Your work deserves to be discovered.
Pilot cohort · 6 designers · 8 sessions
Instagram opened doors I didn’t know existed: exhibitions, speaking, design jobs and paid collaborations. In this eight-session pilot, six designers and artists learn the method I built: how to tell your story, present your skills and position yourself.
Starts Sunday, 22 November
Led by Maya Kaplan, fashion and textile designer and researcher. 38K+ followers in five months and an average of 5 million monthly views on @mayakaplandesign.
Creativity · Visibility · Opportunity
Why I’m doing this
I didn’t think Instagram counted.
What Instagram opened up for me
- Public speaking
- Exhibitions
- Design & consultancy jobs
- Paid brand collaborations
And that’s only the start.
Followers · @mayakaplandesign
Drawn to scale
I’m Maya, a fashion and textile designer and researcher. For years I shared my work on Instagram without taking it seriously. I didn’t think it counted, I couldn’t see the platform’s potential, and I didn’t want to invest in it.
All this changed when I decided to put myself out there and present my work in a way I never had before. I found what works for my style and repeated it, and my posts went viral again and again.
That’s when I finally saw what this platform could do for me as a designer. The opportunities kept coming, so many that I had to quit my full-time design job to say yes to them. I never knew that was even possible. Instagram opened those doors for me.
So I went deep into the algorithm. Through many trials and plenty of errors, I found what works, and I want to share this knowledge with others so they can enjoy it too. My exploration also showed me that no social media practice was tailored to designers. As a designer myself, I learned what actually works for us.
What I learned
As a designer, knowing how Instagram works isn’t enough. You have to know how to tell your story, what to show and what not to, how to present your skills, and how to position yourself. Beautiful images alone won’t do it.
Instagram is where the industry looks.
Most professionals in design spend part of every day on Instagram, looking for inspiration, ideas and innovation. It’s the main channel where they discover artists.
Once I understood that, doors started opening faster than I could walk through them. I left my corporate job to do this full time, because I couldn’t say yes to everything from inside a full-time role.
The followers are only the proof. What matters is who sees your work, and what they invite you to do next. You’ve probably watched someone else get the exhibitions, the invitations and the collaborations, and wondered how. It comes down to being seen by the right people, in the right way. You can have that too.
Skipping Instagram isn’t neutral. It means passing up the biggest free showcase for your work you’ll ever get.
Afraid? Embarrassed? Not sure where to start?
Many of my designer friends told me exactly that. I get it, I didn’t think it counted either. But being embarrassed quietly costs you your biggest opportunities, and once you understand how it works, it’s easier than you think. The first wins push you forward.
The pilot
Eight sessions. Six designers. Your own voice.
Every designer and artist has their own methods and their own voice, and what worked for one won’t necessarily work for another. I learned that by testing format after format myself.
People can teach you the algorithm. Nobody can tailor it to your creative voice and your niche. That part you have to find yourself.
That’s why I’m taking only six designers: so we can find our voices together, and learn from each other.
We meet every Sunday for 90 minutes, eight sessions in all, starting on 22 November. Every session, each of you puts real work on screen and gets feedback from me and the group.
In the sessions, I will
- Share what I know about the algorithm
- What works, and what doesn’t.
- Show you when and what to post
- For your work, not for everyone’s.
- Find your voice and your format
- I’ll get to know your work and guide you to the way of showing it that fits you best.
- Teach you to read Instagram Insights
- What matters, and how to improve it.
- Turn views into opportunities
- What to do when a brand, curator or client writes to you, and how to make your profile work like a portfolio.
- Set up a WhatsApp group for all of us
- To support each other, share insights and lift each other’s engagement.
- Starts
- 22 November
- Sessions
- 8 × 90 min
- Meeting
- Every Sunday
- Group size
- 6 designers
- Selection
- By application
When
Starting Sunday, 22 November
Eight Sundays, 90 minutes each: 22 November to 20 December, a two-week break over the holidays, then 10, 17 and 24 January.
Every Sunday at
Europe
- London
- 4:00 pm
- Paris, Berlin
- 5:00 pm
- Athens, Helsinki
- 6:00 pm
United States
- New York
- 11:00 am
- Chicago
- 10:00 am
- Denver
- 9:00 am
- Los Angeles
- 8:00 am
This pilot is for you if…
- You’re a designer or artist who actively creates.
- You have work you’re able, and want, to share publicly.
- You’re ready to put yourself out there. Nervous is fine.
- You’ll commit to the process if you’re chosen.
If that’s you, nominate yourself below.
Pilot price
$450$650
This first cohort is a pilot, so seats come at a discount: $450 instead of the $650 it will cost later.
It costs nothing to apply. If I choose you, I’ll send you the payment details.
Apply
Nominate yourself.
Answer the questions below. I’m choosing six designers based on your answers, and I’ll get back to you personally.
Excited for this. Talk soon! — Maya
Nomination received
Thank you!
I’ll read every nomination and get back to you personally.
— Maya