12 Graphic Design Side Hustle Ideas for Extra Income

Graphic design skills are in high demand, and you don't have to be a full-time graphic designer to get into the field as a side hustle. A side gig doing graphic design may offer more creativity or flexibility than a full-time job or allow you to explore a passion.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that graphic designer employment will grow 2% from 2023 to 2033 and lists the median pay at $28.32 an hour. Payscale, meanwhile, indicates freelance graphic designer rates range from $19 to $78 per hour.

Graphic design has a huge potential to generate an extra income stream, from teaching graphic design courses to designing digital products you can sell online. Some of these online side hustles take very little time to set up.

In this article, we'll outline 12 side hustles for designers to consider in 2024 and tips for achieving success.

How do graphic design side hustles work?

Most small businesses, entrepreneurs, and other organizations will need the services of a graphic designer at some point, but they may not need a full-time resource or be able to afford to engage a dedicated agency. As an independent freelancer, you can offer one-time graphic design services at a more affordable rate.

With a graphic design side hustle, you'll have the freedom to choose which types of design projects you want to complete and when you work on them.

Once you decide on the graphic design services you want to offer, you can search platforms like Upwork or Fiverr to find clients or create a profile on a freelancing platform like PeoplePerHour or 99Designs. Before you begin, identify your goals and your target audience and budget for any startup costs. Then, it's time to get creative.

12 graphic design side hustle ideas

Now that you've decided to expand your side hustle, here are 12 graphic design ideas to get you started.

Best graphic design side hustles:

• Design templates for digital products
• Print-on-demand merchandise design
• Freelance graphic design services
• Creating and selling fonts and assets
• Infographics and data visualization
• Teaching graphic design online
• Creating a YouTube channel for design tutorials
• Graphic design blog with affiliate marketing
• Logo and branding services
• Illustration and art
• Social media graphics
• Web design

1. Design templates for digital products

One of the most popular passive income strategies for graphic designers is creating design templates for websites, social media, presentations, and other printables. Design templates are a great form of passive income. You'll need to spend time and effort to design your template in the beginning, but once it's finished, it can be sold over and over again without any additional work on your part.

To get started, you can take classes on Skillshare or YouTube to brush up on skills. Use Canva or Adobe design software like Photoshop and Illustrator to create templates, and then offer your templates and find clients on Upwork.

Once your templates are ready, advertise them on Pinterest and sell them on sites like Gumroad, Sellfy, or Etsy. Template ideas can include resumes, business cards, wedding planning templates, social media post templates, YouTube banners, captivating LinkedIn posts, and more. Consider what would be most valuable to a small business posting online and look to fill that need.

2. Print-on-demand merchandise design

Have you thought about selling your own merchandise? With print-on-demand merchandising, you can design graphics for T-shirts, mugs, phone cases, bags, stickers, and other items and sell them online without dealing with inventory management or shipping.

Keep on top of trending memes and TV shows for ideas, and gauge interest in products by posting mockups on social media before listing them for sale. Pick a niche for a print-on-demand business and perform competitor analyses—look at other artists' shops for themes and categories of merchandise that are selling well. Then, you can sell your print-on-demand merchandise at Redbubble, Zazzle, Printify, and Society6 to make some extra money.

3. Freelance graphic design services

As a freelance graphic designer, you can offer your services to businesses, startups, and individuals on platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com. You can showcase your portfolio on these sites and don't have to rely on word of mouth for people to find you.

Freelance graphic design offers a wide array of opportunities to match your skills and interests, including book covers and illustrations, logos, PowerPoint presentation design, landing pages, brochures, and more.

The key to success is to find projects that resonate with you. Once you've taken on a few jobs, aim to earn stellar ratings by exceeding client expectations. This will help you build a strong portfolio and also set the stage for a lucrative side hustle.

If you want to offer more than one area of expertise, make sure your portfolio reflects your range of skills. Using testimonials, screenshots, or samples can help make it stand out.

4. Creating and selling fonts and assets

Every brand, no matter how big or small, needs a high-quality font, icon, and other graphic assets. Typography, color, and font choice are important nonverbal cues about brand identity. You can sell these kinds of assets on platforms like Creative Market, MyFonts, Etsy, Creative Fabrica, and more.

If you're looking for font design freelance gigs, make sure you search for all similar terms as well, such as type designer, font developer, and typographer. Make sure to do market research before creating a new font, too. There are always gaps in the market that you can fill.

5. Infographics and data visualization

According to Venngage, 40% of marketers said original graphics like infographics and illustrations performed best for their goals. Designing easy-to-read, visually appealing infographics is a crucial skill almost every company needs at some point. You can find infographic clients for your graphic design business on platforms like Upwork.

Infographics can help people understand complex concepts using visual aids like charts and diagrams. In this fast-paced, digital age, people are inundated with so much information it's hard to grab their attention. A well-designed infographic should be simple, original, and easy to understand.

6. Teaching graphic design online

If you enjoy teaching others, you can create and sell online courses to teach graphic design skills to up-and-coming designers. E-courses often offer a more in-depth look at specific topics. You can teach live online or sell prerecorded courses on sites like Udemy.

Of course, creating and launching an online course does take time, but many people are willing to pay to learn skills at their own pace. You can create a single course or a collection of classes depending on your skill set. Consider what you're best at and how you can teach that knowledge to others.

7. Creating a YouTube channel for design tutorials

If you'd like to have a central hub for your tutorials, consider starting a YouTube channel to share your expertise, tips, and techniques. You can monetize your YouTube channel as long as you have:

• A minimum of 500 subscribers
• Three videos uploaded in the last 90 days
• Either 3,000 watch hours in a year on long-form videos or 3 million views on shorts in the last 90 days

However, your earnings can vary widely. According to Business Insider, YouTube earnings ranged from just $1.61 to $29.30 per 1,000 views.

Keep in mind that you can help drive traffic to your YouTube channel by starting a blog or newsletter and posting short-form video content on Instagram, TikTok, or other social media sites. A YouTube channel may require significant monetary investment to start, including a camera, microphones, or video editing software.

8. Graphic design blog with affiliate marketing

If you'd prefer to provide graphic design tips in blog form, you can share insights through a blog and links for affiliate marketing. This allows you to make passive income by earning a commission for marketing another company's products. Your sales are tracked via affiliate links from one site to another. Affiliate marketers typically make nearly $20 an hour.

Affiliate marketers can sell both physical objects and services, like tutorials and guides—the only catch is you have to disclose that you're receiving a commission off the product. Amazon Associates, AvantLink, CJ.com, and ClickBank are examples of large media sites with affiliate marketing programs.

You'll find many blog platforms available for hosting your site, including WordPress and Medium.

9. Logo and branding services

Some freelance designers specialize in creating logos and branding materials for businesses and startups. Because every business needs a logo, this skill will always be in demand. Good logos should be memorable, relevant, versatile, and generally appealing. According to Zippia, 75% of people recognize a brand by its logo, and 60% of consumers will avoid a brand with a logo they find odd or ugly.

Creating a unique logo is harder than it sounds, which is why so many companies are willing to hire freelancers or studios to create logos for them. Keeping an eye on design trends in this space will help you create pieces that are modern, fresh, and meaningful. You can find logo design jobs on Upwork.

10. Illustration and artwork

If you're more creative or artistic, you can draw custom illustrations, digital art, and other artwork for clients to print or sell online. Many artists have found success selling prints in various sizes on Etsy, Redbubble, Society6, INPRNT, and other print-on-demand artist-focused sites. You may even be able to expand your illustration and artwork side gig into other print-on-demand services, such as repurposing your art on T-shirts, bags, and other merch.  

You can create your own original artwork to sell on these sites or search for commission-based digital art jobs on Upwork. Don't be afraid to think outside the box here. People will hire illustrators for everything from children's books to covers and website banners.

11. Social media graphics

Small business owners often don't have time to make their own graphics. Creating social media graphics, templates, and layouts can be a great side hustle for someone with a design brain. You can find clients for social media graphics on Upwork, too.

There are an estimated 5.17 billion total social media users worldwide in 2024. According to Data Reportal, the average person bounces between seven different social networks per month. Connected to this, brands are increasing social media ad spend, which means they'll need graphics to use for those posts. A graphic designer who can create awesome social media graphics has plenty of opportunity for growth.

12. Web design

Do you have coding skills as well as design skills? You can make full websites for businesses or individuals as a full-time job or side gig. You can even create and sell website templates or themes or provide design advice to companies looking to do it themselves. Potential clients will advertise for web design jobs on Upwork, Indeed, Flex Jobs, and more.

With a field as large as web design, you should choose a niche to focus on. Selling your services to potential clients is easier if you're good at something specific, like creating aesthetically pleasing online stores. You can also create bundles with other services, like logo design, to increase your pay rate.

Tips for succeeding as a graphic designer

Remember, you can always work to refine your graphic design skills with a course or personal mentor. Follow graphic designers and subscribe to graphic design blogs to stay updated, or look to specialize in a specific niche to differentiate yourself from the market. Coming up with a business plan for your side hustle before you get started will help you track success and manage your time.

You may want to look into AI productivity tools when setting up your workflow. AI tools can automate tasks, speed up analyses, prompt creative thinking, and provide insights. The AI field continues to develop rapidly, with new opportunities and some growing pains. Be sure to consider AI ethics in determining which tools to use and how to apply them.

Start your own graphic design side hustle with Upwork

Whether you're making templates, infographics, and logos, or teaching your graphic design skills to others on a blog or YouTube channel, freelance graphic design work is a great way to supplement your day job and earn extra cash. Jump into the booming graphic design market by exploring the thousands of graphic design jobs available on Upwork.

‍

Upwork does not control, operate, or sponsor the tools or services discussed in this article, which are only provided as potential options. Each reader and company should take the time to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.