10 Fantastic Places for Finding Designers Online

  

Unless you are a creative agency, most small businesses don’t have the luxury of having an in-house designer. There are literally thousands of freelance designers and design agencies out there that can fill various niches and services, but finding someone in your price range – and if locale is important, in your area – can be difficult.  

Fortunately, there are some great online resources that can take the sting out of searching for a designer. Here are some of my favorites:  

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1. Sortfolio

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Sortfolio is the latest project from 37Signals, the team behind Basecamp(), Campfire and Backpack. Sortfolio is really great for companies or individuals looking for a designer because you can browse by price-range (as in, how much do these designers charge on average per project?) and location. You can also get a good look at their portfolio before connecting directly with the designer on their own site.  

Sortfoilio has the added benefit of having strong ties to the design and development communities.  

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2. Authentic Jobs

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Job boards are a dime a dozen and sometimes posting for a potential hire doesn’t end with any good leads. Authentic Jobs is unique in that it targets the web developer and web design community and is frequented by those most active in pushing the barriers in that community.  

Created by respected designer and author Cameron Moll and with listing partners like Veer and SimpleBits, if you’re looking for a job posting to get in front of the right people, this should be a stop on your list.  

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3. Elance

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Elance is a highly active, organized and efficient community that you can use to find contractors online. You can search for designers by skill set, location and browse Elance’s various groups (members must pass a skill test before entering).  

The nice thing about Elance is that you can see the feedback and ratings that a provider or freelancer has received from others. This can help provide a clearer picture about a designer before going forward with an interview.  

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4. Guru

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Like Elance, Guru is a large marketplace that connects freelancers to potential clients. You can view work samples, see completed projects, read feedback from other clients and search by rate, skill level and location.  

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5. FreelanceSwitch’s Directory

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FreelanceSwitch is an online community dedicated to freelancing, with a strong focus on creative freelancers like web designers and developers. The FreelanceSwitch Directory can be used to browse for freelancers and see samples of their work.  

From there you can contact the designers directly through their own websites.  

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6. SitePoint Marketplace

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SitePoint has a very active community for buyers and sellers. You can browse through pre-made templates, find designers offering their services and also post a listing.  

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7. Behance

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The Behance Network is a place to discover and peruse the portfolios from tons of great designers and artists. You can see their portfolio and concepts, and also find out if they are available for work. Behance is a great resource for finding high-level talent.  

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8. Carbonmade()

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Carbonmade is a portfolio service for designers and it is also a great way to locate talent. More than 195,000 designers use the service to post their projects, portfolios images and resumes. You can also see who is available for freelance work and search by design medium and skill set.  

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9. AIGA

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AIGA is the professional association for design and their website (as well as the sites for local chapters) has a directory of AIGA designers, as well as AIGA member portfolios, which are hosted by Behance.  

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10. Krop

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Krop is both a job posting and job search tool for creatives. Designers can also offer up their own portfolios. Potential employers can pay to have access to searching that database or you can post a job offer on Krop’s board.  

   

    

  

 

Posted by Sloane Berrent in Events, Giving Back on January 22, 2010 | no responses

Dev is an amazing guy that I got to know in Los Angeles through a mastermind group that I was part of. The group continues to be some of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial people I have ever known and a terrific support group. Dev works in the restaurant/hospitality industry and so is in the amazing position of having a space that he can donate for fundraisers and to help nonprofits. The birthday campaign he talks about below doesn’t do his philanthropy justice and I’d like to thank Dev for all he does to help causes – not just on his birthday but throughout the year.

And now, the Dev Dugal interview on his birthday fundraiser:

1) Tell me about your birthday and fundraising campaign. When was your brithday? Was it a milestone? What was your inspiration? What nonprofit did you partner with? Did you tell them in advance? What was your fundraising goal (if you had one) and did you reach it?

I’ve been working with non-profits for quite some time. I realized over time which fundraising events work and which ones don’t produce. I realized that instead of bringing down the life of the party by jumping on the mic and professing the goodness of the non-profit, the structure needed to be tweaked. What has worked for me in the past is to charge people in advance or at the door and collect in advance. Spread the message about the organization thru the mediums used to invite and provide subtle reminders via auto-run presentation/DVD loop to the guests. Also a status update after the event was also fruitful.

Most people want to do good. The spectrum ranges from getting involved to simply cutting out a check. I decided I would structure my fundraising efforts around the latter and if they got more involved, it was gravy.

I’ve done about 4 events on my birthday throughout the years and they have all been fruitful. It’s a good reason to get people out when they have many choices and in the end, the non-profits win with increased exposure as well as fundraising. The organization I partnered with the most is Manav Sadhna. I had personal goals of $5,000 that I didn’t share and we reached it twice. It’s always a win-win situation.

2) Did you use online tools? Did you have a birthday party in person? What was your way to connect with people and tell them about this?

I primarily used social media to spread the word and collected general invite guest list via evite with a direct link to paypal.

3) What have you done for past birthdays?

All the events have been at bars in Southern California. My relationships allow me to generate donors for product like alcohol or deals with the bar operators for drink specials for my guests. It always works out and everyone has a great time. My motto is keep it simple with the least amount of overhead for the maximum amount of output in terms of fundraising and exposure.
4) Would you do a fundraiser for your birthday again? Was it easier or harder than you thought it would be?

I enjoy it and of course I would do it again!

5) What was the best part? Did you connect with someone you had lost contact with? Any one story you’d like to share?

The best part is when it all comes together. Even better is when I know that the non-profit is in a better position that before the event. It’s not all about the money, but it is the fact that individuals know that my events are structured this way and they keep coming back for more.

6) What advice would you give to someone else who wanted to throw a fundraiser but didn’t know where to start?

It’s a no brainer! Don’t over think it and just imagine what types of events you are not bored at and organize it the same way. Get 10 of your closest friends to commit to get 10 of their friends to commit. Have friends take ownership in the event with you as if it is their own. Create invitation on their behalf so they can also distribute to their network as if they are hosting. It works every time and before you know it, you have a solid guest list of 200+.

Related posts:
Denise Wakeman’s Birthday Campaign
Beth Kanter’s Birthday Wish
Story of a Kiva Borrower in Bosnia