Comments on: The problem with online design contests

By: Irina Gingu

Irina Gingu — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:29:54 +0000

I don’t advise designers to waste time on these websites, no matter the country they live in.
Miguel I live in Romania and trust me, same principles apply here and the cost of living are pretty high for an Easter European country. Just enter on a tourism website and see how much is a night in a 4* hotel in Bucharest, same price as in Budapest, Prague or Madrid. I can not say about the situation in India but here things are not like some people say, Romania is in the European Union and they really try to bring us to the same level. Of course they started with the prices :)))

Any work you do should be paid. Most clients that use those websites are not to be trusted, some are agency and are only interested in stealing concepts.

Others are clients like the one I had a couple of weeks. I had to stop the project because the client didn’t knew what he wanted and the only feedback he was sending was “I don’t like it”. I just found out that he opened a contest for his logo and the project description is something like” I don’t know what I want but I’ll know when I see it”

By: hoshimo

hoshimo — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:32:51 +0000

happens all the time. there are too many people copying stuff and not nearly enough (if any at all) people as moderators. there are way too many loopholes and ways not only for other “designers” to copy work, but also for clients to get a design, and run away with a design for free.

as a guy who has won over 90 contests on 99designs, i would know…

By: Ramona Brown

Ramona Brown — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:44:05 +0000

I submitted my first design on crowdspring and it won. I was told I was awarded a $500 prize all I had to do was send them my proofs which I did. Weeks roll by with me asking “do you need anything else?” over and over with no response. Finally right before the 30 days are up the buyer says “We are not happy with your proofs we changed our mind.” So this is after crowdspring had announced I was a winner and the buyer had already posted my design all over their website. (Of course they took it down and are trying to act like they never had it posted) When I brought this to their attention My profile was deleted from crowdspring, no money, zilch. So not only did I lose the $500 I lost all the work I had put into about 50 designs that were still in contests.

By: Alain

Alain — Sat, 01 May 2010 17:16:59 +0000

Why all this attention to a pointless site? Most online design contests are futile, we all know this. If the goal is to find talent, then http://www.behance.net is the most amazing source. All else pales in comparison and weakens my sensitive heart.

By: Birgit

Birgit — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:26:25 +0000

Very interesting discussion.
I just found my own CC attribution licensed vector in an online design contest (without attribution, of course) where one of my logos was linked as an inspiration. Same old story everywhere… Isn’t it ironic…?

By: Miguel

Miguel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:15:59 +0000

The crux of Wendy’s argument in favor of competition sites is that she received good service from two designers and has now appeared to build a relationship with them. It seems that they built rapport and trust and that in the future she would work with those two designers again.

And relationships are critical in design just as they are in most other industries.

There is no denying the crowdsourcing/competition sites offer some real value to clients, primarily they remove the risk of working with new firms and freelancers and potentially not liking the work and having to pay for it.

On the other hand, it sounds as though Wendy would prefer to work with people she trusts and will do so in the future. So crowdsourcing sites may actually be–from a business standpoint–”loss leaders” for designers in that they can actually gain regular customers if they win a few contests.

This strategy might work though if you are young, living at home and can afford to work for free as you build a solid client base. It might also work if you live in Rumania or India. But it doesn’t work if you live in the industrialized world and have a mortgage to pay.

These sites are economically unproductive for the participants and I think most active members will either lose interest and drop (if they are from the US or Western Europe).

Unfortunately, my guess is that the rest of us who cannot work for free will have to compete with those in India and Rumania who can afford to because even by winning fewer contests they can still pay their far lower monthly expenses.

By: David Airey

David Airey — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:47:18 +0000

Certainly, Wendy, there are pros and cons to everything. The trick is to choose a direction with more pros. All the best.

By: wendy

wendy — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:36:24 +0000

I just had my first experience on a competition site as the middleman to a client. It was a GREAT experience and next time I am willing to pay more (now I know the ropes). My clients and I have had a number of BAD experiences finding local talent who seem captivated with our wallets and not the quality of the deliverables. And some felt very inclined to try running off with my clients. Many lacked the energy of a collaborative approach and simply don’t get or hear what the client is asking for.
The value I got out of the competition was:
– It worked – the results were great and matched the brief
– I knew what was required of me before and during the competition to achieve a good result so I engaged fully.
– Those entering had the benefit of collaboration through seeing what was hitting the mark and what wasn’t
– The winner will definitely get more work and I will pay a fair market price for it willingly eg. the stationery set
– The second place winner is a designer whose attitude so impressed me that I will refer other graphic work to him

It isn’t all bad. Deinitely a big thank you to those of you who have outlined the risks – I will take care in that regard.
Everywhere we go people behave badly. But amongst that – many will behave well if we just tell them what the rules are and show them how.
My experiences – and I am in the online industry – is that many of my industry colleagues aren’t off the top shelf like some of you guys are either.
There are pros and cons to both approaches.

By: BJinnett

BJinnett — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:03:42 +0000

I am in New York City. Any ideas would be great!

By: el dorado

el dorado — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:33:38 +0000

Actually. You mention the low-tier, and the high tier. There’s a middle as well. There are many fantastic design firms, and professional designers. Which city do you live in?