# Follow designers and brands on Gradiently

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/profiles-and-following)

Every member has a public profile, and anyone signed in can follow it. Here is how following works, what you hear about, and how to make your own profile worth following back.

## The short version

- Every Gradiently member has a public profile at gradiently.design followed by their username.
- Anyone signed in can follow a profile, and each profile lists its followers and the people it follows.
- A profile shows the Marks its owner holds, the designs they chose to showcase and the templates they have published.
- Designs are private by default and only appear on a profile when their maker chooses to show them.
- The official Gradiently account is the only verified profile.

To **follow designers** and brands on Gradiently, open their profile at `gradiently.design/<username>` and choose **Follow**. Their page shows the Marks they own, the designs they chose to showcase and the templates they have published, and following keeps them one click away in your Following list. You can also choose to hear when someone you follow publishes a new template, and get a daily summary of new followers and new work.

## What you see on a Gradiently profile

A profile is built from real work in the product, so it stays current without anyone maintaining it. The top carries a picture, a name, an `@username`, a short bio, up to four links and three counts: followers, following and Marks. Behind it, the cover wears one of the person’s Marks, live.

| Part | What it shows | Why it is worth a look |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marks | Every Mark the person owns right now | The looks a brand has made its own |
| Designs | Designs they chose to put on show | How a Mark behaves on real posts, stories and posters |
| Templates | Layouts they published for others to start from | Ready structures you can open on your own Mark |
| Followers and following | Who follows them, and who they follow | A quick route to more people worth following |

Nothing private appears on a profile. Designs only show when their maker puts them there.

Because every Mark has exactly one owner at a time, a brand’s Marks tab is also a public record of the looks it holds. Each Mark links to its page, with its code and history; [Mark codes and certificates](https://gradiently.design/guide/mark-codes-and-certificates) explains what those records prove.

## How to follow someone on Gradiently

1. **Find them** Open a profile from a Mark’s owner line, a showcased design or a template, or type `@` and a username in search.
2. **Choose Follow** The button changes to **Following**. You need to be signed in.
3. **Find them again** Your own profile shows a following count. Open it to see everyone you follow in one list.
4. **Unfollow any time** Choose **Following** on their profile, then **Unfollow**. They are not told.

Good people to follow are the ones whose work sits close to yours: a studio that designs for cafés if you run one, a creator whose stories hold up at every size, a brand whose templates you keep opening. Their Followers and Following lists usually lead to more of the same.

## What following tells you about

You choose what following sends you in **Settings › Email** and in your notification preferences, and every row can be switched off.

| Notification | When it arrives |
| --- | --- |
| New follower | When someone follows you |
| New templates from people you follow | When someone you follow publishes a template |
| People today | One email a day with new followers and new work from people you follow, if you chose a summary |

Choose a daily summary if you would rather have one email than several.

## Making your own profile worth following

People follow a profile when they can tell in a few seconds what it makes and what it looks like. Open your own profile and choose **Edit profile**: changes show as you type and only go public when you save. [Your design portfolio profile](https://gradiently.design/guide/profiles-and-showcase) covers every field in detail.

### Hard to follow

- No picture, a username nobody would search for
- A bio that says “designer”
- Forty near-identical posts on show
- Every design a different colour and type

### Easy to follow

- A clear face or logo and the handle you use elsewhere
- A bio that says what you make and for whom
- Six strong designs across different formats
- One Mark worn consistently, so the page has a look

Showcase a mix of shapes. A portrait post, a story, a poster and a slide on the same Mark show that a look holds across formats, which is exactly what a client or collaborator wants to know. Designs are private by default; on your Designs tab, **Choose designs** lists everything you have made so you can pick what goes on show.

A portrait introduction post reading Hello, I’m Ines, brand designer in Lisbon

A showcased introduction post: who you are and what you make, in the Mark your profile wears.

An A4 poster for a spring menu at Casa Marés on the same gradient Mark

A client poster on the same Mark, showing the look holds on print as well as social.

Publishing a template or two gives followers something to use, not just admire, and it is the work most likely to bring people to your page. [Design templates](https://gradiently.design/guide/templates-guide) explains how templates work across Marks. If the profile is part of how you present yourself, [personal branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/personal-branding) is worth reading alongside.

## Brands, verification and privacy

A business on Gradiently has a profile like anyone else: the account that holds its Marks, followed the same way a person is. The official Gradiently account, which crafts the catalogue Marks and holds each one until someone claims it, is the only verified profile; every other profile is a member’s own page. If a profile claims to be Gradiently and has no verified seal, it is not.

- Your email address is used to sign in and is never shown on your profile.
- Your follower and following lists are public, like the counts at the top of your page.
- Taking a design off your profile makes it private again; it is not deleted.
- Your favourites are private: only you can see the Marks you have favourited.

> **Wear one Mark** Your profile cover wears the first Mark you own, so the Mark you design with most becomes the colour of your page. Followers start to recognise your work in their feeds for the same reason; [brand recognition](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-recognition) explains why.

## FAQ

### How do I follow a designer on Gradiently?

Open their profile at gradiently.design followed by their username and choose Follow. You need to be signed in.

### Does someone know when I unfollow them?

No. Unfollowing removes them from your Following list without notifying them.

### Can people see all my designs on my profile?

No. Designs are private by default, and only the ones you choose to showcase appear on your profile.

### How do I find someone by username?

Type @ followed by their username in search, or go straight to gradiently.design followed by their username.

### What does the verified check mean on Gradiently?

It marks the official Gradiently account, which crafts the catalogue Marks. It is the only verified profile.