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+--- Thread: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? (/showthread.php?tid=147254)
Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - clay - 01-14-2013
Am working on a small (just me!), startup and I need a logo designed. I have enough marketing knowledge and contacts that I could call upon a couple experienced designers that I personally know to do the work, but I'm also looking for some new ideas and a fresh perspective for the brand. I've read a bunch of articles about using one of the crowdsourced design sites ( http://www.99designs.com/ , http://www.crowdspring.com/ , etc) and that seems like a decent way to get the logo design done on the cheap, while getting lots of designers to submit their take on the project (i.e. spec work).
Both directions have pitfalls that I can see:
Working with a designer I know already:
-More expensive (at least 2x the average cost of the crowdsourced options)
-Limited style options when working with a single designer (i.e. may not like the direction things are going, and/or the designer may not be able to provide the look that I'm going for)
Working with a crowdsourced process:
-No ongoing personal relationship with designer (potential for crappy communication/work habits if the one I choose turns out to be a flake or unethical in some way)
-Possibility of subpar work (may just end up getting a bunch of crap options and would need to find a good designer anyway
If I'm looking at $400+- via the crowdsourced way vs. $1000+ with a designer that I already know, what would you folks recommend? I understand that a logo design is an important part of a company's brand and that I shouldn't be too stingy about paying for something so important. But...I am trying to be responsible with cash so that this startup has a chance at succeeding.
I guess the other option is to do a more wide-reaching web search of designers to find someone whose work I like in a pricerange I can afford, and work with them in a more traditional way.
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - threeprong - 01-14-2013
For your start up business, would you be interested in working a couple of hours on a project I have where you would be going up against perhaps 10-50 other companies in the hopes of getting paid for that time?
If that sounds promising to you, then I would go the crowd sourced route.
I the above sounds unfair and you also come to realize that by crowdsourcing, you have created 100 hours of work for many different people and will only have paid one of them something vaguely resembling a fair price, then I would hire a professional designer.
3P
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - M A V I C - 01-14-2013
You've got to ask yourself how much, at this stage, will a professional logo benefit your company. Eg, are you seeking millions in funding? Get a real one. If you're funding yourself and if the logo is not apt to have a big impact, then go with crowd sourcing.
$400+ sounds like a lot for the crowd sourced one. Should be less than $200. I know there's different options, but you should have quite a few to choose from for under that price point. Realize you're probably getting something that took 15 minutes to slap together, has very little to do with your company, could possibly also be someone else's logo...
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - Marc Anthony - 01-14-2013
Sorry, but "crowdsourced design" is shite, akin to clip art—and probably consisting of same. I understand that you're trying to be frugal, but if $600 is going to break your startup, you're already going out of business. Have you considered contracting with a temporary graphic placement firm like Aquent? You can get the benefit of real designers for an hourly rate.
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - M A V I C - 01-14-2013
threeprong wrote:
For your start up business, would you be interested in working a couple of hours on a project I have where you would be going up against perhaps 10-50 other companies in the hopes of getting paid for that time?
If that sounds promising to you, then I would go the crowd sourced route.
I the above sounds unfair and you also come to realize that by crowdsourcing, you have created 100 hours of work for many different people and will only have paid one of them something vaguely resembling a fair price, then I would hire a professional designer.
3P
That makes no sense at all. How a business chooses to operate is up to them. If a designer wants to compete in the crowd sourced game, that's up to them. I never do spec work, and if someone asked me to I'd walk. But that's my choice.
There's plenty of people who've spent five minutes coming up with a logo design, then 30 seconds plopping in a name and submitting it. Then they submit it a 100 times, and eventually make $150. In the end they probably end up making $100/hr pretty easily.
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - ztirffritz - 01-14-2013
I have a friend who tried to do the work on one of the crowdsourcing sites and found that, though his work was well received, the people commissioning the work were more often flakes than the people submitting it. Other designers complimented his work, but he couldn't get people to pay him despite being selected the winner several times. I don't know if he's still trying to do it or not. I'm guessing not.
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - threeprong - 01-14-2013
3P
That makes no sense at all. How a business chooses to operate is up to them. If a designer wants to compete in the crowd sourced game, that's up to them. I never do spec work, and if someone asked me to I'd walk. But that's my choice.
There's plenty of people who've spent five minutes coming up with a logo design, then 30 seconds plopping in a name and submitting it. Then they submit it a 100 times, and eventually make $150. In the end they probably end up making $100/hr pretty easily.
I never implied his business had to work any particular way I merely made recommendations as you did. I never said designers could or could not do spec work, I never do spec work either.
Spec work is for architects and million dollar projects, or perhaps very large opportunities.... for other disciplines.
There may be "plenty" of dabblers playing the 5 minute logo game.. and there "may" be others spending hours on their logo designs. i haven't seen any real data on it.. Ultimately, I doubt the spec work scenario is fair, though I will not make up any assumptions about how plentiful the bounty is, and will not assign some arbitrary hourly rate to those involved to make my point.
3P
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - clay - 01-14-2013
By way of additional info...
I have worked in marketing for 10+ years, so I understand how designers work, how the logo design process works, and the fact that quality design costs money, etc. I understand that crowdsourced design may not appeal to all designers, given the nature of spec work, and the likelihood that your work would never get used. I understand why that can be bad for business, and why many designers choose not to participate.
At a basic level, I guess what appeals to me about crowdsourcing something like this is being able to sort through a large number of visual treatments/styles and selecting one that works for my business. Quite honestly, I'd settle for a well-curated directory of designers (much like http://sortfolio.com does for web design) that allows me to perform that search. I'm not trying to undermine the profession of design as much as I am simply trying to find a reasonably priced designer that I want to work with.
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - M A V I C - 01-14-2013
threeprong wrote:
I never implied his business had to work any particular way I merely made recommendations as you did.
Let's revisit what you said:
threeprong wrote:
For your start up business, would you be interested in working a couple of hours on a project I have where you would be going up against perhaps 10-50 other companies in the hopes of getting paid for that time?
If that sounds promising to you, then I would go the crowd sourced route.
You don't even know what the OP's business is, but you assert that what's "fair" for a design business model is the same for the OP's as well.
There may be "plenty" of dabblers playing the 5 minute logo game.. and there "may" be others spending hours on their logo designs. i haven't seen any real data on it.. Ultimately, I doubt the spec work scenario is fair, though I will not make up any assumptions about how plentiful the bounty is, and will not assign some arbitrary hourly rate to those involved to make my point.
By saying that crowdsourcing isn't "fair" you were applying a rate, though not a specific one. I demonstrated another scenario simply to disprove your false assertion that crowd sourcing is somehow not "fair." You would have to know how much they're making to make any sort of assertion. Perhaps next time you should try running some numbers to see if your take is accurate.
Re: Crowdsourced design work -- worth it? Anybody have experience on the client end? - threeprong - 01-14-2013
Spec work for graphic designers is ultimately unethical.
This page sums it up better than our little semantic urination match.
If you assert spec work is fair, then I will leave with your opinion and we can agree to disagree.
3P