My side project is now at the stage where I would benefit from the influence of a good designer (both visual and interaction).
The project is TwLng.com which I'm currently spinning as a Buffer for Content.
There are three main areas that need work: 1. The landing page 2. The dashboard and setup 3. The content that is viewed by users.
What is a good approach for finding a designer for side projects in 2015?
As a co-founder? Employed with salary, full time/part time? Contractor?
You can check out monthly freelancer/who wants to be hired threads on HN. You can check out designer news[1] (HN for designers). You can hunt on dribble. You can put an ad on your local job board.
This one, for example, even looks "identical". http://www.twenth.com/
Having reviewed Twenth, its acknowledged that the design is similar, but the request for design assistance will take this in a difference direction.
These look polished enough that your customers won't know that you purchased a theme v/s hired a designer (they don't care anyways)
Once you have enough revenue coming in, you could then hire a designer to create a custom website for you (if you still really want to).