There’s a continuous debate in the design community about whether or not a designer should specialize in one specific area or strive to be a jack-of-all trades. For designers who think it would be beneficial to find a super-specific niche, today we give you 70 ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
This list of possible design niches will jumpstart your creativity and help you decide where you want to focus your efforts as you work to build your design business.
There’s an endless number of niches not mentioned here. Please share your ideas for design niches by leaving a comment!
How to find your design niche: 70 ideas
- Find your design niche in designing web sites for small businesses
- Designing web sites that can be edited by non-programmer/coder clients
- Designing extremely original business cards
- Designing very fancy application icons
- Designing mobile web sites
- Find your niche in designing facebook pages
- Designing facebook tabs
- Designing twitter backgrounds
- Designing web sites that turn a ‘boring’ business into an exciting one
- Designing movie posters
- Find your niche in designing concert posters
- Designing microsites
- Designing portfolio sites
- Designing landing pages
- Working exclusively with Dentists
- Working exclusively with Doctors
- Working exclusively with Small Businesses
- Working exclusively with Large Corporations
- Working exclusively with Grocery Stores
- Working exclusively with Hair Salons
- Working exclusively with Animal Shelters
- Working exclusively with Restaurants
- Find your design niche in working exclusively with Clothing companies
- Working exclusively with Photographers
- Working exclusively with other designers
- Working exclusively with Online businesses
- Working exclusively with Brick and Mortar Businesses
- Targeting companies that have no well-established brand
- Targeting companies that have a rich brand history
- Targeting companies that are non-profit
- Targeting fortune 500 companies
- Targeting companies that have only a few employees
- Find your design niche by targeting companies that have never done business online
- Focusing on selling wordpress templates
- Focusing on selling HTML templates
- Focusing on selling stock logos
- Focusing on selling branding strategies
- Focusing on selling style guides
- Focusing on selling CSS stylesheets
- Specializing in HTML5 web sites
- Specializing in Flash web sites
- Specializing in Javascript applications
- Specializing in Jquery-rich sites
- Specializing in high-traffic design
- Specializing in usability design
- Specializing in logo design
- Specializing in print design
- Specializing in business card design
- Specializing in internet marketing design
- Specializing in web banner ads
- Specializing in branding & identity design
- Specializing in product design
- Find your design niche by specializing in transportation design
- Specializing in billboard design
- Specializing in flyer design
- Specializing in point-of-purchase design
- Specializing in package design
- Specializing in vintage design
- Specializing in modern techniques
- Specializing in style guide design
- Blogging about the business of design 😉
- Blogging about where designers can find inspiration
- Blogging about your own design projects
- Blogging about freelance design
- Blogging about printing techniques
- Blogging exclusively about print design
- Blogging exclusively about web design
- Blogging about logo design
- Blogging about design education
- Or, like me, find your design niche while blogging about design entrepreneurship
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This is an interesting list, I was looking for ideas for profitable niches and liked some of the things mentioned in this post. Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t even know there were so many possibilities! 😀 Great list, thanks. 🙂
good stuff although I think you can take out small business, online business, brick and mortars, fortune 500 business and large corporations out of the list because it’s still too vague to focus on and trying to target exclusively to them is still like targeting everyone.
Bar none – finding your niche or personal skill in design IS the most rewarding and potentially profitable goal one can achieve in the graphic arts industry; especially when you discover the potential clients in this niche have a lot of disposable income. Case in point, my personal skill is photo manipulation and as a graphic designer going on his 22 year, I discovered mine about 10 years ago and have not looked back since. You see, I love automobiles so naturally, I began going to car shows and focused my talents on creating artwork of all kinds of a customers personal car, truck, or bike. Granted, you have to seriously be passionate about your niche for it to be successful, but once you are there and no one else does it, you in essence monopolize that niche – and that is a very good thing for a designer. FIND YOUR NICHE, and have a great day!
Great article Preston and keep up the good work.
Great list! Thanks Preston! I would like to add “Working exclusively with Lawyers” and ” Working exclusively with Accountants.” You already mentioned doctors and dentists. They and lawyers and accountants are some of the most profitable types of small businesses (check the full list here.) Small business service professionals is a good start. Even better if they have some cash to spend. 🙂
Also, check out my list of 40+ niche design businesses! They are all run by established graphic designers, illustrators or web designers. I’ve interviewed some of the listed creatives too.
Being someone who loves going to concerts, designing concert posters would be so rewarding, so many people would see and buy your product. They can also be digitized for the internet as a marketing tool. Thanks for sharing!
That is a long list, I really never thought about all the break downs/niches. I have learned web coding and flash animation but since I have been in the graphic design field since the 80’s, (when we did things by hand) I know more about print. right now I do more things such as mailers, brochures, logos. I haven’t took it down just to one area such as doctors, package design, or business cards. I think that is limiting yourself too much. If someone needs a poster for a event or a logo I can do it.
Thanks, Greg
Thanks for all the good ideas. I currently run my own Freelancing business called Justin The Designer, but its more of a general design company, not focusing on any niche. Im Interested in the Dental niche. Would you have any advice or anyone else have any advice on the dental niche field for web-design?
– Justin The Designer
Great list! Very useful. I’m a young designer myself, and I think I’d like to focus on branding for start-up companies.
Thank you for this article!
I am now getting more involved in a Restaurant menu design, food photography project. This is only two restaurants and my time and energy is focused on both. I keep wondering if I should develop this into a full blown specialized area of Graphic Design. I am also slow in web design but maybe I could offer them simple web design services.
Along with this I have been applying endlessly to get a full time job. My resume is starting to get confusing with none of my skills that stand out. So, perhaps specializing is a great way for me to be successful as a designer,
Thank you for this article!
(grammar correction)
I am now getting more involved in restaurant menu design, food photography project. These are only two restaurants and my time and energy is focused on both. I keep wondering if I should develop this into a full blown specialized area of Graphic Design. I am also slow in web design but maybe I could offer them simple web design services.
Along with this I have been applying endlessly to get a full time job. My resume is starting to get confusing with none of my skills that stand out. So, perhaps specializing is a great way for me to be successful as a designer. Thanks again!
This is a great idea. Right now me & my business partner does websites, logo design, print design, social media strategies and copywriting. I’m thinking to create another website just to concentrate on logo design. Thanks for sharing the list!
this list is gold!
I really agree that to be successful, you need to find your niche. Up to now I was designing and coding WordPress themes. I’m thinking of concentrating on only building the sites and working with someone for the design.
Hey Paul, are you already working with someone? I’d love to work together as a designer for your WordPress themes. Let me know!
What do you mean by “internet marketing design”? 🙂
@Karol K.,
Specializing in designing materials that are meant to be used in an internet marketing campaign. That could include banner ads, twitter backgrounds, facebook profile designs, landing page design, etc etc.
What do you think? Good idea, bad idea?
@Preston D Lee, Good idea, of course. I just wasn’t sure what you mean.
Hi Preston, I’m a young freelance graphic designer and I’ve been doing “all kind of design stuffs” since 2014 but I think its time todo find my “niche”. I like logo and brand development but must of my freelance work comes from designing banners, social media profiles and adapting that graphics to print stuffs like flyers and postres, and I think I’m good in that. My question is, is this “marketing images” niche better for constant and good paid contrats? Or should I go with logos and brands wich I think is more suiteble for a long term freelancing business