How To Score Your First Design Project
One day, when I was still in high school, my friend come to me with a request. He needs a poster for his soon to open an English course program. Now, that time, I don’t really know how to do a poster. But after getting a chance like that, my brain tells me that I should take it. I can learn about poster design later.
So I took the project and I am so excited about the project that day, I even make the project free. After I finish the works, more people coming in for their poster needs, friends of friends, people who know me from his colleague who are my friend’s colleague, the list goes on and on.
That was the first time I took a design project. After that, it changes my life and made me start a career as a full-time designer.
Now, some designers (especially design student or those who start learning about design) asked me about How To Get Their First Design Project. I will try to write from my personal experience on how to get my very first project. I will also include some of the advice that I’ve heard from other people too.
1. Make Pro Bono Projects
Pro Bono Project is a non-profit project (sometimes a “fake” design project) that you can make without any client/sometimes with a client but for free. Pro Bono Project is a very good start to get your first client. Here’s a tip, try to make a specific design project for a specific client too (e.g If you want to target a client in the travel industry, make a design project which is related to that) being Niche is important nowadays.
2. Tell Everyone That You Are a Designer
Print some business cards or write it down on your Instagram bio. The traditional way to get design jobs is by letting people now that you can do design works. Simple. Sometimes, design works can come from an unexpected way. One day, I got a graphic design work from a lady that I’ve met when I attend a bazaar. She offers me the jobs because she hears me talking about design with my friend.
3. Participate in a Design Contest
Now, I don’t really attend design contest (I attend once, but failed miserably) But many friends of mine tell me that they get their first project after participating in a design contest. There’s a lot of design contest platform available out there, such as https://en.99designs.com/ or https://www.topcoder.com/
And that is some of the ways to get your very first design project from my perspective. Of course, there might be a lot of another way. So, If you have experience of getting your very first design project, I really want to hear about it. Please mail me about your story to sittalkdesign@gmail.com
Cheers,
Dimas
