By Jason Sew Hoy, Australian general manager of 99designs.
Whether we like it or not, the internet has changed the way we work. This is true for advertising, journalism and now design.
In most cases, this shift has allowed for more choice and more people to get involved than ever before. Take 99designs for instance.
We’re the largest online graphic design marketplace and, as a result, are able to put high-quality customised design work within affordable reach of small businesses and start-ups.
We’ve also generated new ways for designers all over the world to boost their skills, earn money and source new clients for ongoing work. Our success is proof that both designers and businesses find value in our business.
However, as with any young company that becomes successful by changing industry norms, haters are going to hate and a small yet vocal group of designers like Spencer Harrison crop up every now and then and call for the death of our business.
I’ll tackle Spencer’s concerns head on, and explain why we passionately believe that 99designs simply offers businesses and designers another choice in an increasingly competitive world.
Finding a good designer is really hard. While Spencer says businesses should enlist the services of a freelancer or local design studio, selecting the right third party always takes a lot of time and effort, with no guarantee of a satisfying result.
Even for companies who already have a designer’s name in mind or a solid referral, reaching agreements on budget, style and deadlines can suck up valuable time and energy that businesses – particularly those starting up – simply don’t have. 99designs offers businesses instant access to thousands of talented designers, at a fast seven-day turnaround and an affordable price.
Instead of trying to choose a designer by what they promise or by the designs they’ve created for other clients, it’s about focusing purely on which designer can deliver you the perfect design. It’s literally “a design you love, or your money back”.
Spencer says that designers who work on 99designs are forced to pump out work and spend as little time as possible creating submissions.
In fact, designers submit initial concepts in the first four days of the project, and the ones shortlisted by customers as having potential then have several more days to refine and polish their designs.
Customers are expected to give valuable feedback to designers and make specific design requests, which means high-quality custom design work.
Since man started drawing, plagiarism has been an issue and 99designs has strict guidelines on concept originality that we actively enforce.
Our dedicated design community team educates designers about what constitutes original design and if a design is found to have been plagiarised, we’re quick to ban offending designers.
Ultimately, because 99designs is a transparent marketplace with 160,000 designers all eye-balling each and every design uploaded, there’s much more chance of a dubious design being called out here than in the offline world.
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