I caught up, quite by chance, with a woman I used to know pre-children and we were discussing the divergent paths our lives had taken. She was a graphic designer back then and now works outside that field in a small NZ city.

We got talking about how she might restart her graphics career without the commitment of a job, or a CV to assist her to get one. One of the options I suggested was selling her services online via the forums where there are frequent requests for logos and contests. The end result may not be great money but it’s a great way to get yourself known and build a CV.

Along the same lines there’s Ben, one of the nicest kids I know who happens to be quite arty. Currently he’s sticking to paper designs but as soon as he’s ready for computer art I know that he’ll do well online too. What a great way to supplement your student income!

Some real life examples:

1. cobano decided to give away free logos and his work was excellent. With a non existant brief he was able to quickly throw up a logo for my real estate directory that fitted with the existing design and site. Check out his Globalwarming Awareness2007 blog.
2. Another user gave away caricatures of members – and very clever they were too. He went from being a total unknown to being a “name” in no time – all for doing something he probably found quite easy. I can’t find the thread anymore but if I do I’ll post it as a great example.