When I was still in school learning about graphic design I got invited by a crowdsourcing initiative not unlike the now well known http://99designs.com. For those of you who don’t know, their homepage says: “Need something designed? Our community is 198,050 strong. Whatever you need designed, count on us to get the job done right. Over 29,000 satisfied clients!”. Apart from the fact that the first question that rises is “198,050 designers, 29,000 satisfied clients, what the h•ll is wrong?!” you could ask yourself what message you are sending out by not asking for the best designer for your business, not looking for the perfect match. After all, design is communication. So when a business decides to use a <irony> service </irony> like 99designs or many others (the one I did a couple of logo’s for before I realised I shouldn’t was called logomatch), what message is this business sending?
I personally think people and businesses that use services like this are not taking themselves or their business serious. But is that true? Maybe they just don’t know any better? Or maybe they underestimate the job designers do?
Currently I am reading a book by Chris Brogan, called “Social Media 101”. Halfway through the book (most of the content I turned out to be familiar with already, but I guess it is a good start for people who are new to social media) I decided to take a look at the authors website. A little late maybe, but hey, I bought the book, right? It’s not like I read my books behind my computer, I like to read books in order to not be behind my screen for once. So I checked his site, and the forelast post turned out to be this one: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-design-experiment-contest-is-over/?dsq=51365483#comment-51365483. You can look for the commend I made there too, amongst more rational things I also let him know: “I don’t think I have to explain to you why this post about your 99 Designs got my designer blood slightly cooking, you say so yourself your designer friends have explained this to you already.”
After that I cooled down and started thinking about this topic again. I came to the conclusion (for now), that we designers don’t have to fear. Not really. Since our clients are those who do want a good design, a design that communicates who they are, what business they are in, and what clients they serve. But still, it would be nice if we found a way to turn the tide, and maybe even educate potential clients. Ah well, I am a dreamer.
What do you think? Is good design history? What do you think of sites like 99designs? Would you use one? If yes, why? If no, why not? Is there anything we can do?
When I was still in school learning about graphic design I got invited by a crowdsourcing initiative not unlike the now well known http://99designs.com. For those of you who don’t know, their homepage says: “Need something designed? Our community is 198,050 strong. Whatever you need designed, count on us to get the job done right. Over 29,000 satisfied clients!”. Apart from the fact that the first question that rises is “198,050 designers, 29,000 satisfied clients, what the h•ll is wrong?!” you could ask yourself what message you are sending out by not asking for the best designer for your business, not looking for the perfect match. After all, design is communication. So when a business decides to use a <irony> service </irony> like 99designs or many others (the one I did a couple of logo’s for before I realised I shouldn’t was called logomatch), what message is this business sending?
I personally think people and businesses that use services like this are not taking themselves or their business serious. But is that true? Maybe they just don’t know any better? Or maybe they underestimate the job designers do?
Currently I am reading a book by Chris Brogan, called “Social Media 101”. Halfway through the book (most of the content I turned out to be familiar with already, but I guess it is a good start for people who are new to social media) I decided to take a look at the authors website. A little late maybe, but hey, I bought the book, right? It’s not like I read my books behind my computer, I like to read books in order to not be behind my screen for once. So I checked his site, and the forelast post turned out to be this one: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-design-experiment-contest-is-over/?dsq=51365483#comment-51365483. You can look for the commend I made there too, amongst more rational things I also let him know: “I don’t think I have to explain to you why this post about your 99 Designs got my designer blood slightly cooking, you say so yourself your designer friends have explained this to you already.”
After that I cooled down and started thinking about this topic again. I came to the conclusion (for now), that we designers don’t have to fear. Not really. Since our clients are those who do want a good design, a design that communicates who they are, what business they are in, and what clients they serve. But still, it would be nice if we found a way to turn the tide, and maybe even educate potential clients. Ah well, I am a dreamer.
What do you think? Is good design history? What do you think of sites like 99designs? Would you use one? If yes, why? If no, why not? Is there anything we can do?
Posted 2 years ago & Filed under 99designs, chris brogan, communication, design, flis, good, good, good design is history, graphic, graphic design, logo, logomatch, marketing, online, social media 101, strategy, crowdsourcing, 4 notes View high resolution
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