There are hundreds of design websites out there, and many of them allow you to make it yourself with a given set of tools. However, it’s not always a smart choice to use a free design website instead of hiring a professional to help you design your website or company logo. Thankfully, that’s why 99 Designs stands out – you can get your logo designed by a professional quickly and easily.
The popularity of design websites has grown a lot in recent year with the current influx of entrepreneurs looking to start new businesses all over the planet. Those who chase success are often willing to spend a dime or two in order to achieve it, so hiring a site like 99 Designs to help you get started is often a smart option.
However, 99 Designs is not perfect, and the site has a few flaws that need to be improved. Thankfully, the many pros outweigh the few cons and this design website is one of the best that you’ll find on the internet. We do recommend you be aware of the negative aspects of this site to know what you can expect from your experience using it.
What is 99 Designs and How Does It Work?
99 Designs is a similar site to what Worth 1000 used to be back in the early 2000s, but fully focused on selling designs to people willing to pay for them. The main point of the website is for people looking for a design to submit an idea. Then, hundreds of designers from all over the world will send their own designs and participate in a contest. Whoever made the request gets to choose which offer they like the most.
There are various categories in which you can request a new logo, and the designers get to participate in the contests depending on what they prefer to do. It’s a very open site which allows business owners or entrepreneurs to ask for what they want, and it allows each designer to work on the things that they feel more comfortable working on.
Whoever sets up the contest gets to decide how much money they’re willing to pay for the design. The participants know how much money they can earn before they take part in the contest. It’s important to note that not every designer gets paid – if the design of an artist doesn’t get picked, then the designer doesn’t receive any money. It’s a very competitive site for artists, but a great place to get some logos done by whoever’s willing to pay for them. Competitiveness guarantees quality.
The Pros and Cons of 99 Designs
There are plenty of sites similar to 99 Designs on the internet, so it might be a wise choice to educate yourself on the pros and const of 99 Design before you decide whether this is the right option for you – be it as a graphic designer or as a potential buyer. We’ve made a list of what we think are the most relevant pros and cons of the website.
99 Design Pros
- The site comes with a set of predesigned stuff that can help you decide what you want from the get-go, even if you don’t have a clear idea of what could work when you first visit the site.
- If the design doesn’t meet your expectations, you may ask the site for a full refund. You must pay for the design in advance, so this makes up for it in case you’re not satisfied with the results.
- The site is very friendly to use for both buyer and designer
- You can tell how many people will participate in a project depending on how much money you’re willing to pay for the end result.
99 Design Cons
- It’s not a fair environment for graphic designers as they might end up not getting paid for the time and effort.
- You get no expert opinions on whether the logo would work for you or not – it’s up to you to decide based purely on your own judgment.
Features of 99 Designs – What to Expect?
The 99 Designs website is made to suit the needs of the buyer above anything else. This might not make the services fair for the graphic designer at times, but as a buyer, you’ll almost definitely enjoy what they have in store for you.
Furthermore, most graphic designers enjoy the experience of working in 99 Designs. Granted, it’s hard to make a career there because of the nature of the website, but it’s still a good source of income that is based on occasional projects and not running gigs.
There are some features that define this website and make it stand out from the rest – if you like what we’re about to tell you, then you might be better off opting for 99 Designs and stop looking for other sites.
Clear Brief
It doesn’t matter if you’re a graphic designer or someone who wants a logo designed, there’s nothing more inconvenient than not having a clear idea of what you want whenever you face the prospect of taking on a new project. The staff at 99 Designs know this, and the website always asks a buyer to present a small brief that will help them (and the artists) understand what they really expect.
Many other graphic design websites fail to do this and, as a consequence, buyers tend to have a hard time finding art that suits their needs. Furthermore, graphic designers usually have unpleasant experiences as their art is rejected, more often than not. With 99 Designs, both the artist and the buyer know what the project requires from the start.
The buyer also has the option to run a contest where no other participant is allowed to see the work of others in order to get independent ideas. Sometimes, when artists see the work of their peers, they tend to get influenced by it in one way or another. The option to keep them from seeing other pieces ultimately gets you to see a better variety of art to choose from.
The Importance of Money-Back Guarantees
Even when a clear brief is there to help the artist determine what to do in the project, it’s always important for the buyer to have a money-back guarantee in place – especially in a website like 99 Designs, where the payment is done upfront. If the buyer doesn’t like any of the designs, they can ask the website for a refund and get their initial payment back as a result.
However, keep in mind that doing this means that you cannot use any of the designs that you see in the project. If you try to use them or even use them as a reference to create your own design later, you could and probably will get in legal trouble with 99 Designs. Only request a refund when you’re certain that you didn’t like any of the designs made by the artists.
Worldwide Crowdsourcing
Buyers who aren’t sure about what they want and need various options before deciding might find that 99 Designs is the best place to go for them. The fact that the site is so widely used all around the planet makes it so thousands of artists are willing to put their time and effort into a project, which could help you end out with hundreds of results on your offer. You’ll have plenty of options to see and decide.
It’s not the cheapest websites out there and you may find cheaper designs in other non-specialized freelancing websites, but the quality that you get from a site like 99 Designs is unmatched even by its closest competitors. Quantity doesn’t always mean quality, but when money is on the table for the artist, it usually does.
Cheaper Options Within 99 Designs
Even though the main point of the website is to hire freelancers to do the job you want, you may also find what you’re looking for in their design store. They have a special section where they sell all kinds of logos for just $99, so you don’t have to pay an artist to do the job for you. However, these are far less customized and you’re more likely to get something that suits your taste better if you pay someone to do it for you.
The fact that they include cheaper options means that you may find some of their plans to be quite expensive. We’re not going to lie, some of them really are. However, you’re paying for quality. If you select their most expensive plan, the site will personally pick artists that suit your needs and offer you a large selection of designs to choose from.
1 on 1 Options
Buyers that feel like they need to talk to a designer during the process of logo creation may find 99 Designs like the best choice for them. The site gives you the chance to create a contest and have everyone show what they can do, or you may also talk to a designer and ask him specific requests like you would do with anyone you hire outside the internet.
How to Know if 99 Designs is the Right Place for You?
After reading all of this review, it’s only natural for people to wonder whether the site will suit their needs or not. The answering isn’t too straightforward, and it depends on what you’re looking to achieve by signing up to use the 99 Designs services. We’re going to divide this question to provide you with a couple of different answers, each one suited to the needs of different users.
99 Designs for Buyers
Those people looking to buy art might want to try out 99 Designs almost definitely. The site’s layout makes it easy for users to find exactly what they need, and having a dedicated section to provide the artist with a brief is something that cannot be overlooked – it’s one of the most important features of the site and one that makes it stand out from the rest. A great part of the site’s success is due to it.
The large selection of artists that you’re going to meet is another thing that makes 99 Designs great for buyers. If you want to get a logo or any type of art done, then you’re going to love this site. You don’t even need to be too clear on what you want as the large selection of quality artists will present you with many options to choose from.
The one downside is that some plans are very expensive. You’ll always be paying for quality, of course, and it’s important not to hold back on cash if you want to get your work done with high standards. However, you may find other sites where the art is much cheaper and with a quality that matches what you get in 99 Designs. These sites are harder to come by, though, and finding an individual artist that suits your needs is much more difficult.
99 Designs for Graphic Designers
We’ve seen many controversial opinions on whether 99 Designs is a good place for graphic designers or not. There is only one clear downside that graphic designers must face when browsing the website: you’re not always going to get paid. If your art doesn’t suit the needs of the buyer, or if other graphic designers create a design that the buyer prefers, you won’t receive cash.
The negative aspect of 99 Designs is the uncertainty of payment. However, if you can deal with that and treat this website as a side job for a graphic designer, you’re going to love spending your time here.
There are many positives to be taken from the 99 Designs experience as well. You, as a graphic designer, will be presented with a large selection of work opportunities and you’ll be able to grow your repertoire of creations – whether they’re bought or not!
