freelance work

recent grad
read product design
want to know where to look for freelance work on the internet
help will be appreciated!

Let me first say that I’m a graphic designer and Im unfamiliar with the current practices of industrial design employment. So take free advice accordingly. Your best chances for finding freelance employment are to first realize that freelance is typically (especially for graphics) an “urgent- need” type of job. Companies will hire you to do jobs that that can not keep up with.

What I mean by that is you’ll find work if you’re really good in foam or some other production process that an id office values. As a graphic designer I find work filling in for people on vacation, or when an office needs somone to complete a projecet and they have insufficient human resources. What can they hire someone to do that they can evaluate quickly?

For graphics, layout is easy to evaluate, illustration is easy to evaluate because it is either good or bad. That’s why I said foam (the only ID process i know about). If you make good models then you should go for that. But remember there are a lot of other people that are also “good” at models. Maybe there is something that you do that is really mind blowing. That will get you a freelance gig.

Otherwise dont waste you time-just get a job.

here are some of the websites that I use. quite a few of them are more fashion-related than product design-related.

Cheers
Andy

http://www.networkdesign.cc/position.htm
http://www.recruitmedia.co.uk/dfp/index.htm
http://www.creativehotlist.com
http://www.ritasuesiegelresources.com/graphic_design_jobs.html
http://www.thedrum.co.uk/public/teviot.php
http://www.thedrum.co.uk/public/astron.php
http://www.thedrum.co.uk/public/start.php

http://www.recruitmedia.co.uk/
http://www.fashion.net/jobs/positionso.php

http://www.freedomrecruit.com/
http://www.jobsintheindustry.com/
http://www.vogue.co.uk/jif/index.html
http://www.rga-joblink.com/docs/joblist_frame.html
http://www.jobline.net/Design1.htm
http://www.fashioncareercenter.com/
http://www.thefashionetwork.com/

http://www.karlyn.com/
http://www.raskinexecsearch.com/
http://art.nmu.edu/department/AD_Career-Jobs.html

I contacted firms within reasonable driving distance to my home. Most say no at first but if you are persistant, and call them at just the right time (when they are swamped with buisness) they might give you a chance.

You can also contact local companies and talk to their marketing managers…if you can get through. If you choose this approach you better be a great sales person and find out what “pains” them in the areana of increasing sales through improved design.

The work is starting to pick up right now so I would not only focus on freelance, I would work on some individual project to get them in portfolio and find a full time possition. More than once in on a follow up call I was told…“So I see here that you have had three freelance clients, if they were not willing to hire you why should I?” fortunatly my main freelance client did hire me after my 3rd project with them.

Good Luck