Want To Use Your Graphic Design Skills For Good? Check Out These Opportunities!
Graphic design is a diverse field of work, encompassing web design, advertising, clothing, and much more. The work of graphic designers is all around us, and Idealist has hundreds of opportunities available for people looking to create the next big thing. Here are a few to explore:
Jobs
- If you’re in the New York City area and you’ve always dreamed of working on an aircraft carrier, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum is in need of an Assistant Graphic/Web Designer. A few blocks over on solid ground the Vera Institute of Justice is looking for a Design and Production Editor.
- Look to the Great White North and apply to become a designer for Free the Children in Toronto, or move down to the Beltway for a temporary job with the Center for Effective Government in Washington, DC.
- If you have teaching experience and a graphic design background, the Progressive Arts Alliance in Cleveland is searching for several part-time media instructors.
- If you enjoy working with senior citizens check out Compassion and Choices in Portland, OR. They need a Graphic Design Specialist to help create infographics, brochures, newsletters, and more. In San Francisco, there’s a designer position open at Fenton, a social change communications agency. No, not that Fenton.
Internships
Internships are a great option for people looking for more experience in the design field.
- New York City offers many opportunities at distinct organizations, including positions at the Social Innovators Collective, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, and Same Sky.
- If you’d like to design projects that will be used across the United States, intern with the Spark Program in Philadelphia, which provides apprenticeships to youth in under-served communities. Work in Washington, DC for the Red Cross or get your feet wet in the art world at the Highwood Theatre in Silver Springs, MD.
- Move to Atlanta and get involved with Girl Talk, a peer-to-peer mentoring program that is seeking an intern for its graphic design department. Or head to Chicago to focus on logo design and marketing with the Jackson Action Coalition.
- Heading to the West Coast? Project C.U.R.E. in Colorado wants a creative visual storyteller in their office, Project Feast in Seattle needs someone to help create educational videos, and the National Museum of Animals and Society in Los Angeles has an internship open that works with printed resources (including coloring books!).
Volunteer Opportunities
Finally, if you’re a graphic designer that just wants to share your skills with others, check out some of the volunteer opportunities we have on the site.
- Search within the United States and you’ll find many places to volunteer, including a refuge for women in Chicago, an organization in Santa Clara that works on creating a sustainable future, or a place in Alexandria that will have your design work appear all over the Washington, DC metro area.
- Organizations outside of the United States are often in need of volunteers in the field of graphic design as well. Try creating marketing tools for Women in Progress in Ghana, work on web design with Atma in Mumbai, or help hearing impaired children in Vietnam.
Whether you need to build up your portfolio or just want to transfer your skills to the social impact sector, Idealist offers hundreds of graphic design opportunities every month. So get to work and make the world a better and more beautiful place!
About The Author | Matt Cifaldi was a Community Manager at Idealist. He's originally from Connecticut and started working at Idealist 2009 after jumping around from NYC, Alaska, Argentina, and back to NYC. He loves helping people use Idealist seeing the range of nonprofits that exist in the world! He likes to travel, brew beer, cook, and play hockey. He thinks he should probably live in Portland, but for now he lives in New York.