how to become a designer

Fire up your freelance career

You design. We'll handle the rest.

Do what you love, and get paid for it on 99designs. Find awesome clients and become a part of our global community of talented designers—all in a safe, secure workspace.

The design community you've always wanted

99designs gives you everything you need to grow your clientele and expand your skills.

You choose the industries, styles and design categories you want to work in. The more you participate on 99designs, the better we can start matching you with clients looking for exactly what you offer.

99designs is free to sign-up and start freelancing. Rates and rewards vary depending on the type of design work. You'll be paid in three business days (or less once you become a Top Level designer).

Yes. When you start working with a new client, we charge a USD$100 introduction fee (spread out over the client's first USD$500 charges) to cover our cost of matching you with clients. We also charge a platform fee on every project to provide you with support, secure payments, fraud protection and more. The platform fee is based on your designer level:

Top Level: 5% platform fee
Mid Level: 10% platform fee
Entry Level: 15% platform fee

Learn more

We believe everyone deserves success, which is why we curate our community based on our quality standards. Our Curation Team reviews all designers when they sign up and regularly to determine their Designer Level. Learn more.

Absolutely! Presentation is key to any professional activity and if there's one place to make yourself shine, it's on your profile page. We'll walk you through all the features and offer tips on how to present yourself in the most professional manner possible. Learn more.

Two ways to work

Clients are waiting just for you. And we've got multiple options for you to collaborate and get creative.

Work directly with clients

Get hired by businesses and individuals with a 1-to-1 Project.

Set your own prices
Match with clients who fit your style
Get paid up-front
Simple file management & communication tools
Secure payment

You can negotiate follow-up work after winning a Contest, create a portfolio of your best work so clients can match with you, and bring in existing clients to easily manage invoicing and file storage.

We know how tough it can be to chase down invoices. We keep payment simple by securing the full payment from your client upfront. When the project is finished, we'll release the funds to you.

We save all of your activity, revisions, feedback and communications in one place. Your finished design files are always accessible and stored indefinitely at no additional fee.

Compete with the community

Submit your concepts to a Design Contest and earn big bucks.

Choose work that inspires you
Work with global businesses
Build your professional design portfolio
Explore new design categories & build skills
Win a contest and build your client base

Designers participate in Design Contests to challenge themselves with interesting projects, sharpen their design skills and grow their client network.

Every day, there are more than 1,500 open Contests in a variety of categories. You can browse by industry, keyword, prize amounts and schedule to find the perfect fit.

You retain full copyright of all unsold work, which you're free to use any way you see fit. We encourage you to add your winning and non-winning entries to your portfolio to increase visibility and connect with prospective clients.