99designs

Hello,

A few days ago my account was suspended for practically no reason after spending over 2 days submitting relentlessly to different projects. I just joined one of their competitors- designcrowd.com and thought their courtesy statement could be applied to their website so you're not to be blamed by Designers for being rude. See their note below after I submitted my first design:

Your account has not been verified.
We need to verify that your designs will meet our Quality Standards. To verify your account, submit to any design contest. Read more...

It's that simple! It's rude and disheartening to have Designers submit relentlessly not knowing they have specific Quality Standards set out and then after two days send me an impolite email about suspension. At least these guys have some manners.

Buyer beware - don't trust the 'money back guarantee' on their front page. This company has an awful business model with even worst customer service. I would advise anyone looking for website design to stay away. I had an awful experience that has dragged on for over a year with lots of crappy website design, poor communication from both designers and the company and no final product. Instead, I'd advise putting fire to the $1,238 or take a vacation - you'll thank me later.

Maybe this could be a great service, however, my first experience with 99 designs has not been great. We choose the Silver, 3 day contest and payed extra for blog promotion and fast 3 day delivery. The "promise" is lots of response from top designers. We've had 4 responses to our contest, all of very poor quality. So my advise is: when you have no experience with setting up contests, either contact the customer service to help you or choose to work with a designer you like directly. Big cheer to the customer service, they are very helpful and respond quickly!

The initial process was great, and I got over 50 design ideas for my new logo, several of which were really interesting and exciting. However, the later phases of the process were confusing and frustrating. One design in particular was "the one", but then the artist and the logo were withdrawn, so that was out the door. In the end, I settled on a logo that I like, but don't love. As an idea generation process, I think 99designs could be a great option to get input and creative ideas from designers from around the world, but getting to a final design that you really want may not be possible.

I was ready to complete my second book's cover, but in the end didn't have enough faith that it was good enough and asked for feedback. I was told it and the first book would not stand up in the crowd, and for a little bit more, I could have paid for a 99 designs cover. I went with that advice and am blown away at the improvement I received by the winning designer. Now I have someone I plan to use going forward and I hope sales on my book will rebound once I release this sparkling new beauty on top.

This went really well for me. The designers who took part were friendly, talented and responsive. The winner deserved to win, but I felt sorry for those who had worked hard and missed out in the final round.

I spend a few thousand dollars to have several pages developed only to get files my developer can barely use. It's costing me twice as much in development because the files are garbage and 99design did absolutely nothing to help.

We were surprised that so many wonderful designs were submitted by lots of artists. The biggest challenge was narrowing it down to a few finalists. We all LOVE our logo designed by Yoga in Bali. He knew what we wanted, was very easy to work with, quickly made changes as requested, provided many variations of colors and did am awesome job. I highly recommend him and would definitely use him and this company again.
I love the concept of 99 Designs and enjoyed working with them. My computer experience is limited but each time I had questions their awesome customer service rep Ally, was patient, kind and helpful. I have already recommended 99 Designs to quite a few people. Awesome company and concept!

I've been a full-time ad consultant for 32 years and I frequently use 99 Designs. The keys are (1.) to spend enough money to interest the highest levels of talent, and (2.) to write a brief that not only instructs your designers, but inspires them. I usually offer a prize of $1,500 or $2,000 and receive 1,250 to 1,400 designs in return. Sure, you have to wade through a lot of silly, crap designs from beginners hoping to win the lottery, but at least 50 of the designs will be notable. My biggest problem is choosing from the top 10 or 12 designs that are simply AMAZING. You can run with the big dogs or stay on the porch, but don't think you're going to see anything but the big dogs' butts if you toss minimum money at them.

I first signed up in 99designs in 2009 and after a 6 years break, I came on site in 2016 June Since then my business started to grow. Was able to win 12 contests within 5 months and have secured over $10,000 worth of 1 on 1 projects. If you are a designer with skill who is looking to make a decent living 99designs is the place. They respect designers, unlike other Freelance sites. Designers feel like their work is highly valued.

I recommend 99designs for all the designers out there!

We used the service for logos, with a half decent idea of what we want. We did provide a clear 5 pointer brief. We got some great designs. We then shortlisted designs; created polls and shared with colleagues and friends, request some changes based on feedback and got a logo that checked all boxes and more.

With this model, I think they have brought an abundance of creativity to their clients. I felt like we get stuck with other models, where we pick a designer and then ask for designs, by looking at thier previous work. But allowing us to view designs based on our requirements, before going for the designers, is just perfect.

This may be a very competitive space for designers. However, I feel there are so many talented designers, that do have time in thier hands but do not have active projects. With 99 designs, they can showcase their creativity before even being awarded the project. Thus, letting thier work speak for themselves.

The entire experience was easy to manage, professionally run and, in the end, completely successful. I couldn't be happier. I'll certainly do this again and will recommend this site to friends and colleagues looking for an affordable design or logo treatment.

I am seeing some really negative reviews here and I can only think that someone has a personal grievance or maybe the person just couldn't figure out how to do it properly. Our design requirements were well thought out and refined before I posted the request. I've only had one experience but I believe that's the key to a successful outcome. Also, I opted for the guaranteed payment which, I can only guess, appealed to the more professional designers. I received dozens of submissions which were all professionally presented and showed effort, imagination and skill. In the end, my only difficulty was picking a final design from the top contenders. There were several terrific choices.

Bottom line: my experience was 100% satisfying.

This was my first time using 99designs and I was highly impressed. The process and website are very streamlined and easy to navigate. Once my contest began the submissions and messages were easy to manage. I was nervous about what level of work I would receive in only four days, however, I received numerous quality ideas. After narrowing my list of finalists, it was difficult to pick only one winner (you can pick more than one if your budget allows). My winning designer was talented and responsive and quickly worked out the last details before providing me with final design files. I will have no hesitation using 99designs again in the future.