Have you ever wished for a well-designed t-shirt, poster, logo, or website to show off your design? Or even dreamed about having people clamoring for your professional designs? Well, now it’s easier than ever to put your creativity up against the world’s best designers.
We’ll be covering some of the best websites that offer design contests so you can jump right in and start submitting designs to these contests.
This list will show you the top 13 best places to get involved with design competitions, so if you’ve got a design in your head but have no idea where to start, this is the place to look.
In this article
Remember:
It’s not necessarily about the money. The main thing here is that you get your designs seen by a huge number of people and a few well-known designers will see them and maybe even give constructive feedback on them.
Here’s the list of websites we’re going to cover in this article:
1. 99designs:
A website where you can post your design project and have a large number of designers work on it. The result is exciting, as it gives you an idea of what real professional designers can come up with, and you get to choose from their best ideas! You can also go through the designs that were submitted and ask for custom revisions on them before the final winner is chosen. In this way, it’s great for getting feedback from other designers who are working on your work, which is invaluable for learning how to become a better designer.
2. DesignRush:
With prizes that include MacBooks, Kindles, and even cash, this is one incredible website that is sure to give you the best chance of success. It is an awesome website where you can post your design project and get feedback from other designers. You can also refine your original idea further, or even compete with other designers in different fields to earn some cash prizes.
3. Threadless:
A crowdsourced graphic design website with a massive community of designers, you can submit multiple designs for any given theme and get feedback from your peers. It is one of the most famous sites devoted to creating t-shirts for customers, who design their t-shirts there. It’s fun because you get to customize your t-shirt using the same software that’s used by the company itself! From there, you can submit that design into a contest and see if anyone would like it enough to pay $50 for it!
4. Designhill:
This is one of the biggest platforms for graphic designers, with prize money for competing in these competitions. It is a website where you can submit your design and get feedback from other designers. You can also improve upon your initial idea by using the feedback of the community there, as well as compete with others in different design fields.
5. DesignCrowd:
Not only is it great for graphic designers, but this site also has competitions for other fields like fashion and fashion journalism. It is one of the biggest websites devoted to graphic designs, you can find competitions there and compete with others for some awesome prizes!
6. LogoPond:
A fantastic resource for logo designers looking for inspiration and feedback on their designs. An easy way to make some extra cash too! It is a great website for logo designers, with a huge community of designers available to help you come up with an awesome logo design. There is also a forum there where you can post your work, and get feedback from people interested in your designs.
7. DesignContest:
A great website for those of you looking to get involved with design competitions. Easy to use with the ability to enter competitions for any given price.
8. Tee Fury:
Create your t-shirt and get it printed and sold on their official site. With such a wide variety of designs submitted (and approved) you’re sure to get tons of feedback for your work as you’re designing! You can also submit that design to their competitions, where it will be sold online after the competition is over! If you win the competition, you’ll get paid $500!
9. TeeSpring:
Another great website for t-shirt designers to create their t-shirts and get them printed. If you have a t-shirt design you’d like to crowdsource, this is the place to look. There are a lot of designs to choose from, and you can make as much as $300 per design sold after the sale!
10. GraphicRiver:
One of the best designer communities out there, this is one website you must check out before you get started with your graphic design work! If you’re looking for a community for designers, this is the place to look! You can sign up and submit your designs here to get feedback and critique from other designers!
11. Redbubble:
Place your design on a great t-shirt with this simple website, where you can create a custom t-shirt design of your design!
12. Spoonflower:
Order high-quality custom-designed fabric for your home, clothing, or other crafts (or even computer accessories!). You can also design and sell t-shirts on their website, and get paid $10 every time you sell a t-shirt! They have over 150,000 designs to choose from!
13. Zazzle:
This website is very similar to Spoonflower. It has almost 150,000 designs available for you to choose from! You can also create customized t-shirts and sell them online on there as well! You will not only make money from the sales of your designs, but you’ll also make money from the sales of all the other designs there (because it’s their website).
So there you have it, 13 of the best website for designers to get started with designing. The fact that so many websites are out there for you to join is amazing, so get out there and get good, because it will be well worth the effort.
How to win design competitions
We’re going to share with you some awesome tips that can help you win one of these awesome design competitions. Just take the time to listen to what these awesome designers have to say and make sure you put their awesome advice into practice!
1. Come up with a Catchy Title
The title of your design needs to be catchy, right? Why would anyone look at your designs if the title wasn’t good enough? You need something that will catch their eye immediately. So we’re going to look at some awesome examples of how you can write a title that will get you noticed and get people interested in what you’ve designed. For example:
– “The Best of the Web”
– “Memorable Logos”
– “Get Your Business Noticed”
2. Create a Compelling Description
You need to describe your design in such a way that it hits home with your target audience and makes them want to buy it. Maybe they would be interested in the design because it makes them laugh, or maybe your designs are unique and interesting. Whatever it is, make sure you describe your design in a way that compels people to buy it.
For example:
– “Jokes for the whole family”
– “Creative designs that will blow your mind”
3. Make It Look Good
This is important. If you’re not getting involved in these competitions with professional-quality designs, then you probably won’t get any feedback or recognition at all. You need to ensure that you are giving it your best shot every time! It’s no good having a great title if your design isn’t up to scratch.
Sure, there are plenty of people out there who are happy to buy anything, but if you want feedback then it’s worth taking the time to ensure that you have produced high-quality work. Make sure your designs look professional and intriguing. You’ll be amazed at how much better your designs will look if you make the effort to make them look as good as possible!
4. Choose the Right Platform
The platform of the competition will determine whether you can submit multiple designs or just one version of your winning design. It may also affect how many people your design is being judged by, so it’s worth taking the time to look at all of these factors before you decide on a competition to get involved with. The more people who are judging your design, the more feedback you’re likely to get on it!
5. Identify Your Audience
We’re always being told that it’s important to know your target audience when you are trying to promote something online. Whether you are promoting a product or a service, you need to make sure that you know who it is that you are trying to target.
When it comes to design competitions, this is important. You need to know what sort of designs are going to work for your target audience no matter who that may be. Maybe you’re designing art for children, or maybe your designs are for business logos. Whatever it is, make sure that you’re designing something that will appeal to and catch the eyes of your specific audience!
6. Provide Proper Feedback
One of the best things about these design competitions is that you will get feedback on your designs. You need to make sure that you respond to the feedback because it’s an opportunity to improve your skills and learn from other designers in your industry. This is one of the easiest ways to learn how to do something different, and it may even help you get noticed by somebody who can offer you a job or find you work in the future!
