Executive Summary
We analyzed 86 design communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.
The big picture: design communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.
Source: Hive Index community database · Updated periodically
- Communities
- 86
- Platforms
- 12
- Avg members
- 23K
- Median members
- 2K
Where Design Communities Are Hosted
- Independent Platforms: 19 communities (22%)
- Slack: 18 communities (21%)
- LinkedIn: 18 communities (21%)
- Discord: 13 communities (15%)
- Facebook: 5 communities (6%)
- WhatsApp: 4 communities (5%)
- X / Twitter: 2 communities (2%)
- Mighty Networks: 2 communities (2%)
- Telegram: 2 communities (2%)
- Reddit: 1 communities (1%)
- Nas.io: 1 communities (1%)
- Circle: 1 communities (1%)
- 19(22%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 18(21%)
Slack - 18(21%)
LinkedIn - 13(15%)
Discord - 5(6%)
Facebook - 4(5%)
WhatsApp - 2(2%)
X / Twitter - 2(2%)
Mighty Networks
Format mix
- 37(43%)Chat communities
- 25(29%)Forum / feed-based
- 21(24%)Other platforms
- 3(3%)Private membership
Chat communities is most common (43%), but forum / feed-based is also well represented (29%).
Independent Platforms leads, but Slack and LinkedIn also represent meaningful shares.
Audience Size & Access
Community size
- Tiny: 0 communities (0%)
- Small: 4 communities (5%)
- Medium: 22 communities (26%)
- Large: 28 communities (33%)
- Huge: 12 communities (14%)
- Massive: 5 communities (6%)
- Gigantic: 0 communities (0%)
- 0(0%)Tiny<20 members
- 4(5%)Small20-100 members
- 22(26%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 28(33%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 12(14%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 5(6%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 0(0%)Gigantic1M+ members
15 communities have unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 67 communities (78%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 19 communities (22%)
The average is much higher than the median (23K vs 2K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.
How Design Differs From Other Categories
Design is smaller, and more platform-diverse, compared with typical Hive Index topics.
| Metric | Design | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 78% | 84% |
| Median members | 2K | 25K |
| Average members | 23K | 662K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 22% | 16% |
| Live chat | 52% | 41% |
| Discord share | 15% | 18% |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Live Chat: 45 communities (52%)
- Forum: 40 communities (47%)
- Job Board: 32 communities (37%)
- Online/Offline Events: 29 communities (34%)
- Newsletter: 17 communities (20%)
- Tools: 14 communities (16%)
- Requires Application: 13 communities (15%)
- 52%Live Chat
- 47%Forum
- 37%Job Board
- 34%Online/Offline Events
- 20%Newsletter
- 16%Tools
- 15%Requires Application
Niche Features
- Courses: 10 communities (12%)
- Pairing: 10 communities (12%)
- Member Perks: 7 communities (8%)
- Paid Community: 7 communities (8%)
- 12%Courses
- 12%Pairing
- 8%Member Perks
- 8%Paid Community
Live Chat appears on 52% of listings.
What Visitors Click
- Outbound clicks / mo
- 461
Platform supply vs. clicks
| Platform | Communities | Share of communities | Outbound clicks | Share of clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Platforms | 19 | 22% | 8 | 2% |
| Slack | 18 | 21% | 42 | 9% |
| 18 | 21% | 11 | 2% | |
| Discord | 13 | 15% | 167 | 36% |
| 4 | 5% | 225 | 49% | |
| X / Twitter | 2 | 2% | 1 | 0% |
| Mighty Networks | 2 | 2% | 2 | 0% |
| Telegram | 2 | 2% | 4 | 1% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
WhatsApp gets 49% of clicks but only 5% of listings, so visitors click it more than you'd expect from supply alone.
Most-clicked formats
- 438(95%)Chat communities
- 12(3%)Other platforms
- 9(2%)Forum / feed-based
- 2(0%)Private membership
Most-clicked features
- 442(96%)Live Chat
- 222(48%)Online/Offline Events
- 206(45%)Job Board
- 93(20%)Newsletter
- 72(16%)Member Perks
- 67(15%)Forum
Most-clicked size ranges
- 115(25%)Huge
- 84(18%)Medium
- 56(12%)Large
- 13(3%)Small
- 9(2%)Massive
Top-clicked listings
- 164(36%)Graphic Designer
- 61(13%)Web Dev and Web Design
- 39(8%)Supernoobs Creative Club
Most clicks go to chat communities and other platforms communities.
Trends
Founded year
- 2007: 1 communities (2%)
- 2008: 7 communities (17%)
- 2009: 3 communities (7%)
- 2010: 4 communities (10%)
- 2012: 2 communities (5%)
- 2013: 2 communities (5%)
- 2014: 3 communities (7%)
- 2015: 2 communities (5%)
- 2016: 1 communities (2%)
- 2017: 1 communities (2%)
- 2019: 2 communities (5%)
- 2020: 4 communities (10%)
- 2021: 5 communities (12%)
- 2022: 3 communities (7%)
- 2023: 1 communities (2%)
45 communities have no founding year on file.
Most listed groups were founded around 2008.
Methodology & FAQ
Methodology
This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Design. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.
Updated periodically