Have You Accessed the Crowd?
Jul. 31, 2012
Branding and design can be the most intimidating and resource draining areas of business development. Projects such as these have a tendency become delayed and over budget. Branding and design effects lead generation and is vitally important to the image of the firm so this area can’t be ignored. No longer do firms need to employ a full-time graphic designer or pay a premium for a contracted graphic designer. With advances in technology, accessing the “crowd” has never been easier and is perfect for getting branding and design work done in a timely and cost-effective manner. This method is known as “crowdsourcing”.
“Crowdsourcing” is commonly defined as “the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions.” There are a number of “crowdsourcing” platforms with a specific focus on graphic design. Once you submit your project, not only will you be able to view multiple design entries, the built-in process will ensure your projects stay within budget and on-time.
The “crowdsourcing” platforms below are all very similar, however, pricing is different. Each platform has a built-in process that will guide your firm through each stage ensuring you end up with exactly what you are looking for or your money back.
Crowdspring
www.crowdspring.com
Crowdspring lets you decide how much your project will cost. However, depending on the project, they charge a listing ranging from $200 – $600 plus a 15% commission. Crowdspring works best for design and writing projects. You will be able to choose the best design or writing from 100+ entries. The more you pay, the more options you will receive.
99Designs
www.99designs.com
Depending on the type of project, 99Designs will charge you a listing fee ranging from $95 – $495. 99Designs will then take a percentage of that and pay the winning designer the rest. 99Designs works best for design projects such as graphics, logos, business cards and stationary.
Elance
www.elance.com
ELance is slightly different than Crowdspring and 99Designs. There is no listing fee. With Elance, you are able to post your project and designers from around the world will bid on the project letting you know how much/little they are willing to complete the project for. Elance works best for larger projects that need a dedicated designer, developer, program, writer, etc. You will work with them from the beginning to the end.
At Boomer Consulting, Inc., we have accessed the crowd for many different design projects. Each time we have had great success. For example, we just finished redesigning our community and services brochures on 99Designs.com. The process was simple and within 7 days of the design contest launching we were able to choose from 31 different designs.