5 Non-Traditional Services For Graphic Designers To Offer

I thought I would put together a list of some non-traditional services that graphic designers can use to make extra income. You may have heard of some of these, but  hopefully you may find some new ideas that may help. Use your imagination & creativity and you may be able to think of some other services as well.

This list is just an idea starter really. Some of the suggestions will go into detail while others will just list and explain the idea.

Scrapbooks ~

As a designer there are several different avenues you can take. Scrapbookers love templates, patterns, and different graphic elements, all of which can be created by designers. You could sell these items on a website or find a local scrapbook store or club and sell your materials to them. If you can find a local group or store, offer to put on a seminar and use the seminar to show them how to use your materials in their scrapbook creations. A good place to start and get ideas is at your local craft/hobby store. In the scrapbook section notice all of the different papers and other elements they use. Most all of these items can be created by a designer.

Birth Announcement Cards ~

Parents will spend all kinds of money on their kids and for there kids. I would start out by going to local baby specialty shops in your area. You could take some samples and see if they would be interested in selling some cards on commission. Offer customized cards that you create by hand for the parents. This would give them unique cards, which would prompt people to ask where they got the cards from. Make sure you put some kind of “made by” logo mark or something on the back so other people could contact you if they would like to order some for themselves.

Interior Designers ~

Interior Designers can always use original artwork. This could possibly be an avenue for you if you also do traditional artwork. Also, maybe you could offer helping interior designers by putting together presentation materials for them to show their clients. They are creative at creating spaces, let them know you are creative in getting attention and helping them sell there services. Most likely, it would be beneficial to create some mock ups of possible presentation materials for them to see how you could help them. Interior Designers also use interior drawings in CAD which could be either done up in 3D or colorized in photoshop.

Specialty Gifts ~

This could apply to almost anything but I will use an example that is a huge seller where I am from. I live in Tuscaloosa Alabama. Home of the University of Alabama, which to some is considered the college football mecka of the world. Everything in this town just about revolves around the college football team. As a designer, you could create all kinds of posters, cards, stickers just about anything you can imagine, and it will sell here. A note of caution: Make sure you take care of any legal issues before you try and sell. You can’t just throw the teams logo on stuff and sell it. Be smart and either purchase a license or think of other creative ways to sell these gifts. I didn’t even scratch the surface here, just be creative and you could come up with all kinds of ideas on this one. It really doesn’t have to be team centered. Find a local shop that sells different types of speciality gifts and see what kind of items they sell and the types that you could recreate.

Invitations ~

This one is similar to the Birth Announcements that you could find local shops to sell them too, etc. Also, this has unlimited possibilities. I think the key to this is offering something very chic and handmade. Make sure you offer customization and your set. Find local women groups that you might could meet or local small art shows to show off your work. Do a good job and the word of mouth should start working for you.

Hopefully this will give some insight on the different types of services you can offer as a graphic designer. Keep your eye out for other opportunities as you go through out your day. You never know what you may come across and you think to yourself, “I could do that”.

Do you have any other ideas? Did they work or not work? Share your ideas and comments.