MattMickiewicz wrote:Hi Anna,
Matt Mickiewicz here, co-founder of 99designs.
99designs is definitely not a "scam" in any way, shape or form.
Maybe not a scam in the traditional sense, but a terrible disservice to both designers and buyers nonetheless. 99designs and other contest-driven, crowdsourcing websites have raked in millions of dollars by convincing people to work for free with nothing more than the chance of getting paid.
Crowdsourcing sites, like 99designs, are bad for the design profession because they cheapen and commoditize design. They perpetrate the notion that graphic design is easy, worth little, takes little time, is mainly about aesthetics and that all one needs to be a designer is the right software. It's contributed to turning design into a commodity that's produced by low-wage novices who lower general design standards, lower public appreciation for good design and take business (and money) out of the pockets of trained, qualified and experienced professionals who can't afford to design anything on simply the chance of getting paid a pittance for their work.
Good branding isn't about making attractive logos for clients to pick on a whim. Good graphic design requires strategic analysis, problem solving and studying clients' business needs to develop the best custom solution that will be as functional as possible. This process requires close consultation and cooperation between clients and designers. Crowdsourcing contests sites, like 99 designs, cheats clients out of the benefits of this relationship by reducing the selection of a logo down to a simple popularity contest based on whatever criteria the buyer had. This cheats the buyers out of the branding insights and strategic partnerships gained from working relationships with designers.
Furthermore, these crowdsourcing sites, like 99designs, cheats design students and newly graduated designers by providing the illusion of honing their design skills while participating in these contests. Instead of learning business and communication skills by working with design mentors and actual clients, these students pick up bad habits, false expectations, disillusionment and a false sense of what the profession is like.
Even though a select few designers make modest amounts of money by participating in these online contests, the vast majority end up working for very little money. And those few who are able to make modest living are usually designers in countries where the cost of living is much lower than in North America, Western Europe or Australia/New Zealand.
So for those students and beginning designers thinking about participating in crowdsourcing contests, just be aware that you'll likely end up working for less than minimum wage while making money for an online industry that's raking in millions by exploiting the naive and degrading and cheapening the entire design profession that you've studied so hard to become a part of.
need a good company logo through a logo design contest site. 99designs is claimed to be the top crowdsourcing site but at the same time there are different online reviews about 99designs scam.
