Why not design for free?

Well, why not? Well, this perspective has been explained countless times, so rather than explain why you should not design for free, I will point out when you should.

• For A Cause - Its very common to find something that you believe in, and appreciate the cause or idea. It is still common for this cause to lack a proper design, which you could contribute. Unfortunately, often times these people will be working nonprofit or trying to pay for something, so they are unable to pay anybody for a proper design. This becomes your choice, to contribute to their cause, or leave them without your help.

  The design you give them does not have to be your best work, the work you have spent hours sketching, designing, and coding. It can just be something you put together in your spare time. By contributing to the cause, you can help in ways you are most experienced in.

• Build A Portfolio - If you are just starting out as a designer, sometimes it is useful to give some designs, to show you have some work that has been accepted, and used. Also, whenever you are just testing a design, you always have the option of giving it away, rather than letting it sit in your hard-drive.
• Give Away Free Stuff! - Often times, giving away free stuff in lottery like competitions can serve as a great publicity stunt. So, if you need some quick popularity, just offer a free design.
• Experiments - People will be more likely to accept an experimental design if it is for free, rather than having to pay for it. Giving away your experiments is a nice way of seeing them used and appreciated.

Conclusion

This is where I contradict everything I have just said.

All of these are great reasons why you should be willing to occasionally design for free. But, in the world of freelance designing, time is everything, and spending time working for free is spending time you could be working for profit. So, in short, it is great, kind, and appreciated to design for free, but, for you, the designer, is better to design for profit.