Getting Design Work Done Better, Faster, and Cheaper

| Posted: 09-06-2008 | Views: 31 | Rating: (95)

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With a recession on the horizon (if it's not here already), you can hear the sound of business owners everywhere tightening their purse strings.

Fortunately, there are many ways for business owners to cut costs, improve turnaround times, and increase quality simultaneously—at least when it comes to graphic design. We all know the standard process for having a banner ad, logo, business card, stationary, web site, or brochure designed:

You find an agency or freelancer whose portfolio you like.

You agree on a fixed price or hourly rate.

You provide a design brief or project outline.

You wait, and wait, and wait for the design to come in.

You pay—whether you’re happy with the final result or not. Changes or additional concepts are usually produced for an extra fee.

There is a better, more efficient way to get the job done: crowdsourcing through design contests. Let’s see how it works:

You post a design brief on a web site like 99designs.com, which has over 17,000 registered designers.

You set a prize amount based on your budget—it could be anywhere from $100 to $5000.

You post a design brief that outlines what you want.

Within hours, designs from all over the world start submitting fully completed concepts for your review.

At the end of 2-7 days, you pick your favorite design and pay the winning designer.

How easy is that? It involves low risk, provide quick results, and you see what you're getting before you pay for it. Depending on your budget, you’ll typically receive 50-200 different designs for your consideration. The competitive spirit of designers around the world means you’ll ultimately end up with a great design at a fair price. That’s the power of crowdsourcing.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind for your next design contest:

The more money you offer, and the more descriptive your project brief, the better the final result will be. The description of your project shouldn’t be an afterthought.

During the contest process, give feedback early and often. Contest sites like 99designs.com allow you to rate each entry using a 5-star system as well as providing written feedback. Ideally, you should set aside some time each day to review entries and provide ratings and feedback. This keeps the designers working hard to satisfy your needs.

After your contest finishes, declare a winner quickly. Designers hate uncertainty and the winner will want to be paid promptly.

So for your next design project—whether it’s an advertisement, business card or flash animation—don’t outsource it, crowdsource it! I’m sure you’ll never look back.

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Article Tags: Logo Design, Banner Design, Ad Design, Business Card Design, Webpage Design

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About the Author:

Matt Mickiewicz has 10 years of experience in the online sector, and is currently responsible for business development at sitepoint.com – a media company targeting web professionals, which also runs an eBay-style marketplace for buying and selling web sites.

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