8 Graphic Design Projects To Earn Your First $100

Graphic design projects can be a great way to make extra money on the side of your day job or even start and grow your own business.

But with so many graphic design projects to choose from, you might be asking yourself: which design projects can help me make my first $100 and beyond.

So today, I’ll share with you some of the best advice I’ve gathered by working with thousands of freelance designers over 11 years. These tried and tested graphic design projects will help you make your first $100 and set you up for future success.

Let’s dive in!

1. Design a Logo

If you’re good with branding a logo design, you can make a very quick $100 by designing a logo for someone.

To make a quick $100 (or more) designing logos, try signing up for sites like Twine where you’ll be connected with clients who need a logo designed for their business or project.

Of course, if you’d like to be a long-term logo designer, you’ll need to charge much more for a logo and similar graphic design projects. But it can be a great way to get some experience and get your foot in the door. From there, you can always upsell other services or raise your prices.

2. Design a Menu

When it comes to great graphic design projects to make your first $100 as a designer, another good place to look is at your local restaurants.

That’s because many local restaurants have horribly designed menus. With a quick redesign, you can help restaurateurs increase their revenue by far more than $100.

Redesigning a stale menu can also provide a great opportunity to build relationships in your community for future work. 

If you find the right clients for this kind of design work, you might even find yourself with repeat clients each month. Consider how often a restaurateur needs help with graphic design projects. For example, every time they:

• Add a new menu item
• Run a promotion
• Change their menu pricing

3. Design Some Social Media Graphics

If you’re social savvy, you may want to consider social images for your next graphic design projects. 

Social images are in high demand because companies constantly need something to add to their social feed which means it’s a great way to get repeat business after finding your first graphic design clients.

Social images would include anything from illustrations to promotions, informational graphs and mind maps, all the way to funny memes—it all depends on your client.

4. Design a Postcard or Flyer

While social graphics are definitely in high demand, most smart business owners know that there’s still a lot of power in traditional graphic design projects like postcards or flyers.

That’s because, while some argue snail mail is dying, in actuality it is stronger than ever thanks to technology’s ability to take the online experience into your physical home through “junk mail.”

Because printed advertising material can be so lucrative to your client, you’ll have no problem getting at least $100 for these kinds of graphic design projects and quickly raising your rates.

5. Design a Book Cover

As personal publishing becomes more and more accessible, far more people are hiring graphic designers for book cover graphic design projects than ever before.

That’s why it would be fairly easy to make a quick $100 or even more designing a cover for a book. In addition, depending on the book, these graphic design projects can be a great way to get extra exposure for your services. 

Design a cool book cover that sells a lot of copies and you may just have new clients coming your way for a long time to come.

6. Design a Billboard

If your style is to “go big or go home” then maybe thinking much bigger is a good idea for your graphic design projects.

Designing a Billboard is not only a unique challenge (you’ve got to use few words and large images) but can be extremely gratifying to see as you’re driving down the freeway.

Keep in mind, your client is likely paying thousands to book the billboard in the first place so they likely have a fair budget (probably more than $100) to spend on your design services.

A talented billboard design could easily make an extra $1,000 a month or more.

7. Design an Email Template

If you have an interest in email marketing and a little bit of know-how on what it takes to design (and code) an email template, then email design could be right for you.

Email-centered graphic design projects can be lucrative because email is so lucrative—particularly to online e-commerce stores.

To make your first $100 designing email templates, find small, new e-commerce stores that need your support. Small businesses need good design more than ever. As an added bonus, you’ll build a good relationship with a young company with lots of potential for growth.

8. Design an Infographic

If you’ve got a mind for information and pretty graphs, then maybe you should consider finding freelance jobs related to designing infographics.

Of course, these take a special kind of designer. You can’t just throw together a couple charts and write some text. But designing an infographic might be easier than you think and can be pretty lucrative.

Where to Find Graphic Design Projects to Apply For

If you’re not sure where to actually find graphic design projects to make $100, here are a few ways to get started:

• Reach out to your personal network and let them know you’re taking on freelance graphic design projects.
• Sign up for Twine where you’ll get connected with clients who need design projects completed on a regular basis.
• Call agencies in your area and ask if they hire freelance designers on a contract basis.

Making a little extra money (or starting an entire business) while working on fun and exciting graphic design projects can be extremely fulfilling. All it takes is a little work and some talent and you can make it happen.

Looking to find paid work as a graphic designer? Sign up to Twine and pitch on a wide variety of graphic design projects each week.

Once you’ve secured your first client, streamline the revision process with ReviewStudio; the ultimate proofing platform.