquires Behance in December for a reported $150 million.

• 2011

  The 99% wins a Webby Award

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Behance's 99U-related editorial project, then known as The 99%, wins a Webby Award for Best Cultural Blog.

• 2010

  Served sites expand their categories

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Additional category-focused Served sites are added, including branding, digital art, and toy design.

• 2009

  Behance receives Webby recognition

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  The Behance Network is listed as a Webby Award finalist in the self-promotion and portfolio category.

• 2005

  Behance is founded

  [1]Behanceen.wikipedia.org

  Scott Belsky and Matias Corea establish Behance in November as a project-oriented platform for presenting and discovering creative work.

A global professional showcase and discovery network for creative work, positioned between an online portfolio service, a social community, and a professional platform for creative talent.

• Creative networking and portfolio publishing · 2005

  Behance platform

  Behance is the brand's central online service. Users create profiles and publish projects that can combine visual work, video, text, and contextual information. Other members can follow creators, comment on projects, and express appreciation. Public visibility allows unregistered visitors to browse much of the work, making the platform useful for creative discovery, professional presentation, recruiting, and client development. Its project-based structure is designed to show work as a coherent case study or body of practice rather than as disconnected media uploads.

• Portfolio website builder

  Adobe Portfolio

  Adobe Portfolio, formerly known as ProSite, is a web-based tool for creating personal portfolio websites. It can synchronize a user's website with projects published on Behance, linking the public portfolio function to Adobe's wider Creative Cloud subscription ecosystem. The service is intended for creators who want a more controlled personal website in addition to a profile on the Behance network.

• Curated creative content network

  Served sites

  The Served sites were category-focused destinations that distributed selected content from the Behance Network. Categories described in public sources included fashion, industrial design, typography, branding, digital art, toy design, advertising, and architecture. They extended Behance's discovery model into more specialized creative fields and helped organize the platform's broad body of work for audiences interested in particular disciplines.

• Creative productivity system

  Action Method

  Action Method was a productivity methodology created for creative professionals. Its organizing idea was to translate events and ideas into concrete action steps. The initiative included paper products and an online application. The online application was discontinued on June 1, 2014, and the paper-product line was subsequently sold by The Ghostly Store rather than directly by Behance.

• Conference, consulting, and editorial initiative

  99U

  99U is a Behance-originated initiative focused on implementation, marketing, leadership, teamwork, and productivity for creative professionals. It included a New York conference and consulting-oriented work, with attendees referred to as fellows. The name was derived from the concept that achievement depends predominantly on effort and execution. Adobe continued presenting the event after acquiring Behance.

• 2021

  Expand into creator monetizationStrategy

  Background

  Behance had historically centered on public creative portfolios, discovery, and networking, while creators increasingly sought ways to sell knowledge and services directly through digital platforms.

  Action taken

  Behance introduced subscriptions that allowed users to sell tutorials and other services, alongside crypto-wallet integration.

  Aftermath

  The changes broadened Behance's role from a showcase and networking service toward creator commerce and emerging digital-asset workflows.

  Source

• 2012

  Join Adobe's creative ecosystemM&A

  Background

  Behance had built a project-based portfolio and networking service for creative professionals and had raised its first outside funding earlier in the year.

  Action taken

  Adobe acquired Behance in December 2012 for a reported $150 million.

  Aftermath

  Behance became part of Adobe's creative-services portfolio, with related services such as Adobe Portfolio linking public portfolio publishing to Creative Cloud. The acquisition also prompted concerns among some users and observers about monitoring and trust.

  Reported acquisition price. $150 million (December 2012)

  Source

1. 1Behanceen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Behance official websitebehance.net