Hi all<p>We're hitting a stage in our product development where we're looking for some design work to be done (layouts, icons etc) and I was just wondering if anyone has any recommended design/ux specific sites (like elance.com for example) that they have used to get bits and pieces done??<p>TIA
For icons just do a search on google for icon libraries. Some are free and some others are cheap for what you get.<p>Do not pay for custom icon design unless you absolutely need to.<p>For site design your best bet is to look at CSS galleries. Tons of designers put their portfolios up there.<p>Also check out deviantart.com for a huge selection of freelance art.<p>Be forwarned that good designers are usually very busy and/or very expensive. A lot of overseas designers are pretty decent and a little cheaper (Asia/Eastern Europe). In 10 years as a programmer Ive had better luck finding top coders than top designers.
<a href="http://coroflot.com" rel="nofollow">http://coroflot.com</a> can be a great resource. Also, if you are near an art school you can find a lot of great/affordable talent there.
Talk to the people in the art/graphics design department at your local university. There's a big pool of talent there that is (a) affordable, and (b) starting out, just like you. So you'll be helping somebody else with their career, and may find someone who you can bring in-house as a designer once they graduate.<p>At the very least, you'll know someone 'in the industry' who has a very positive impression of you (and your company), and who can pass talent to you down the road.
I use odesk.com. Its especially useful if you have a lot of smaller tasks since you can develop relationships with freelancers via the project mgmt tool that tracks their time and manages payment.