My beginnings as a freelance design artist were humble to say the least. My very first design project was a Christmas newsletter. I was working with a Sony Vaio at the time, and my paint shop pro trial had expired. I began scouring the Internet for design programs. Like many of you reading this blog, I eventually came across Photoshop. I downloaded the trial, and was able to complete my Christmas newsletter. It was mediocre work – but hey, we all have to start somewhere.

My design career began in April of 2008. I was a new freelance designer, looking for ways to market my work, connect with new people, and find clients. I was still new to Photoshop, and Illustrator was practically a word from a foreign language. With time, I became more involved in the design community. Clients began to come my way as more people saw my portfolio.

I have since compiled a list of great ways you can get started on making a name for yourself in the design industry. If you’re a struggling artist looking for work, here is a great list of job boards that will help you find clients and get your name out there!

Job Boards:

Smashing Magazine

Freelance Switch

Jobs on the Wall

Krop

Logomoose

Authentic Jobs

Craigslist

Charity:

If you can’t seem to find a job willing to pay, it can help to try working with local charities. This is a great way to get your name out in the local area. Often times charities are able to pay you, but I would recommend you give them a discount or offer to provide your services for free. Charities often have a limited amount of resources, and they prefer to focus those recourses on their efforts. Do some good and help out a local charity. Their referrals are a big key to success in the pro bono area of work.

Susan G Komen

United Way

Big Brothers Big Sisters

WWF

Showcase your work:

Showcasing your work is very important. Not only does it allow trackbacks to your site, but it allows potential clients to find you through other means than you site.

Logopond

Behance

LogoFaves

LogoBliss

Logo of the Day

Logomoose

Logogala

Logofi

Get creative:

If you’re having trouble finding new work or have some concepts laying around, here are two awesome sites you can post unused concepts. I have had some success selling brands on brandstack.com.

Brandstack

Brandbucket

Graphic Leftovers

Get known locally:

Marketing yourself locally can be one of the biggest things you can do to get known.  People are searching for someone close to them and if you aren’t showing up in the search results for yellow pages, you are missing out on some business.

Chamber of Commerce

Yellow Pages

Social Networking:

Social networking is all the rage. Not having some type of social networking presence is unacceptable. You must have a facebook and twitter account. No excuses. Talk to your friends and family. Referrals are huge in this industry. They’re even better when your clients start referring you to people who own other businesses.

Facebook

Twitter

Dribble

Linked In

If you know of any others, share them below!