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Design

Posted by Gabor Pinter
Gabor Pinter
1,732 Points

99designs, and other design contests...?

Hey guys, I was wondering, what is your opinion about these design contest sites? I read on on many experienced designer's blog that they are totally against it, since it kills the industry, absolutely impersonal, and also most of the cases you are not even paid for your work. However, at the very first period of our career, we hardly get any clients, so what we can do for practice and get some experience we work and design for made-up companies, made-up products which is always fun, but why would we not do the same for "real" companies, with the chance of getting some money and (what's probably more important at the starting phase) experience success?

I absolutely got the cons of it, but I am not sure if it is that useless. So I am curious, what do you think? Do you have any more beneficial ideas or tips for beginners?

2 Answers

michaelyanchar
michaelyanchar
13,563 Points

I have had experience with a myriad of different freelance websites; elance, odesk, 99designs, etc. I found it useful for awhile; you get to experience bad clients and how to communicate with them which is a very valuable skill. The work you will be asked to produce is rarely portfolio worthy unless you invest time that will not be paid for by the client. The tests that some of these sites have for you to prove your abilities can be a good indicator of your shortcomings as they can be very specific. Spend time learning and producing high quality portfolio pieces instead of chasing busy work which will be more draining than empowering. Just my 2 cents.

Ryan Drake
Ryan Drake
12,587 Points
Ryan Drake
Ryan Drake
12,587 Points

Hi Gabor,

If you're interested in doing design projects, don't sell yourself short. Offer a discount, but I would advise against doing work for free because it makes it harder to start charging people later on. Don't undermine yourself, but there's plenty of opportunities to get yourself out there!

Try getting on Dribbble or showcasing your work on Behance and saying you're available for hire. I know certain groups on Facebook also help to promote designers. Build your online portfolio too!