Comments on: Improve your portfolio with pro bono design

By: abenk

abenk — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:16:24 +0000

Hai David, this is really inspiring. Thanks for replying to my email and telling me about this article.

I will search for pro bono work, I think I have some non-profit organizations near my place.

I will report here as soon as I get involved.

By: Alfin Akhret

Alfin Akhret — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:17:14 +0000

This is the solution that I had been looking for. I have no idea about this pro-bono project before. Now i become more confident. Thanks David :-)

By: Eric Terlep

Eric Terlep — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:14:23 +0000

Thanks for sharing this. I actually graduated last July (after my internship), and have not been able to find a full time or part time graphic design job, so I just recently designed a new logo for a local non-profit, as volunteer work. I met with the man in charge of the marketing and events, showing him several designs, and he picked one. And the awesome thing is, is that now he wants me to work on designing a new logo for a huge fundraiser event they hold each summer.

Thanks again, I have already read some articles you’ve posted in this section and at the index of your site. By the way my website is not completed yet so if you take the link, it’ll just come up with a page that the website is being developed.

By: Emilia

Emilia — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:12:38 +0000

I do a lot of pro bono stuff… since I’m just out of college I work on projects for my church and their medical center. And the good thing is, I get to practice a lot, people is starting to look for me for real projects and from time to time they actually pay for my stuff ;)

By: David Airey

David Airey — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:39:42 +0000

Good luck with the project, John.

By: John Lack-Wilson

John Lack-Wilson — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:22:10 +0000

thank you for the info David. I read through this 2 nights ago and emailed some potential local clients that night and today received an email asking me to re-brand their business! Great stuff =]

By: Walter L

Walter L — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:42:46 +0000

Hi-
I wonder if any of the designer readers here would be interested in taking on–or dabbling with–a pro-bono project. Two partners and I are launching a project that seeks to bring middle-market capital (too big for micro-finance, too small for the region’s sorry excuse for a banking sector) to east africa. we are based in Nairobi and do business in the east african countries of rwanda, tanzania, and uganda. I will say, also, that the success of this project will improve the livelihoods thousands of Africans.

I have no formal design background, but think we would make a good client in that I have a good sense of what we want. We don’t want anything that is over designed: simple and distinctive. I spend a lot of time thinking about good design and I know design is very important to success with foundations, grantors, and the charitable trusts to which we need to appeal, as well as the east African entrepreneurs we support.

please, if you are interested, reach out to me at wlamberson at googlemail dot com or let me know how to find you in subsequent comments.

By: Suchet

Suchet — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:13:43 +0000

Pro Bono work is good if you find a good organisation that wont take advantage – A lot of young designers do get taken for a ride from time to time – Imagine designing a logo for a small company who can’t afford to pay you – you come up with a load of designs and some of the designs need to be printed but you are not refunded the printing costs or travel costs etc

There is a lot involved in Pro Bono work if you have the time and money but it has to be worth the effort – you don’t want to design for an organisation that doesn’t appreciate good design as it can have the reverse effect of what you originally set out to do.

By: Dean Taylor

Dean Taylor — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:43:46 +0000

My first client was a lead I got from leaving my business cards in a shop front, I got a call the day after leaving them at the shop.

Ended up being an amazing client, logo design, business cards, pres folders, flyers and a few other bits and pieces. It was a great start & very motivating! – and since then I have had referrals from that client. Word of mouth is the absolute best!

By: David Airey

David Airey — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:45:46 +0000

Hello Graeme,

I do have some tangible work around me, but it hasn’t been needed for client deals. My online portfolio does the job, and given that most of my clients are overseas, I don’t often carry my MacBook around for presentations.