The website 99 Designs allows people to post design requests for logos, print, stationary, and websites. Designers then submit their designs to a contest where the purchaser picks a winner and pays them a fee. This blog post is about our recent experience with a design project we posted on this service.

We posted a design brief to have a logo designed for another project we are working on. A design brief is a one page description of what the purchaser is looking for. It is possible to upload files to provide examples, but instead we provided links to websites that had an appealing design.

The following is a summary of our costs for the project:

Entries came in slowly at the beginning. To encourage more submissions we increased the prize and guaranteed payment. This meant that we would pay  out the prize whether we picked a winner or not. If we didn’t pick a winner, the money would be split among all entrants.

In total we paid $400.00 to the winning designer and $156.00 to 99 Designs. There were other options available but $99 for a tweet to 99 Designs’ followers seemed a bit rich to us.

We received 99 design submissions, but about 50 of them were unique. Some designers would submit 4 or 5 versions of a design, often with just a colour change to distinguish them. Of the 50 that were unique, some of these were just derivatives of designs that had already been posted. We had no difficulty narrowing the contest down to the final 8 designs that we had our friends vote on. It was easy to eliminate about 50% of the designs because they were laughably bad. The remainder were eliminated because they didn’t match up well with the brand image we were trying to create.

The site offers a feature where people can be invited by email to vote on up to 8 designs. People voting in the poll can’t see existing votes so the influence of the other participants is eliminated.

Other components of the site are not as well designed. The site doesn’t do a good job of explaining how the service works and what the guidelines are. This should be part of the sign up process but instead we had to go digging through the help section to find out the basics. Communication with the designers could be made better. There is central stream where all of our comments were posted along with a few comments by contest participants. Later on, we found comments from designers that did not show up in the main stream and some of our own comments had disappeared.

If we were to hold another design contest we would make the contest blind so that designers could not see the submissions of other designers. I think this would cut down on the amount derivative work we saw. Unfortunately, this option is not available to people using the service for the first time.

There are a few caveats to using this service. You are responsible for making sure that the winning design is not ripping off someone else’s trademark. 99 Designs will only take down designs it gets complaints about. There is also a concern about whether asking designers to do “spec work” is ethical. This is a big issue in the design community which would take its own blog post to throughly explore.

Overall, this is a valuable service but it is not as easy to use as its marketing might suggest. Professionally trained designers would make up the minority of the community that submits designs to the site. It’s important to go into a contest well educated because you won’t be getting the professional advice a design firm would provide.

Online outsourcing is the practice of hiring third party vendors to provide services for your business via the internet. Without a doubt, online outsourcing can add value to your business. However, there are numerous vendors to choose from and it can be difficult to find the right outsourcing partner. Here are some outsourcing tips that small businesses might find useful.

1. Know what to outsource

Generally, you don’t want to outsource anything that is a core competency of your business. If something gives you a competitive edge, you need to keep that in-house. Outsourcing works well for tasks that must be completed but are not central to the core functioning of your business. Bookkeeping, data entry, website development, and accounting are all examples of commonly outsourced tasks.

2. Evaluate different outsourcing websites

There are many online outsourcing websites to choose from such as oDesk, Elance and Guru. Pick a website that makes its easier for you to evaluate vendors and better manage your project. For example, some websites offer features such as skill assessment tests, progress monitoring, flexible fee structures, and past performance ratings.

3. Start small

When you’re choosing to outsource someone for the first time, make sure that you’re not starting with a large project. Unfortunately not everyone you hire will be up to par. Just like in the “real” world, you will encounter employees who can’t get the job done to your standards. Start small and test your vendors. This enables you to see how well they perform and you can be more confident in hiring them for larger projects in the future.

4. Look for teams over individuals

Some vendors work alone, while others are part of a larger team. We’ve found that teams are more reliable and efficient than individuals. For example, if an individual vendor falls sick or isn’t able to do your job, then you’re stuck. Teams have members that can usually step in and complete your tasks. Teams are also able to complete your job quicker than individuals. Naturally, the more people you have working on a project the faster it can be completed. If you find the right team, you’ll generally see better results than outsourcing to an individual.

5. Communicate frequently

Keep the lines of communication open between yourself and your vendor. Setup weekly meetings to track progress and answer questions. This ensures that there are no surprises at the end of your project and you’re able to better manage the project.

Hope this helps and happy outsourcing!