#contest setup

Over the past few weeks, I've been using two crowdsource design services, DesignCrowd and 99designs, to create the logo for my startup business, SoundQuest.  In this post, I'll compare these services in terms of their contest setup processes.

Overall, both services are relatively easy to set up and request similar information from the contest holder.  The requested information includes: name of project/logo, description of organization, intended audience, logo text, logo style examples, values to communicate, must-haves, nice-to-haves, and should-not-haves.  That said, there are a few differences and tips which I'll point out below.

Design Crowd:

DesignCrowd charges a service fee of $40 to post your project.  But, a quick Google search returned a coupon that brought it down to $1.  I prefer 99designs' choice of not charging the contest holder, which makes the contest holder feel like his/her money is either going to specific designer or towards additional design contest services (e.g., featured listing, design blog promotion, etc.).

DesignCrowd enables the project creator to post a "participation payment", which is intended to entice top designer to receive a bone payment (typically $20) immediately upon submitting a design. The trick with this, however, is that within project search results pages, the prize money is displayed as the award for 1st place PLUS all participation money.  In my case, my first prize was $370, but designers are enticed with $410.  It feels like false advertising since it's completely possible for both participation payments to be awarded, leaving only the original $370 up for grabs.  But, the ability to entice a top designer is cool, and it's a feature that is only available to Gold members of 99designs.

99designs:

During contest setup, the contest holder is encouraged to choose the type of logo (e.g., work mark, pictorial mark, letter mark).  In the case of using 99designs, the contest holder also has a section where he/she can select from a variety of pre-defined set of logos for which the designers will draw inspiration.  DesignCrowd falls short on this feature, as they only allow contest holders to upload their own images.

99designs puts a premium on fast designs projects, charging roughly $40, $60, and $80 for 3-day, 2-day, or 1-day contests.  DesignCrowd's 2-day contest is the same price as the 5-, 10-, and 15-day.

Notes and Suggestions for contest holder:

Guarantee your payment if you're serious and committed to receiving a design.  The guarantee will significantly increase the number submitted designs.

If possible, time the start of your project so that your contest ends on a weekend.  This will give you enough time to crank through the tons of designs that come though in the final hours.

Establish your basic business mission and values before you post your contest.  Your designers will appreciate the clarity and will find creative ways to represent your values.

Resist the urge to write out your own design ideas.  I did this for the first few days, and received a very limited selection of designs.  Once I took out my written request for a specific design, I found it much more exciting to see the creativity that people have.

When it comes to the contest setup process, there's not a clear winner of one service over another.  Both services get the job done: write up a brief, put up a prize, let the designs roll in.  But if I had to choose one, I'd pick 99designs because it doesn't charge a service fee for posting my contest.