17 Websites to Boost Your Designer Profile
Freelance designers have a number of different methods for finding work. In many cases, simply getting your profile and your work exposed to more people can lead to an increase in work. There are a number of sites that provide excellent opportunities for designers to show-off their work and send visitors back to their own portfolio site.
Some of the sites on this list require more of an ongoing effort in order to truly produce results. I don’t suggest trying to use all of these sites. For the best results, choose a few that you think will work best for you, and become an active user.
1. Behance Network
Behance Network is a huge, “free platform for the world’s leading creative professionals.” You can set up a profile, share some of your work, network with other designers and professionals, and even look for work.
2. Flickr
While flickr is primarily a place for users to store their personal photos, it’s also used by a growing number of designers to display and share their work. Users can set up their own accounts and profiles, and they can also join groups, such as the PSDTUTS group.
3. Virb
A good percentage of Virb users are in the music industry, but it is a home to all things creative, and many designers are setting up profiles. The pages can be completely customized to show off your creativity if you’re ambitious.
4. Carbonmade
Carbonmade is a site for displaying your online portfolio. You can create an account and upload some of your work in just minutes. There are both free and paid options.
5. deviantART
For almost 8 years deviantART has provider artists of all kinds with a thriving community. Once you’ve signed up you can create your profile page and upload some of your own work. The site is home to a variety of types of art, including photography, illustration, graphic design and more.
6. Twitter
Twitter is a great way to connect with others, and you can also set up a brief profile with a link back to your website or blog. While Twitter doesn’t offer the ability to display your work, it will give you a chance to network and encourage people to click-through to your site from your profile.
7. illyPads
For those who specialize in graphic design and illustration, illyPads is a great place to set up a profile. At illyPads you can enter information about yourself and your areas of expertise, and you can upload some samples of your work for others to see.
8. LogoPond
From the makers of illyPad, LogoPond is a home to profiles of various logo designers. Much like illyPads, you can set up your own profile page with all the details and samples of your work.
9. CSS Globe
CSS Globe is one of my favorite community sites for designers. Users can create an account and set up a basic profile page with biographical information and a link back to their site. While there is not an option to display your work here, it is a great place to network with a large, growing group of designers from around the world.
10. Guru
Guru is one of the leading sites for finding freelance work. In addition to bidding on jobs, freelancers can also set up a profile page with work samples and details about their services.
11. Elance
Elance is another leading site for bidding on jobs. Like Guru, you can set up a detailed profile page to help more people find you and to get the details of your services.
12. FreelanceDesigners
While it may not be as nice as some of the other sites on this list, or as fun to use, FreelanceDesigners is dedicated to helping freelancers get exposure and to helping clients find a designer. It’s quick and easy to set up a basic profile.
13. Facebook
Facebook is of course a general social networking site. Freelancers may or may not want to use these general types of networking sites, but they can provide some additional exposure and they can give you an opportunity to link to your site and get your work in front of others.
14. MySpace
The other leading option for general networking is MySpace. It offers basically the same opportunities and benefits as Facebook.
15. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the largest social networking site for professionals. At LinkedIn you can create a profile of your professional credentials and get connected to others.
16. Xing
Xing is another networking site that targets professionals and businesses. You can set up a profile and network with others around the world.
17. Talkfreelance
Talkfreelance is a forum dedicated to freelancing. In addition to participating in the forums you can set up a basic profile page with a link back to your site or blog.
What’s Your Experience?
Which sites do you use? Are there others that were missed?
As for logo designers, along with Logopond there are lo8os.com and logosauce.com.
And Coroflot, of course.
nice list, did u miss odesk?
Hmmm, great list here! Currently, I’m using Facebook, Flickr, DeviantArt, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Elance. But I might look into a couple of those that I’d never heard of!
Thanks!
Good List you put together. I used Mosaicglobe a few times in the past to set a website. Mosaicglobe is a free artist portfolio website, blog and art directory not bad for someone looking to set a free website, as well there is paid option on mosaicglobe too.
I know lists can be “link bait” sometimes, but seriously… where is the useful content? Anyone who is a freelancer knows of each and every site on this list and then some. CMON! Suprise me!
Very good overview, some of them I didn’t know. I’ll be spending a great deal of the morning adding profile pages.
Awesome list & perfect timing! I’m getting ready to launch a new version of my website and I’ve been meaning to make list of sites that I can use to show off some design work.
Thanks a bunch!
Great list! I have been a member of DA and Flicker for years now. Another website to consider is Coroflot (www.coroflot.com) and RedBubble (redbubble.com), both of which i am also a member.
Keep on.
Wow, thankyou so much for taking the time to do this.
I’m aware of some but others i’d missed out..
Does anyone else feel that there are so many types of portfolio-sharing sites out there that they have become diluted? There is part of me that feels like belonging to and maintaining a portfolio on each of these sites to increase my company’s visibility is more work that it is worth.
Good list however, so thanks for putting it together!
I like the concept behind freelancedesigners.com, much better than an elance type site. Does anyone have experience with them, is it worth investing the time (and money) there? They should really consider hiring one of their registered freelancers to do some designing on their site though…
What about http://www.designrelated.com? Its a good one
lets not forget crowdspring.com
Coroflot too!
Nice list. Another site to that must be included is Computerlove (cpluv.com)
Great list, I use more than half but some new ones look very promising!
Thanks
Terrific Ideas, some I am already using, but gives a new outlook. Thanks for igniting it.
Great list here, as for now I have the following: Flicker, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. Oh Coroflot is not included in the list why? I have coroflot too. Thanks for sharing this one big list.
Aaron,
Yes, I feel that way too. It’s hard to know what you should focus on because there are so many.
Dor,
I’m familiar with Design Related but I haven’t really paid too much attention to it because it seemed to have a pretty small community. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe it has grown.
Thanks for all of the suggestions and additions to the list!
I know of most of the things on the list but it’s still a good post for people who may be just getting into the biz.
Thanks for the links. I use many but there are a few i have to check out.
Flickr is the best. I love to share beautiful photo. I think I will try the rest on your post.
Very useful list, Thanks.
I know of most of the things on the list
Another good site that can be added is http://www.designerid.com
Thanks everyone for pointing out Coroflot!
We are now the largest site of its kind, with over 100,000 portfolios and hundreds of jobs.
Hope to see your work soon.
- Jeremy
coroflot.com
well there is always http://www.sabet.tv
Well to put it this way, Guru is the worst its never worked for me in the past 8 years. Odesk has proven better. But you also must not forget to have your tumblr/wordpress blog, a main website to direct clients to for a quick overview of your services, pricing and the like. Plus, using Current.com, tubemogul, socialmarker.com. and Feedburner for other areas of managing your digital presences and reaching your clients/audence.
And what about Css galleries like cssmania.com?
Some really great sites here that I’ve missed or never even heard of, along with some great classics (DA, Myspace, Carbonmade, Flickr). Might want to add talentdb.com to the list (I use it mostly for photography, but they have designers, writers, and more.
Nice post, probably I’ll get registered on some of the networks you talked about.
At the moment, I use LinkedIn, twitter and flickr.
I just posted a similar article on my blog 2 days ago. Check out http://www.Krop.com – great and easy to use profiles and portfolios, and very clean with your name BIG so clients can tell who you are. Good job board too.
Good list. A few of these were new to me. Guru though is absolutely useless – unless you feel you can undercut your competitors in Eastern Europe bidding at $3 per hour on a project, it’s a huge waste of time and energy. Also the majority of projects are revolting, unless you fancy designing T-shirts for so-and-so’s college party or self-published book on communing with the dead (always for ‘very little budget’ of course but promising great spiritual rewards)…this tends to be the problem with most of these sites.
Rebecca, I can assure you that $3/h is a very small rate even in Eastern Europe (that’s a rate you can get flipping burgers). But I agree these bidding sites are mostly useless for professionals. Greetings from Poland.
I use Design Hide as well. http://www.designhide.com
Nice effort compiling a list for creative freelancers. However, as a career professional I would stay away from the “bid on spec” sites; these require a tremendous investment of time with uncertain ROI. Invest your time, energy, and money into your own marketing strategy and implementation. Use sites like Behance, Coroflot, CommArts, DevianArt and others as part of your strategy.
I use a few of these but there were a few that I had never heard of which is great. I’ll definitely be checking them out. I think Twitter is the one I get the most out of but it’s also the one I put the most into so that isn’t surprising.
I’m trying to become more active on Behance, it seems like a really great place for community.
The post mentioned:
“simply getting your profile and your work exposed to more people can lead to an increase in work”
My question is what kind of experience or specific results have new designers had with this type of approach with respect to driving an increase in work?
It seems like a large investment to make (in your personal time) so I’d love to hear some stories of how this effort has paid off for folks.
Thanks,
Mitch
Good post thanks. There was a few here I hadn’t heard of before. I agree with most of the commentators about the “bid on spec” sites; I personally really don’t like them, and think it would be much more valuable to spend your time marketing your skills directly, than through these sites.
I agree with the people saying to watch out for spec work sites! Good list. It is strange not to see coroflot on there.
It is strange not to see core77.com or coroflot.com on there….great list, anyway
Great list. I also enjoy coroflot.com
I’ve by far gotten most interest from my Coroflot portfolio. Even more than my portfolio website and LinkedIn!
There is a website that i am using and its ger8. http://demoreel.co/ check it out.
Crowdspring is another place.
Dribbble?
Dribbble & forrst aren’t mentioned, but MySpace was??