While working on the design of a logo for a client’s new website, I ran into a slump with some of my graphic designers. We were working to put together a logo, but none of the concepts that they were able to come up with was one that really killed it and  popped off of the page. I don’t know if they were having designer’s block or what, but I frantically scoured for my options that would:

1. Help me solve my problem
2. Not create another problem by blowing up the project’s budget.

Enter crowdSPRING.

crowdSPRING is a service that provides a global marketplace for all creative services. From logo design to business card design, graphic design and even website design, crowdSPRING utilizes crowdsourcing in order to provide an efficient and relatively inexpensive way to get design work done.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept:

Crowdsourcing is a neologism for the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people or community in the form of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task (also known as community-based design[1] and distributed participatory design), refine or carry out the steps of an algorithm (see Human-based computation), or help capture, systematize or analyze large amounts of data (see also citizen science).

Commissioning work through crowdSPRING (almost) couldn’t be easier: just describe the project, and set a competitive price. The price you set is what will be paid to the winning designer. crowdSPRING then charges buyers 15% on top of the stated price – for a $300 job, this fee is $45. All money is paid ahead of the launch of the project, and is held in escrow until the project’s close – by default, one week. “Creatives” submit designs, and at the end of the project, the buyer selects one to be the project winner.

I quickly signed up in the hopes that I would be able to save this project and not lose whatever good reputation I had. I was encouraged by the results some big clients like Forbes, LG, Conagra Foods and more have gotten from crowdSPRING, so I decided to create my own project there (a logo for a new client).  And after 7 quick days, I got a great logo designed and developed for my client. Oh, and the Client was extremely satisfied as well! Here is the final product:

But despite what I would call success, it should come as no surprise that the design community is very vocal in their disapproval of crowdsourcing and services like crowdSPRING. There is a status quo being challenged here. Crowdsourcing introduces competition on a grand scale into what has traditionally been a very selective process.  While this does yield a net benefit to the buyers, the work generated does exhibit a few negative consequences of the community process: namely, degraded quality and consistently, and a drastic reduction in the value proposition for the designers.

Business analysts and the service brokers themselves are claiming that crowdsourcing is the future of design, given the reduction in cost and the buyer’s ability to be extremely selective and critical of the end result.  Wrapped too in this new capacity to criticize is a departure from a time of designers being treated like doctors: that is, rather than being given carte blanche, they are instead often forced to assimilate the sometimes-arbitrary opinions of their customers (”I think it would look better if it were more balanced: centered vertically.”).  While this assimilation probably does happen quite a bit in the old world of design, I imagine that this play comes at a much higher price than $345.

It is easy to understand how this new marketplace could be perceived as an assault on the authority of designers and their maintenance of common (and important) aesthetics: an assault that, were it authentic, certainly should lead to a very cynical reception.  But I completely disagree with the idea that crowdsourcing is the future and will replace the traditional marketplace for design. The community-driven process of a service like crowdSPRING could never surmount the true authority and expertise that comes with a trained hand and mind, and the dedicated consultation.

What crowdsourcing does achieve is the creation of a niche market: one at which someone like myself, with limited time and a tight budget, can easily and efficiently vet a large number of ideas.  But these services are far from perfect.  Of the two I know about – 99designs and crowdSPRING – I chose crowdSPRING simply because I knew of a local success story.  In hindsight I am relieved I chose crowdSPRING over 99designs, because the manner in which 99designs manages the purchasing process is completely unethical. Unlike buying designs from crowdSPRING, 99designs does not appear to require the buyer to award a project. This leaves designers highly vulnerable to idea theft, and nefariously forces many into providing free consultations. Frankly, for a thing like community-based design to be fair and productive, both the designers and the buyers must have some skin in the game.

So how could using crowdSPRING be easier?  Well, for one thing, it would be nice to be able to quickly view Creatives’ previous submissions.  It is possible to get to previous submissions from a Creative’s profile page (a feature built-into crowdSPRING), but once on the project page, the user’s submission is hidden amongst all the other submissions made.  Some more guidance given to Creatives on the process of submissions would be very helpful: rather than having to score and review seven small variations on a single concept, it would be far more efficient to have all seven submitted as a single submission.  It took me a while to discover that I could score and comment from the gallery page – making this feature more prominent, and adding more controls for navigating between zoomed pieces would dramatically increase the frequency with which buyers provide quality feedback.

So if you’re on the market for a new logo or t-shirt design, I recommend giving crowdSPRING a try.  Make sure to read and follow the tips given to buyers at the onset of the project, namely the one that advises buyers to send private messages to creatives inviting them to work on the new projects.  Using this push approach to getting traffic to your project definitely increases the frequency with which you receive submissions. That and providing as much feedback as possible – most of the crowdSPRING designers thrive on constructive criticism.

If you’re looking for a place to start, I recommend these Creatives:

• genuine
• ninet6
• davebowman
• simply
• BMdesign
• majosa
• DulcetDesign

Have you had success with crowdSPRING or crowdsourcing? Please share your experiences in the comments.