Earlier this week I wrote a post that cast a bit of positive light on the otherwise shunned idea of crowdsourcing and speculative work (read: One Good Thing About Crowdsourcing). I made the claim that it was okay for beginning designers to try their hand at such places as 99Designs and offered a few reasons why it could further their career.

After much deliberation – and a few swift kicks in the pants from my commenters – I felt it necessary to provide a follow up post that offers some alternatives to spec work for those just getting started in design. So I sat down and gathered up 99 ideas for ways designers could build their portfolio, gain some experience designing, and possibly make a few bucks. I can’t claim to have tried all of these ideas but I know there are many that work well. And if you can’t find something on this list to get your design motor running, maybe you’re in the wrong field.

I’ve Got 99 Ideas but Crowdsourcing Ain’t One

  1. Tell your friends that you’re looking for design work
  2. Tell your family the same thing
  3. Tell everyone you meet the same thing (but don’t sound desperate).
  4. Design a website for a friend’s band
  5. Cold call local businesses for design work
  6. Cold email local business (or any business for that matter whose site looks like this)
  7. Design a brochure pro bono
  8. Design a brochure for your design business
  9. Design a book cover pro bono
  10. Design an e-book cover for an e-book author
  11. Attend a local business networking event and pass out business cards
  12. Read the classifieds in the local paper
  13. Look through Craigslist for design jobs
  14. Browse the job postings on Smashing Magazine’s Job Board
  15. Browse the job postings on Designm.ag’s Job Board
  16. Design a website only using Illustrator
  17. Design a website only using Photoshop
  18. Design a website straight from the browser
  19. Recreate a Tutorial
  20. Write a Tutorial
  21. Paint by numbers
  22. Design a logo for a church
  23. Design a logo for a small non-profit
  24. Redesign a mainstream website (i.e. Amazon.com) just for fun
  25. Write a post for Visual Swirl (email me)
  26. Write a post for any other blog
  27. Create a logo for your personal brand
  28. Work on a design for your freelance/design agency website
  29. Extend this design to a business card
  30. Create your own crowdsourcing site called 100Designs and brag about how you have 1 more designer
  31. Create web banners for a company
  32. Expand your design skill set
  33. Expand your design resources
  34. Create a profile on Guru.com
  35. Create a profile on Elance.com
  36. Watch an old episode of the Joy of Painting and make Happy Trees with Bob Ross.
  37. Create and sell a template through Theme Forest
  38. Create stock graphic packages and sell them through Graphic River
  39. Sell stock photography through Deposit Photos or Pixmac
  40. Make an iPhone app
  41. Make an Android app
  42. Make an app for a TI-83 Graphing Calculator (does anyone remember playing games in Math Class?)
  43. Sketch up some wireframe ideas for potential websites
  44. Start with a grid and create some unique web layouts
  45. Take a famous design quote and make a poster
  46. Learn jQuery
  47. Create a jQuery plugin
  48. Create a wallpaper for your desktop
  49. Create a wallpaper for your iPhone
  50. Post your best work on Flickr
  51. Throw a bucket of paint at a wall and get paid millions for calling it art
  52. Create a t-shirt design
  53. Promote or sell your t-shirt design on sites like Design By Humans
  54. Take a cake decorating class
  55. Take some hi-res photographs to use as textures
  56. Create a social media icon set
  57. Create a user interface icon set
  58. Create an icon set about something you love
  59. Learn about using CSS3 and HTML5
  60. Doodle in a Moleskine notebook
  61. Doodle a lot in a Moleskine notebook
  62. Create a  set of cartoon characters in Illustrator
  63. Design a useful set of infographics
  64. Create an identity set (letterhead, envelope designs, etc.) for a local business
  65. Watch for tweets about people in need of design help
  66. Send out tweets informing others that you’re looking for work
  67. Create a Facebook Page for your design business
  68. Play your guitar in the subway for spare change
  69. Create a logo and sell it through Brand Stack
  70. Draw a picture with Microsoft paint
  71. Slap yourself for thinking about using Microsoft paint
  72. Create some kinetic typography in After Effects
  73. Design the interface for a new desktop application
  74. Design the interface for a new web application
  75. Redesign the interface of a current desktop/web app
  76. Resell hosting services
  77. Sell personal creations on etsy.com
  78. Sell artwork on Deviant Art
  79. Create your own design blog
  80. Ask design firms if they’re in need of any freelance help
  81. Apply for an internship with a design firm
  82. Look for work on Freelance Switch
  83. Find a design job on Krop’s job board
  84. Eat a piece of cake (Sorry, that’s what I’m doing right now)
  85. Design a custom twitter background for yourself
  86. Offer to design a custom twitter background for others
  87. Design a website for your uncle’s Guns and Bow-ties store  (or whatever crazy business he runs)
  88. Don’t design all the time. Spend time with your friends and family
  89. Collect images, logos, and websites that inspire you
  90. Create whatever comes to mind after being inspired
  91. Create magazine cover mockups for your portfolio
  92. Create print advertisement mockups for your portfolio
  93. Create a photo manipulation piece in Photoshop
  94. Revisit projects that you worked on in design school. Make them better
  95. Setup your own premium theme shop like Viva Themes or Studio Press
  96. Write how-to articles for ehow.com
  97. Do some affiliate marketing
  98. Offer services no other designer in your area offers
  99. Stop reading this article and start creating something

I’m sure there are many other options out there. Be creative and feel free to share any in the comment section below. And if you still feel the need, go visit 99designs and try your luck.