Our Review of 99Designs

Everyone that owns a website has needed a logo or design work and for many this is always a difficult task.  When we needed new banners and a logo we had no idea where to start.  Just doing a Google search brings up web design companies who also do logos but we wanted someone who specialized in the design services we needed.  We didn’t want someone who designs websites to design our logo or vice-versa.  We then came across 99Designs and ever since we have never had to look further.

What is 99designs?

99designs is a unique community of designers across the globe.  There are thousands and thousands of designers with skills from logo designers, website designers, banner designers, mobile app designers and basically anything you need designed they have someone with that skill set.

How 99designs works

The concept is simple, you run a contest for whatever you need done.  For example lets say you need a new logo.  First you create a contest basically outlining your website, what you do, what design elements you want in your logo and any specific details you want your designer to cater to.  What I liked about 99designs is that the contest creation process is quick with a simple one page form and it also has detailed specifics on what you want your design to represent.

In the image below you can see part of the design contest form for a logo design where you have simple sliders you shift to tell your designers what you’re looking for in your logo.

99designs Logo Contest Screenshot

Once you’ve created your design contest it goes live and their community of designers will start submitting designs, simple right?!  It really is and within roughly 4 to 8 hours you’ll have a bunch of creative designers drawing up designs for you.  We love this because you don’t just have one designer but literally thousands of different designers around the world with creative ideas drawing up designs.

 Tips for creating your contest at 99designs

• You’ll have an option to make your contest ‘blind’.  What is a blind contest? When you create a ‘blind’ contest it simply means that designers can’t see other designer submissions.  This is very important because you want the designer to be creative and you’ll get many more different concepts instead of copycats.  Be sure to make your design contest blind.
• Once you’ve created your design contest go through their Design Directory where you can see portfolios of designers and there will be an ‘invite’ button beside each designer.  I’ve found that inviting designers works very well.  Invite designers to your contest if you like their work.  These designers are thirsty to work on projects and you can invite as many designers as you want.
• Once you start getting submissions make sure you leave comments!  This is very important because if the submission is not what you’re looking for you need to relay that to the designer so they can make adjustments.  Feedback and comments are welcomed and designers want to hear what you think of their work.
• Eliminate design you simply don’t like.  This helps save you time and the designer time.  If you really don’t like a design and don’t think that specific designer is meeting your criteria simply eliminate them from the contest.
• 99designs has a Polling feature which I really like.  You can choose up to 8 designs and create a Poll.  You’ll be given a private  link to share with your friends and family so they can vote on the designs.  I found this very useful because sometimes you need an outsiders opinion.

Running a Successful Design Contest

The entire process of setting up a design contest at 99designs is simple and running a contest that is successful will take a little bit of effort on your part.  As outlined above you need to make sure you provide lots of details to the designers.  If you want specific colors or fonts mention them.  If there are certain logos or websites you really like tell your designers.  Design contest run for 7 days by default however you can extend your contest to get more designers involved and more submissions.

99designs Review in conclusion

What can I say, we’ve used 99designs 4 times in the last 6 months and every time we have had an amazing experience.  It’s a simple process and eliminates the task of looking for a designer.  You get a community of creative minds to work on your project.  It’s also pretty fun because you get to interact with different designers around the world all with unique skills.  If you up picking a design you also have the opportunity to do a 1-on-1 project with just that designer and then negotiate a price with them.  The whole experience is fun and interactive and you’ll end up with a design you love or you’ll get your money back!

If you need some design work definitely check out 99designs and be sure to leave a comment with your experience.

Visit 99designs and start your contest today, click here