I used to do graphic design as a side job, I have some links I'll fetch up in a bit, until then here's some tips to read through. 1- Web 2.0 < Read about it, know it. That's how the web is formed today, and nearly everyone has moved towards it (such as Bungie.next). 2- Web design is graphic design mixed with marketing. The layout and it's design is different for every customer, every target audience, purpose, etc. Things such as colors, borders, typography, etc. all have to be put into consideration. Things you should have already learned like the theory of color psychology (like how red makes you hungry/thirsty (see coca-cola), and black is professional and dark). 3- When you make a portfolio, possible employers are looking at it to get a hint of what skills you possess and the types of styles you do. Find a particular style/field and stick with it, and apply that to your portfolio. If your doing corporate website layouts, grunge isn't the way to go (should come without saying). 4- Typography, typography, typography. It runs everything with graphic design, and especially with web designed layouts. 5- Internet Real Estate. I don't remember the correct term, but if you want to make a nice bang for your buck and get some experience along the way, this is a sure way to make some cash. Simply find a domain (cookies.com), buy it cheap (do this for crappy websites that need a refresher), then work on it and make it nice and pretty, and sell it. I made a very, very nice pocket off that, and I kick myself in the ass everyday for not continuing it. 6- Find someone who's experienced, and ask them questions, a mentor of sorts. Get feedback on everything you do, and when you have a layout done, the best bet is to find friends or strangers and have them give feedback (does it look profressional/friendly?, can you find what you're looking for?, etc.) 7- Starting is always hard, and the hardest part. You just need to find some sort of inspiration, luckily if you get actual jobs they'll tell you what they want (I want it to look like facebook, myspace, etc.). 8- KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. Everyone always wants to use the newest Flash designs, or do overly complicated layouts. Fact is, the simpler, the better. Look at Facebook, perhaps not the greatest design, but it's meant to be simple. Using Flash, or having loads of images and styles slows the page down and makes it harder to navigate. Simpler is always better. The tell-tale sign of someone who's still new is making it overly complicated and not making it geared towards the company and the target audience. LINKS: <working on it, chill the -blam!- out.> [url=http://www.myinkblog.com/100-incredibly-kick-ass-freelance-designer-portfolios/]100 portfolio examples[/url] [url=http://www.smashingmagazine.com/]Smashing Magazine[/url] [url=http://www.dafont.com/]DaFont - If you don't have this by now you're wrong[/url] [url=http://justcreative.com/]JustCreative - Has some nice articles[/url] Flikr - Not going to post a lazylinky, if you don't have it, you're wrong [url=http://logopond.com/]LogoPond[/url] [url=http://bestwebgallery.com/]Best Web Gallery[/url] [url=http://dzineblog.com/2010/08/32-amazing-graphic-designers-portfolio-sites.html]Another link[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isk88nT0sRY]Web 2.0 Explained[/url] EDIT: As a nice way to learn, go to Google, type in a random word, choose a random website. Answer these questions before anything (also do this for designer's portfolios) Does the website look asthetically pleasing? What is this website's purpose (without prior knowledge, and simply by looking at the design)? What is the target audience? Can I find what I want in under 5 seconds? Do I find my eyes racing around the screen? Does the website hurt my eyes at all? Is the website Web 2.0? What feelings does the website portray? Are the corners sharp or curved and why? Is it simple?