So you want to be a freelancer, now what?

Despite the glamorous reputation, freelance design is no walk in the park. It takes an incredible work ethic, significant entrepreneurial prowess, and a little bit of insanity to pull it off effectively. This article will discuss how to effectively make a living as a freelancer (designer or otherwise). Since we are in fact a design blog, I’ll scatter in some well-designed freelancer sites along the way for inspiration.

David Jonsson

It Takes One to Know One

Before launching into my thoughts on being a freelancer, I should tell you that I am in fact a freelance designer. I’ve made my living for the past six years solely as a freelancer and plan on continuing to do so for years to come. This by no means makes me any sort of guru on the subject, but it does mean that I’ve experienced many of the joys and disasters that come with the territory. Therefore, today I’ll be speaking not as a supreme authority, but merely as someone who is eager to share what I’ve learned along the way.

Robert Ablan

Reality Check

If you’re thinking about getting into freelancing, let me burst your bubble a bit. When I talk to people about what I do, I often get the feeling that they imagine that I have the easiest job on Earth. Surely I must sleep in, sit in my boxers all day, work whenever I want, go on three hour lunches, take 15 sick days a month and still somehow manage to rake in exorbitant amounts of money. Unfortunately, all of these things couldn’t be further from the truth.

The key consideration that these assumptions leave out? Clients. You might work for yourself in a sense, but in reality, you work for your clients, which can be like having several competing bosses instead of just one. Being a freelancer means initiating and answering endless calls and emails, managing several projects simultaneously, and working all night to meet impossible deadlines that didn’t exist that morning. Most freelancers I know, strike that, all of the freelancers I know long ago gave up notions of working normal hours (forget 9-5, Monday through Friday).

Deciding what you want to do for a living is the biggest vocational decision you can make, the second is deciding how you’ll do it. Becoming a freelancer is a serious lifestyle decision that should not be made lightly. Think about all the perks of a “real job” such as a steady pay check, health insurance benefits, tax breaks, and paid vacations and kiss them goodbye. Suddenly you’ll be paying nearly double the taxes you used to, health insurance will cost a fortune, your paychecks will be uncertain from one month to the next, your yearly income will fluctuate immensely, and your vacations will be spent income-free.

Still want to be a freelancer? Excellent. Despite all the scary stuff above, I still think it’s one of the best jobs ever. Let’s dive into how to go about becoming a freelancer.

Rejected Robot

Getting Started: Tread Carefully

My best advice: go slow. Don’t go quitting your day job just yet (unless you don’t have one, then by all means jump in with both feet). Before telling your boss you can’t stand the site of his face, you need to get a feel for how much work you’ll be able to drum up on your own. To accomplish this, start a few side projects that you work on after hours. It’ll be stressful to search for extra work while working a full-time job but it’ll provide you with a much-needed glimpse into the freelancing lifestyle. The question then becomes, “Where Do I Get Freelance Work?” We’ll address that next.

Where to Find Work

Mega job sites like Monster and Hot Jobs are great places to begin, but I’ve had a pretty poor experience with them overall. Definitely give them a shot, but don’t put too much stock into them as a consistent source of income. Here are a few more sources that I’ve had some personal success with or know to yield good results. Remember, don’t think in either/or terms. Use these tools in conjunction with each other to ensure success.

Craigslist

This one is a bit obvious for some, but I want to stress that it’s among the best sources I’ve come across for finding and contacting potential employers. Most job boards will charge you or at the very least make you register, Craigslist just puts it all out there for anyone to see. If you’re interested in a job, just shoot an email to the provided email address. No hoops to jump through whatsoever.

I recommend creating a standard reply email that you can send out to all of the listings you’re interested in. Be sure to include your resume and a link to your online portfolio. Remember that each employer that puts a job out there will literally receive hundreds of replies. Try to stand out in any way that you can!

Google

This one seems incredibly obvious, but I want to be sure you know how to take full advantage of Google as a way to find work. Obviously, a great place to begin is to run a basic search looking for freelance jobs either in your area or that have a flexible location requirement. Something you might not have thought of though is using Google Maps. This technique occurred to me recently and has actually turned up some legitimate work.

Using Google Maps, search for businesses in your area that could possibly use your services. I searched for marketing agencies, printers, design firms, etc. When you click on a business, go to their website and locate their contact information. Then send them a brief but friendly email that introduces yourself and your work. Tell them you’re looking for freelance work and would be thrilled to work with their company. As with Craigslist, I encourage you to make a standard email that you can just send to all the businesses you find. Spend an afternoon doing this and you could be surprised how many leads you’ll snag. Don’t expect them to pour in all at once. The goal is to make a connection. It could literally be months before they need a freelancer, but your email might put you at the top of their list of potentials. Don’t necessarily stop at emails either, if you’re the personable sort, pick up the phone and make some calls. People are much more likely to hire a “real person” that they’ve actually spoken to than a mystery email man (or woman).

Twitter

Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. There is a thriving and remarkably active design community on Twitter. Making lasting connections on Twitter can open up a lot of opportunities down the road. But even better than connecting to all those designers, at least for our purposes, is the simple, built-in Twitter search feature. There are millions of people tweeting every day. Naturally, several of these people are mentioning that they are in the market for a freelancer. You need only find them and make contact. It’s a really personal way to connect with potential clients that actually works. Give it shot and you could be pleasantly surprised.

Smaller Job Boards

Small job boards may have fewer listings than the mega sites, but that can actually work to your advantage. Smaller sites will attract less traffic, meaning competition is likely to be greatly reduced. Here’s a few to check out:

• Freelance Switch
• Elance
• Krop
• oDesk

Anton Peck

Be Prepared

The steps outlined above already assume that you’ve taken significant steps towards preparing to be a freelancer. In case you haven’t let’s discuss those now.

Update Your Resume

Before heading out into the no man’s land of freelancing, update your resume to reflect that you’re not so much looking for a job as looking for more work (there’s a difference). You should come across as a confident professional actively seeking to increase your client base on a per job or long-term basis. Check out The Graphic Design Resume Guide for more information on how to stand out to potential clients.

Get Your Portfolio Out There

This comes in two forms. First, build yourself a custom website similar to those you see scattered throughout this article. A website is an unbeatably easy way to tell potential clients about who you are and what kind of work you do. It provides a convenient place to send people you meet as well as an easy way for clients to find you on their own. Before you start, check out our article on 10 Expert Tips for Designing a One Page Portfolio.

The second way of getting your portfolio out for the world to see is to sign up for all the free portfolio sites you can find. The more content on the web about you the better and these sites can provide a great way to boost your search-ability online. I have accounts on Coroflot, Krop, Sortfolio, Carbonmade and several more that I can’t even remember!

Work Out Billing and Invoicing

Before you take a single job you should know how you will be billing that client. Setup an invoicing system through Curdbee, Ballpark, Freshbooks, PayPal or any number of online alternatives. These tools take the pain out of the paperwork and are either free or very affordable.

Billy Tamplin

Form a Co-Op

If you know other freelancers, there’s no need to go it alone. Form a small alliance to share clients, contacts and resources with. The nature of freelancing is such that there will probably be times that you have more work than you can handle and other times when you’re playing on Facebook all day for lack of anything better to do. Working with a few other freelancers can create a mutually beneficial system where the involved parties help each other through these times.

Another thing that’s great about working with other people is… working with other people. Sitting in an office all day alone can get insanely boring after a few years. I drive 15 minutes every day just to work with another freelancer I know. Sometimes we work on the same project, sometimes not. Either way, it’s nice to have someone to complain to about that annoying client who keeps asking if you know how to use “Adobe.”

Diversify Your Skill Set

I found out the hard way that being a print-only freelancer doesn’t make it easy to pay the bills. As a result I’ve invested significant amounts of time expanding my skill set to include web design, 3D modeling, photography and writing. Even with that broad range I’m not finished. I try to set time aside every single week to work on improving a current skill or learning a new one. As your body of work expands to new areas, your potential client base will increase exponentially as you search for jobs in multiple related fields.

Like College, Only Free

If you can make the time, learning new creative skills is both easy and free. The internet presents you with an unending stream of quality tutorials for every skill you can dream up. Here’s a few sites (of hundreds) to get you on the path to becoming a bona-fide Renaissance man of freelance services.

• TutsPlus: Unmatched Photoshop, Web Design, Illustration, Photography, CG, Flash, After-Effects, and Audio Tutorials
• Fuel Brand Network: Articles and tutorials on branding, creativity, interface design, coding, blogging, writing, photography, motionography and more.
• Tutorialzine: Excellent web design tutorials
• Computer Arts: Tutorials on all things digital

If you want serious professional training, head over to Lynda and purchase a membership. It’ll cost you a few bucks but trust me it’s completely worth it. Their video tutorials will take you step-by-step through learning entire applications and disciplines inside and out (Photoshop, AfterEffects, LightRoom, DreamWeaver, Flash, etc).

Brian Hoff

Work Your Butt Off

My final piece of advice for making money as a freelancer is to work like you’ve never worked before on all of the above. If you don’t have any clients, don’t spend your days complaining about it. It drives me nuts to hear freelancers talk about being out of work and reaching new heights of awesomeness on Halo 3 in the same conversation. If this is you, your friends are too afraid to say it so I will: stop being lazy. You won’t find an ounce of work on your Xbox (unless you’re browsing job sites, but let’s face it, you aren’t). If you desperately need more income, spend every waking moment trying to get it. Take a break to battle your friends on remote planets when you’ve earned it.

If you land a few clients, the same advice applies. Work your tail off to convince them that you’re the best freelancer on the planet. Make it your mission to be so good that they tell all their friends about you and actively seek projects on your behalf (satisfied clients will do this!). One of the things my clients repeatedly tell me is that they can’t believe how “available” I am. What they mean by this is that when they call, I answer. When they email, I reply. Even if only to tell them that I’m swamped and will get back to them in a few days. Make it your primary goal to please the people who can provide you with a decent living. Draw stern boundaries and never take abuse, but bend over backwards when the situation calls for it.

The worst part about working like a maniac is figuring out how to manage all of this and still have a life. Can you be a good freelancer and still be a good husband/wife/mother/father/friend? Absolutely, but that’s another article.

Conclusion

I could fill a book with the things I’ve learned about freelancing in the past few years. However, the above information is at the heart of it all. It all boils down to a profound juggling act where you split your time between finding new work and managing current work. The perfect balance is different for everyone. Use the comments to let me know how you stay afloat as a freelancer. As I said before, I’m no authority on the subject and am as eager to learn from you as you are from me. Feel free to ask any specific questions you might have as well. I’ll try to help out in any way I can.

Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for the iPad outline how to create user interfaces optimized for the iPad device. According to Apple, the best iPad applications: downplay application UI so that the focus is on content; present content in beautiful, often realistic ways; and take full advantage of device capabilities to enable enhanced interaction.

The overview of iPad user experience guidelines listed below is © 2010 Apple Inc.

Support All Orientations

Your application should encourage people to interact with iPad from any side by providing a great experience in all orientations. The reason is that people don’t view the device as having a default orientation, because they don’t pay much attention to the minimal device frame and they’re unconcerned with the location of the Home button.

Enhance Interactivity (Don’t Just Add Features)

The best iPad applications give people innovative ways to interact with content while they perform a clearly defined, finite task. Resist the temptation to fill the large screen with features that are not directly related to the main task. In particular, you should not view the large iPad screen as an invitation to bring back all the functionality you pruned from your iPhone application.

Flatten Your Information Hierarchy

Although you don’t want to pack too much information into one screen, you also want to prevent people from feeling that they must visit many different screens to find what they want. In general, focus the main screen on the primary content and provide additional information or tools in an auxiliary view, such as a popover.

Reduce Full-Screen Transitions

Instead of swapping in a whole new screen when some embedded information changes, update only the areas of the user interface that need it. When you perform fewer full-screen transitions, your application has greater visual stability, which helps people keep track of where they are in their task.

Enable Collaboration and Connectedness

Think of ways people might want to use your application with others. Expand your thinking to include both the physical sharing of a single device and the virtual sharing of data.

Add Physicality and Heightened Realism

Whenever possible, add a realistic, physical dimension to your application. The more true to life your application looks and behaves, the easier it is for people to understand how it works and the more they enjoy using it.

Delight People with Stunning Graphics

The high-resolution iPad screen supports rich, beautiful, engaging graphics that draw people into an application and make the simplest task rewarding.

De-emphasize User Interface Controls

Help people focus on the content by designing your application UI as a subtle frame for the information they’re interested in. Downplay application controls by minimizing their number and prominence. Consider creating custom controls that subtly integrate with your application’s graphical style. In this way, controls are discoverable, but not too conspicuous.

Minimize Modality

iPad applications should allow people to interact with them in nonlinear ways. Modality prevents this freedom by interrupting people’s workflow and forcing them to choose a particular path.

Rethink Your Lists

Consider a more real-world vision of your application. For example, on iPhone, Contacts is a streamlined list, but on iPad, Contacts is an address book with a beautifully tangible look and feel.

Consider Multifinger Gestures

The large iPad screen provides great scope for multifinger gestures, including gestures made by more than one person.

Consider Popovers for Some Modal Tasks

If you use modal views to enable self-contained tasks in your iPhone application, you might be able to use popovers instead.

Restrict Complexity in Modal Tasks

People appreciate being able to accomplish a self-contained subtask in a modal view, because the context shift is clear and temporary. But if the subtask is too complex, people can lose sight of the main task they suspended when they entered the modal view.

Downplay File-Handling Operations

Although iPad applications can allow people to create and manipulate files and share them with a computer (when the device is docked), this does not mean that people should have a sense of the file system on iPad.

Ask People to Save Only When Necessary

People should have confidence that their work is always preserved unless they explicitly cancel or delete it. If your application helps people create and edit documents, make sure they do not have to take an explicit save action.

Start Instantly

iPad applications should start as quickly as possible so that people can begin using them without delay.

Always Be Prepared to Stop

Like iPhone applications, iPad applications stop when people press the Home button to open another application.

More details on these guidelines and further information on developing for the iPad can be found in Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for the iPad.

Read more articles about the iPad by Luke Wroblewski at lukew.com.

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Creativity's Honor Roll: Five That Stood Out in 2009

Game-Changing Ideas. New-Business Wins. Here's What Else These Top Shops Have in Common

Published: January 25, 2010

GOODBY, SILVERSTEIN & PARTNERS

We'd say another year, another remarkable body of work from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Only it wasn't just another year, which made Goodby's creative contribution that much more remarkable. The San Francisco powerhouse added a wad of new business, including eBay, Yahoo, Fritos, Lipton, Dickies, Sierra Mist and more.

Sprint Now Widget

--> Goodby also won the top-agency slot on the Creativity Awards Report by a mile -- earning points for a range of work, including the Comcast "Rabbit" spot; the web adventure Hotel 626 for Doritos; Help the Honeybees, an integrated campaign with a heart for Haagen Dazs; the culturally penetrating "There Can Only Be One" campaign for the NBA; and more. For its interactively inclined ways, the shop also earned digital agency of the year honors at Cannes.

In 2009, Goodby maintained its creative standard, sharpened its digital discipline and all around demonstrated why it's consistently one of the best agencies anywhere. Real-time and data visualization were among the most discussed web/culture talking points of the year, and Goodby harnessed both, stylishly, for client Sprint. With the "Now Network" campaign, the agency made Sprint all about real- time data, with online efforts such as the Now widget and a TV campaign that stood out for its clean, modern combination of dynamic data visualization and dry humor.

Denny's Nannerpuss

--> Goodby was out in front of one of the other big things of 2009 -- augmented reality. The agency created one of the first brand AR applications as part of GE's Plug into the Smart Grid site. Later in 2009, it used the tech to bring rock concerts to the back of chip bags for Doritos' Late Night flavors.

The shop also used the Super Bowl to dramatic effect, exploiting that singular audience opportunity to tout compelling, real-world marketing initiatives. For Denny's, Goodby created a funny spot to promote the restaurant chain's offer of a free Grand Slam breakfast to all comers (and also gave the world the immortal Nannerpus). Two million got the message and showed up for their day's worth of free calories. And the agency helped departing client Hyundai achieve sales gains with its Hyundai Assurance spots.

Goodby also followed up admirably on the successful Hotel 626 for Doritos with a scarier scarefest, Asylum 626, brought back Milk spokesman White Gold, who topped last year's performance with a rock opera, "Battle for Milkquarious," created humanizing spots for Comcast and much more.

DROGA5

Method Shiny Suds

--> When New York-based Droga5 was named Creativity's agency of the year in 2007, just over a year after launching, the classic industry backlash centered on complaints that the agency wasn't working on behalf of "real" or big enough marketers. Never mind that with its early work, the agency won every award available, and never mind that that work -- efforts such as the Tap Project -- represented the kind of big, useful ideas the industry says it should be producing. Somehow it still wasn't enough for a year-old agency.

After its 2009 performance, D5 has surely silenced the where's-the-beefers with even more new business wins. To its duties as AOR for Method, Rhapsody, Net10, Puma and others, last year the agency added Unilever (digital AOR for Suave), Activision and other clients and is working on projects for the likes of Coke and Estée Lauder.

Tony Hawk Viral

--> And growing 40% in a terrible year didn't mean sacrificing creative standards. Per usual, the agency produced outstanding work in 2009, including a stellar viral for Activision featuring beloved skateboaring canine Tillman playing (or appearing to play) the Tony Hawk "Ride" game and a much-discussed spot for Method that became even more discussed when it was pulled in response to consumer complaints. The shop created a visually arresting spot and a site (with Firstborn) for Puma's LIFT shoes and, for Puma Bodywear, an app built around comely models and the premise: when the markets go down, the clothes come off. In 2009, the shop became the first agency ever to capture not one but two D&AD Black Pencils for two different clients -- winning for "The Great Schlep" as well as the Million project for the New York City department of education. To cap it all off, the shop's spawn, Droga5, Sydney, was named agency of the year in Australia and has turned out one after another interesting, innovative brand initiatives.

CRISPIN PORTER & BOGUSKY

BK Whopper Sacrifice

--> Whatever the opposite of resting on one's laurels is, Crispin does it. Every year. The agency once again earned its status as a game-changing idea place in 2009, with things such as Whopper Sacrifice for Burger King, which had so many people ditching their Facebook "friends" (nearly 234,000 sacrificed) in favor of the famed sandwich, that Zuckerberg, et al. finally had to step in and spoil the fun. The shop did its rabble-rousing duty with the controversial "Whopper Virgins" campaign, which had people in far-flung locales sampling BK beef for the first time and then created "Flame," allowing burger fans to douse themselves in eau de boeuf.

For Best Buy, the agency created Twelpforce, allowing consumers to tweet questions to BB employees. In addition to unleashing cute Kylie, the photo-forwarding tot, Crispin also helped Microsoft make hay out of forward momentum created by the critical success of Windows 7 with a series of ads that has proud PCs asserting "Windows 7 was my idea." The shop appropriated the celebrity gossip mag aesthetic for Old Navy, creating a cast of Supermodelquins that appeared in stores, in spots and in the online Old Navy weekly. There was more, including a Washington road trip for electric motorcycle maker Brammo and a nicely updated version of a classic spot for Coke Zero. The agency also expanded its European presence with the acquisition of Swedish digital player Daddy.

BIG SPACESHIP

Second Life

--> One of the things that will be interesting to watch in 2010 will be the potential obviation of agency classifications -- digital agency, full-service agency, production company, etc. -- and the degree to which digitally centered shops of all stripes gain a bigger share of clients' hearts. With that in mind, Big Spaceship, a shop that has always defied easy categorization, will be one to watch in the coming year.

The company, which in recent years has done high-profile agency-affiliated work such as HBO "Voyeur," has expanded in directions strategic, creative and technological. In 2009, it seemed to capitalize on an open, entrepreneurial approach to work and its own identity. Last year the Spaceship did everything from spearhead a huge "Second Life" UX redesign and the launch of Paramount/Lions Gate/MGM movie site EPix to developing The Next Move, a mobile app for Urban Daddy that recommends nightlife venues based on location, companions and mood. The company also gained attention for some of its proprietary efforts, such as Pretty Loaded, an online archive of web screen loaders. Of course, the agency took a significant step forward with the win of Wrigley's digital account (the business is shared with Firstborn and EVB), and it's also developed a strategic partnership with Activision another major marketer. All of which will likely move Big Spaceship, like our agency of the year, into some interesting new territory in the coming years.

GLOBAL STANDOUT: DDB, STOCKHOLM

Volkswagen Fun Theory

--> In recent years, DDB, Stockholm, has become a global spotlight hog, thanks to its inventive, platform-agnostic campaigns that always seem to strike a human note. The continuing Swedish Armed Forces campaign, which has put its audience through rigorous tests of mental acumen, remained as compelling as ever in its third year, posing a new set of challenges that ran across all platforms. The agency managed to serve up some real truths in its refreshing work for McDonald's, which included the "Casanova" print effort, featuring a man who tosses out drunken pick-up lines throughout the night, finally settling for a simple request for a Big Mac. The agency also didn't dumb it down for consumers in no-frills McD posters that featured nothing but a red and yellow color palette, a pocket-friendly price and the tagline, "The World's Most Famous Hamburger."

DDB Stockholm's high point, however, was the "Fun Theory" campaign for Volkswagen, a viral sensation and one of Creativity's top picks of 2009. The effort, which gently touts VW's fuel efficiency, aims to convince people to make better choices for themselves by making those better options fun. It's also asking the rest of the world to do its part with a contest to generate even more do-gooder ideas. It's the kind of big, scalable, participatory idea that should serve as a model for brand creativity in the '10s.

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16th AIMIA Awards Finalists

Best Advertising or Marketing

Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Profero; Soap Creative & OMD - JOHNSON’S® Baby: 50 years of No More Tears Publicis Digital & Virgin Mobile - Virgin Mobile Members' Lounge 26000 Vodka - Resn Resn & Krafthaus Films - JAG Black Soap Creative, Universal McCann & Unilever: Lynx - Lynx Primate Soap Creative, Universal McCann & Unilever: Lynx - Party Across The Internet

Best Children's

BMF Advertising & Commonwealth Bank - Pi | Create Your Own Cool Milk Digital & Learning Links - Counting For Life Sputnik Agency - Origin | EnergyForce Vishus Productions; Katalyst Interactive & ABC Children’s Multiplatform - The Figaro Pho website Roar Film & The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy - Budd:e E-security Education Package

Best Classifieds, News, Media or Reference

ABC Innovation - Black Saturday CommSec - CommSec Video Updates Moon Communications Group - BresicWhitney Estate Agents Website SBS Online; SBS News and Current Affairs & Different - SBS Dateline Wotnews - TeamStream

Best Cross-Platform

Holler & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry | 6 Beers of Separation Mobile Online Business & Sculpute by the Sea - Sculpture by the Sea: PC, Mobile & AR Experience Publicis Digital & Virgin Mobile - Virgin Mobile Members' Lounge Soap Creative, Universal McCann & Unilever | Lynx - Lynx Primate Tourism Queensland & Sapient NitroTourism Queensland | Best Job in the World

Best Cultural or Lifestyle

ABC Innovation - Gallipoli: The First Day Monkii - Melbourne Fringe Festival 2009 Website National Museum of Australia & Roar Film - European voyages interactive RedBubble - RedBubble Salted Herring & Splore - Splore

Best Enterprise

August & Origin Energy - Origin Energy 'Brand Central' Flash Group & Global Corporate Challenge - Global Corporate Challenge 2009 Moon Communications Group - BresicWhitney Estate Agents Website Viocorp International - Viocast Viocorp International - Viostream

Best Entertainment

FOXTEL Active; Emuse & Fox8 - Australia's Next Top Model 'Game On' FOXTEL; Lowe Sydney & Publicis Media - I am unIQue Holler Sydney & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds Resn - Shapeshifter Soap Creative; Universal McCann & Unilever | Lynx - Party Across The Internet The Wiggles & The Farm - Wiggle Time Wotnews - We Are Hunted

Best Export Achievement

Adrenalin Media & FortisWMS - Adrenalin Media - FortisWMS AURA Interactive - AURA Interactive DDX.COM.AU - GLU Platform Traction – Massmedia Studios Soap Creative - Soap Creative

Best Financial Service

BMF Advertising & Commonwealth Bank: Pi - Create Your Own Cool InvestSMART Financial Services; Fairfax Digital: InvestSMART Free Portfolio Manager Macquarie Bank - Macquarie Edge: The new way of online trading Sputnik Agency - Frank Health Insurance The White Agency & Commonwealth Bank - Commbank Website

Best Integration with an Offline Campaign

Droga5 & Future Buro - Right Music Wrongs Holler Sydney & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Soap Creative; Universal McCann & Unilever:Lynx - Rexona Australia's Greatest Athlete Visual Jazz - Jenny Craig: Magda's Journey

Best Learning & Education

ABC Commercial & Pascal Press - ABC Reading Eggs ABC Innovation - Gallipoli: The First Day Change 2 & 2and2 - Change 2 Liquid Interactive; Liquid Animation & Social Skills Training Institute, a division of Triple P International Pty Ltd - Secret Agent Society Game TigerSpike & The University of Western Sydney - The Vaughan Supremacy

Best Mobile Advertising or Marketing

AURA Interactive & Mediaedge: cia - Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen Telstra Corporation - Mum 2.0 Digital Makeover QR code and .mobi site Visual Jazz; & Defence Force Recruiting - Defencejobs Games: Supreme Air Combat iPhone Free Facebook - Vodafone Hutchison Australia Webling Interactive - Tic Tac Shake & Share

Best Mobile Product or Service

ABC - ABC Mobile iPhone App ABC - ABC Mobile Site (m.abc.net.au) AURA Interactive - AURA BlueZone network Coastalwatch, mogeneration & Hurley - Hurley Coastalwatch iPhone App CommSec - CommSec iPhone Sensis & DWS Consultingm - Yellow Pages® iPhone Application VHA - 3 mobile & Front Foot Media Solutions - 3 mobile content portal - iPhone & Android

Best Non-profit or Government

BCM Partnership - Share My Story Circul8; MeTTro; The Inspire Agency & Greenpeace International - Greenpeace Action-Pact Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Profero & MS Society - MS Sydney to the Gong Fundraising Online The Live Local Foundation & Digital Eskimo - Live Local Website the white agency - DrinkWise Visual Jazz & Defence Force Recruiting - Ocean Recon

Best Retail

Adrenalin Media - Proactiv Amblique & SUPRÉ - SUPRÉ MYER & DTDigital - MYER Profero; Axe Group & Adactus - Pizza Hut - Online Ordering Website Reactive - Jeanswest Visual Jazz - Holden.com.au Visual Jazz - Mecca Cosmetica

Best Science, Health or Environment

Change2 & 2and2m - Change2 Circul8; MeTTro; The Inspire Agency & Greenpeace International - Greenpeace Action-Pact Digital Eskimo & Live Local Foundation - Live Local Website Flash Group & Global Corporate Challenge - Global Corporate Challenge 2009 ABC Science Online & CSIRO - Big Aussie Star Hunt

Best Sport

Costal Watch; mogeneration & Hurley - Hurley Coastalwatch iPhone app m.Net Corporation Limited & Premier Media Group - Foxsports Mobile Site Soap Creative; Universal McCann & Unilever: Lynx - Rexona Australia's Greatest Athlete TigerSpike &Telstra - Official AFL: Finals 09 iPhone App WeAreDigital. - Carlton natural blonde: Match Centre2009

Best Student Project

Kara Bombell, Joel Caban, Jian Long, Jochen Spencer & Abbey Z - Traps Online Institute for Interactive Media and Learning, MIMM, University of Technology Sydney - dboard Luke Milkovic - Piano Jungle Master of Interactive Multimedia; Institute for Interactive Media & Learning (IML) & University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) - Strine.net.au University of Technology Sydney & Institute for Interactive Media and Learning - SoapBox Project

Best Tourism or Travel

Daemon Group &Tourism New South Wales - Tourism NSW 7 Days in Sydney Social Media Campaign Microsoft Australia, Amnesia & Lonely Planet - Lonely Planet Store Proof of Concept Tourism Queensland & Sapient Nitro - Tourism Queensland - Best Job in the World Visual Jazz - Jetstar Photo Competition Visual Jazz; Media Contacts & Projekta - Tourism Northern Territory 'Mix it Up'

Best Use of Social Media

Cadbury; Saatchi & Saatchi; DDX & GLU Platform - Cadbury Eyebrow Me! Application Droga5 & Future Buro - Right Music Wrongs Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Profero - The Sims 3 Ultimate Aussie Fan Competition RedBubble - RedBubble Tourism Queensland & Sapient Nitro - Tourism Queensland: Best Job in the World

Best Video

ABC Innovation - Black Saturday Deepend, Unilever Australasia & DDB Sydney - Continental Free Cup Campaign Holler Sydney & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds SBS Sport & SBS Online - TdF 09 Telstra Media; C4; Chief Entertainment & Sportsdata - BigPond Sport Game Analyser

Effectiveness Award

Droga5 & Future Buro - Right Music Wrongs News.com.au - News.com.au InstaBudget Pusher - Samboy is Back Soap Creative - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Soap Creative & LG - LG Autobot Stronghold Wunderman Sydney & Microsoft - Ten Grand is Buried Here