If you’ve ever dreamed of being a professional designer, then you’ve probably noticed just how flooded and competitive the market can be. Of course, this shouldn’t dissuade you from following your passion, but it does mean that, in order to succeed, it is usually necessary to build a strong portfolio. Doing this as an amateur is the first step, but in making the move to business, professional experience is key.

Luckily enough, the online work is one of such immense breadth and scope that there are thousands of possible avenues that might help a person gain a foothold on this path. Today we want to look at how to enter that world, to give designers out there a clue on the size of the digital design world, and how it might be leveraged.

The First Step

The first step in online work is to look for an online job website like Upwork. These sites allow a wide range of national and international design opportunities for both amateurs and professionals. Eventually, as your profile grows, these websites can become unnecessary, but for beginners, they can be a life-saver, and essential for getting your foot in the door.

“iVincent” (CC BY 2.0) by JD Hancock

Finding the Right Work

Once you’re ready to go, you need to consider both; which work is right for your skills, and which work might help you gain a leg up on the next tier of work. For an effective example of this, we could turn to an area like online slot design.

If you take a look at those who host these online games like Skycity Slots, for example, you can see these cover an enormous range of themes and designs. From abstract glamour like with Starburst to western styles with Showdown Saloon, and contemporary realism with the Ozzy Osbourne slot, diversity is always a key factor.

Also unlike many other types of work, any design work within these can be seen daily by hundreds of thousands of people. Not to mention, due to the extent of the variation of different themes and genres, artists who get to work on these projects can flex their design muscles to a great extent.

Compare this to something like being a designer of paid artwork for individuals. Doing work by commission can be great, and it can pay well, but it can also limit your scope, and sometimes those who commission it have a strict privacy policy. Great for making ends meet, sure, but not so much for ensuring long-term career improvement.

Once you have some successful work under your belt, you’ll want to build an online profile on LinkedIn, if you don’t have one already. This is a social networking website for professionals used by millions of both corporate and creative professionals, which can eventually take over as a primary means of job searching as your portfolio grows.

Source: Unsplash

Understanding the Journey

Like any sort of creative work, there are a few who can instantly find success. What we need to remember is that luck plays an enormous component of this, and we do ourselves a disservice through comparing our journey to anyone else’s.

The overwhelming majority of artists and designers are those who spend years honing their craft. Because of this, you need to be able to find enjoyment and fulfillment, however small, in everything you create. Don’t consider any job too small, but rather view the little jobs as those which propel you forward, as learning experiences and milestones.

For us as individuals, the best idea is to focus on our paths. Remember that the steps you take don’t need to be big, they just need to take you in the right direction.