I just found this website for potential project work. Firm seems to be Chicago-based. Looks kind of interesting.

For the designers in our group (or who happen to drop by our blog), take a look at CrowdSpring.

I just skimmed it but here’s the premise: a buyer who needs a logo, website, etc. can post the project, list what he’s willing to pay, and then designers submit their designs. The fee is set and from what I saw, you certainly won’t get rich. But if biz is slow, you’ve got the time, you want to build your portfolio, etc., it might be worthwhile. You do get to work with a worldwide audience!

It appears that people can critique your designs and you also get feedback from the buyer (move this, tweak that, I hate that color, this needs to be redone — oh sorry, that was from one of my projects). I’m not sure how the winning design is selected but am sure it explains.