Designers, this one’s for you.

Let’s hear it for our designers! Because of your hard work and unbelievable talent, we’ve reached $150 million in total designer payouts.

You—our outstanding design community—are the reason for this incredible milestone. (So, thanks for giving us an excuse to throw a party) As a special thank you gift to you, we’ve partnered up with our friends at Lynda.com to give you a free 30-day all-access pass to over 1,000 design courses online!
 

Be a master and win big

We’ve developed an exclusive 99designs master class that you can take online to expand your design techniques and stretch your skills. You’ll start by attending several courses, each relating to a particular design theme. Then, you’ll complete short assignments that will help you develop a final project: a poster based on the question “What does it mean to you to be a designer?”
And to sweeten the deal: the designers of our three favorite posters will each win a $350 cash prize.

Ready designers? Let’s do this.
 

How it works

The 99designs master class

Based on feedback from our design community, we built the 99designs master class for designers of all skill levels. We’ve carefully curated ten courses that will help you master traditional design techniques and pick up some new ones, too. The class is divided into five tracks, each focusing on a particular aspect of design.

To participate, register for your free trial at Lynda.com, select any or all of the courses from the curriculum below and submit each of the five assignments to the Forum by August 3rd.
 
 
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The creative process

How to develop your ideas and bring them to life
Assignment: conceptualize and answer the question: “What does it mean to you to be a designer?”
 
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Setting the mood

How to set a solid aesthetic foundation
Assignment: create a mood board for your poster design.

Submit

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Working with color

How to use color to tell a design story
Assignment: develop your color palettes for your poster design.
 
 
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Using typography

How to set type and find the perfect typeface
Assignment: determine the suitable typefaces for your poster design.

Submit
 
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Advanced techniques

How to take a basic design to the next level
Assignment: complete the rough draft of your poster design, including the color palettes and font types you’ve selected. Make sure to answer the question: “What does it mean to you to be a designer?”
 
 
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Once you’ve completed your selected courses, refine the rough draft of your poster and submit your final design to the Forum by August 3rd.

Things to remember

  • You are not required to take every course, but you must complete all assignments.
  • Your design should exhibit a high level of conceptual thought, technical execution and awareness of design principles, including typography, visual hierarchy, composition and color.
  • You must submit your final design to the Forum by August 3rd.
  • You must be in good standing with 99designs and abide by all site policies.
  • For more information, read our terms & conditions.