99designs is effectively ruining client, designer relations
It works off a term known in the industry as spec work. Spec work means any work done is on a speculative basis. In other words, requested work that has not had a reasonable fee agreed on before the work begins.
Spec work has the chance to result in non-payment and often theft.
Multiple campaigns have been launched to attempt to bring the industry together with an understanding of not working on projects without an agreement of a fair price with the client beforehand. The result being designers are paid appropriately for anytime they spend working on a project since they had a legal agreement ahead of time.
Asking a designer, who normally charges per project or hourly, to give away design work to compete in the chance to win a project is similar to asking a mechanic to fix your car with the hopes of getting paid if you liked it or not changing your mind after the job is done.
Do you expect to work an 8 hour shift with the hopes that your employer will be pleased enough to pay you? I doubt it.
They cheapen the process by remove the professionalism
They support the perception that graphic design is easy, and all that is required is the right software, a brief company description, and one hour of time to do it correctly. The fact is that when done correctly, design is not easy. It involves more then creating appealing graphics.
It is about building a brand.
They promote a system that ruins the client impression with an idea that it is simply a matter of tossing some pixels at a digital canvas, then allowing the clients to decide which one to pay for destroys the credibility and attitude toward our industry.
If you as a designer would take the proper amount of time to understand the client needs, research the company and competitors, brainstorm the brand, come up with an original concept, and sketch the design before opening any kind of software, you would be better off flipping burgers then to dare take the chance with one of these competitions.
You work for under minimal wage usually
Many who defend these actions claim the money they make is better than nothing. I cannot for a minute see the reasoning behind this defense.
Let’s figure the average payout is $150.00 and that you win at least 10% of the contest you enter (which is extremely rare), you spend at a minimal of 3 hours working, this means you make roughly $5 an hour, which doesn’t even cover minimal wage in the United States.
I am charitable in believing that you would be winning 10% of the contest. Also this does not factor the client backing out and the numerous revisions you could be asked for, which adds to more time spent on a single project.
They ruin the reason in hiring a designer
For sometime I planned to write this article. I did not feel it was necessary in till they released a new feature that allows designers to submit logos to a marketplace which can be bought for $90 or $300 if the client wants exclusive rights.
The logo marketplace is another example of them being more concerned with money then the welfare of the industry. Not only is there mass theft, they now are advocating for clients to pay for a logo that is already being branded possibility by multiple other businesses. This completely defeats the purpose of hiring a designer.
The marketplace, like contests, are being flooded with chip-art, stock imagery, and stolen logos. After the designer uploads the logo, it is placed in a marketplace with thousands of others which plan to be bought for cheap prices, which in a professional environment would be worth much more. But the worst thing about this whole process is that when a logo is sold, you as the designer only make 30% commission from your own designs.
They make more then the designer who spend the time creating the logo. I find this completely appalling and cannot believe a designer would sale themselves out this way. The truth is you will never make enough money for the hours you waste your time with this poor excuse for client, designer relations.
Founder of 99designs responds to this article
Not long after this article made it to the mainstream. Mark Harbottle responded with possible legal action against me.
I have decided to post all communication between us in another post. Read it here.
SixandSouth Graphic Design (Miami) on March 21, 2010, 10:49 pm
1st to comment!
Great post! I cannot a gree with it more. I think that the freelance design community should do something to counter sites like this. We are literally losing money and clients to them and they are dumming down graphic design as a whole.
Dasaef on March 22, 2010, 2:54 am
Good article … good point.
Marcel on March 22, 2010, 10:17 am
But if it is so badly paid, I wonder why there are so many designers on 99designs? Maybe it has its place in the market. Not for the highend super design but for easy things.
Bryan Le on March 22, 2010, 2:55 pm
To me, the designers that are wasting their time with 99 Designs are exactly the designers that deserve to be on there. Those of us who understand that quality is not paid for there, won’t waste our time.
It’s sort of the whole – if you don’t like it – don’t do it. You know what you’re getting yourself into when doing spec work, and you understand the risks and reward factor. If you can’t stomach it, don’t do it, and furthermore, don’t complain about it.
True 99Designs is killing the market some how … but if you’re losing client work to 99Design competitions, then I may have to suggest you step your game up, or look for your clients elsewhere.
Kevin on March 22, 2010, 2:57 pm
Good article and good truths!
Stephan Wehner on March 22, 2010, 3:01 pm
Are your clients asking about 99 designs?
There will always be cheaper alternatives to a professional, for example I see a lot of software job postings on craigslist mentioning “this is ideal for a student” or similar.
On the other hand there are people who will not hire a designer, because they know they cannot afford it. So I don’t think you are losing those.
See you,
Stephan
Harry on March 22, 2010, 3:07 pm
The only thing that we can do about this and other freeloaders is to refrain from participating in their “contests” as a group. Spread the word and blog about it!
Breno Girafa on March 22, 2010, 3:26 pm
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve won 99designs contests, but I’ve lost PLENTY more. Most of them because the client would see something he liked more at the last second. I’ve had clients that said they were gonna give me the prize because they liked what they saw, but changed their minds out of the blue.
It’s sad, it could be a much better place
Sherwin Steffin on March 22, 2010, 5:02 pm
Zack,
I have to take strong issue with your position that Web Designers and Webmasters should never take work on spec. For those not employees, but instead working as Independent Contractors (IC), risk taking is what separates the men from the boys. Working as an IC, your biggest risk is simply that you don’t get any, or enough work to put food on the table tomorrow, next week, or next month. Or a client sues you for Errors and Omissions, or intellectual property infringement, or a dozen other things to not only not pay you, but take money from you. You want to play in the IC sandbox, you got to man up!
Almost every technology company making billions today, started as a couple of guys in a garage. (Think MSFT, Apple for just two of them. No one had any guarantees of betting rich.
That said, anyone who is a victim of a scam is generally at best careless, and at worst, just stupid. There is however a difference between being a victim, and being on the losing end of an investment (part of the loss of which you can recover in your taxes).
Think of the billions that were lost by small investors last year when Wall Street investments went South, or the some 85% of startup companies going BK in the first year of operation, or the total idiots that bought homes without knowing what it would cost them, and had no way of ever paying for them.
There are a hundred ways you can protect yourself, when the client makes money from your work, and holds back what is due to you. I have been on both sides of this equation (IC or client), and if you are interested I can show you how to protect yourself with an RFQ (Request for Quotation) which is totally on spec. I am going to be bidding it out in the next month or two. If interested let me know. You will see how safe it can be for both parties.
Mark on March 22, 2010, 5:41 pm
Zach. It’s ironic that you speak of image theft. Where did you get the image of the 99designs team from?
Zach on March 22, 2010, 6:48 pm
@Mark
I find it strange that instead of defending the actions of your company, you attempt to attack me, by accusing me of theft. If we all adopted the mindset that we are stealing by simply using an image as a refer point then all bloggers would be guilty.
It also does not take long with your mindset to see that your beloved SitePoint is guilty of theft as well by using company logos to refer to the companies themselves. Your idea of theft is simply childish.
Furthermore, when I refer to theft within the article, I am not accusing your company of directly stealing imagery for your website; I am referring to the theft that is accruing within contest. Unlike many of your users I am not flat out claiming stolen imagery as my own and directly profit from it.
Founder Mark Harbottle of 99designs responds with an image takedown notice | Netjelly on March 22, 2010, 10:13 pm
[...] of 99designs responds with an image takedown noticeIt was not long after @designerdepot tweeted my article that Mark Harbottle responded.“Zach. It’s ironic that you speak of image theft. Where did [...]
Andy on March 22, 2010, 11:02 pm
Good post – one of many I’ve read. I’ve participated in my share of contests and will never lower myself to support 99Designs or any similar “service”.
Maximilian Bartel (indiqo.media) on March 23, 2010, 1:20 am
Couldn’t agree more to be honest!
The wondrously wacky world of online logo design | Snippets | The Logo Factor Design Blog on March 30, 2010, 6:33 am
[...] web designer Zach Hornsby decided to write a blog post entitled 99designs is Effectively Ruining Client, Designer Relations he used a picture of 99designs [...]
TC on May 17, 2010, 3:28 am
Right on target, great article. Can’t stand spec work. I will definitely forward this article.
99designs is as sloppy and unethical as the work produced on its site.
Keep up the good work Zach.
Janku on May 26, 2010, 6:47 am
I entered some contests on 99D a while back and it didn’t take long to notice the pitfalls of being a designer on 99D. Theft is a biggie but 99D’s attitude toward designers runs a close 2nd. They go out of their way to protect the Contest Holders with their 100% Money Back Guarantees which pretty much translates to 100% Designer Ripoff Guarantee – an odd set of principles for a company founded by designers for designers.
There are some obvious scams being run as well…encouraged by the policies of 99D which protects the Contest Holders: the most prevalent one having a CH friend/employee/or CH themself(ves) sign up as a designer, submit a “decent” design, win the prize and have the money go right back into the CH coffer. Or the CH will run a contest, steal the design they like best and then ask for and receive thier money back. Designers are left holding the bag and all their efforts were for naught.
Blind Contests..so what…the same thing can happen. Locked contests…a cowards escape from the wrath of angry designers left with no explanation as to why a winning design wasn’t chosen.
99D thrives only because of the precarious global economy – they would have never succeeded to such a degree before the meltdown. Now they can pretty much get away with making their millions, keeping a skeleton crew to avoid addressing the “real” issues, and putting on their diplomatic airs to ward off conflicts amongst the designers. 99D won’t go away soon because of the willingness of 3rd world countries to work at slave wages.
In the meantime, it would be nice to see some transparency in 99D boastfulness about how many designers they have, how much money paid out, etc. – show the # of contests Refunded, the # of contests Locked and closed out without choosing a winner, the # of designers who wasted their time. It would be nice to see the real colors of 99D..then, atleast, I could respect them.
In the meantime, Crowdspring is a much better alternative but no Xanadu by any means. Better not to particpate in contests and foster the growing belief that designers are come by cheap in the virtual world.
Kudos to you for stating simple facts. I doubt 99D will fight – they don’t want to part with their profits for any reason…except to support the Contest Holders.