10 Things We Love to Hate about Crowdsourcing

Friday 26 February 2010 | Keith J. Hamilton

crowdsourcing 10 Things We Love to Hate about Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing made its debut with a bang, instantly cementing its position in the market place as a viable option that all start up businesses and freelance designers should have in their arsenal.  Unfortunately, what was initially hailed as a revolutionary idea in terms of design, marketing and overall productivity, is now being crucified by graphic designers who are quite frankly threatened by the entire concept and fiercely oppose it.

Although crowdsourcing is widely regarded as effective and has a plethora of benefits, take the design industry for instance, many designers argue its ‘uselessness’ of the concept based on the reasons below:

    1. Crowdsourcing Cost – The advent of graphic design marketplaces seems to have shattered, if not completely broken down, the monopoly of the big shots of the design industry. Now even businesses with a moderate budget can brand their identity without the fear of going over budget and unaffordable costs.

    2. No Prize Money Guarantee – Designers worry that they might not get paid even after their design has been selected as the ‘Winning Design’. This is perhaps is true of some sites that do not offer any guarantees on compensations. However there are Crowdsourcing websites where contest holders offer guaranteed prizes, meaning that the winning design will always get paid.

    3. All that FREE Labor – Many designers feel that their work is devalued by crowdsourcing, arguing that all those designers who don’t win end up working for free. But isn’t that how most get started in service based professions? You will have to demonstrate your expertise somewhere to someone before you can get paid. Also, if you look at the entire design industry, getting a 100% money back guarantee is a standard norm, be it a design firm or a contest website.

    4. Wasted Time & Effort – Some argue that if designers don’t win, their efforts and time are wasted. This is not the case. Crowdsourcing gives the designers an opportunity to build an impressive resume and gives them an understanding of how they can work for clients. All the designs created can be added in their portfolio for future reference.

    5. No Boundaries – Over the years some have argued that crowdsourcing leaves no boundaries between the experts and amateurs, hence it devalues the industry. Truth be told, this ‘cutting edge’ concept is breaking boundaries by creating a level playing field for all kinds of businesses. Now even small businesses with meager budgets can benefit from the large talent pool and brand their identity.

    6. Expert Insight Required – Many contest holders worry that they will possibly not find designs that represent their business motto. That is probably true only in cases where the contest holder does not provide details regarding the business vision and leave the contest on its own. Active participation and feedback from the contest holder’s end will help designers acquire a better understand of the business and so they will be able to create accordingly.

    7. The Red Flags – Those who do not favor crowdsourcing argue that the designers should be wary of clients with small budgets and ask themselves why this is being done. Such people fail to grasp the concept of crowdsourcing and refuse to understand the equal opportunities crowdsourcing creates for big and small businesses alike. Limited or unlimited budget, crowdsourcing is helping businesses find an identity.

    8. Design with Mixed Messages – People argue that crowdsouring is unable to offer proper design solutions and the designs created end up giving mixed message instead of properly branding the business. However this is the case will all designers, be it professionals or freelance. You need to ‘brief’ the designers about your brand and what your company is all about in order to obtain good results.

    9. Devalue Professionalism – Anti crowdsourcing sentiment is that crowdsourcing ends up devaluing the design industry, creates a competitive environment and therefore hampers the creative process of designing. But don’t competitions bring out the best of creativity? Since only the best design can win, a competitive environment will persuade each participant to strive for the best.

    10. Contest Holders Don’t know – Who can understand a business and its vision better than the business holder him/herself? Still there are many who preach that contest holders do not know what they want out of a design and by entering a contest they erode the company’s brand. But how can that be when the contest holders generally are the business owners themselves? Wouldn’t business owners know and understand their business better than anyone else? Thinking that a contest holder doesn’t know what brand/design to choose is just silly.

As this war of words wages on, I suppose the greatest advantage or disadvantage of crowdsourcing (depending on which side you are on) is that it has essentially demolished the monopoly of the few and created an equal opportunity playing field for everyone. Both designers and businesses can now benefit from it and it’s this very feature that is perhaps giving the critics nightmares and causing sleepless nights.
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80 users responded in " 10 Things We Love to Hate about Crowdsourcing "

    • colourburst Says:
      February 26th, 2010 at 11:27 am

      I am a freelance designer with a registered business. I have been designing for about 20 years.

      Crowdsourcing can be good and bad. It is good for the businesses to get a wide variety of designs. One designer just might not “see” what the company wants. It is also a good thing for designers, in that there are more and more companies using these sites, so it’s extra work for those slow times. These sites seem to draw the attention of the business start-ups looking for design. It’s a good way to be a one-stop source of extra income. I don’t mind paying the 10% to the site because they “found” the work.

      Sure you might do work and not get chosen and not get paid, but I see these sites as extra income, not main income. If I have a slow time, why not.

      BUT – there are a few drawbacks in it.
      1. These sites base amounts are much too low. $99 is way under average cost for a logo branding (done by a professional).
      2. guaranteed payment? Is it guaranteed? Sure the site gets the money, but I often see no winner is chosen. A company joins, pays $99 and gets a huge variety of designs. And then they walk away. To them, it’s outsourcing. What’s $99! They know if they went directly to one designer, it is going to cost them more. They have no issues with losing $99 to get a design they can redraw themselves. The freelancers get nothing. The site gets the $99. And the business is laughing.

      3. Amateurs – This is the big issue! I see so many amateurs who “steal” pre-existing logos and add new text. When you have been in the business long enough, you learn to recognize them, or you can just google them. Many of these sites don’t allow you to say anything. It’s not really the amateurs that concern as much as the businesses who do not know any better. They go for the design, and then go to use it and end up with lawsuits and such. They aren’t trained to know it’s taken. They then lose their money. And then there’s the kids who do designs that just don’t work for print. The business goes to get it printed and find they have to hire a designer to fix it. They double lose then.
      But, hey! They have to know that for $99 they might not get what they need. Most business shop around and know the cost for a logo branding.

      If these design contest sites were more picky on who they let join, and raised the price, the places would run a whole lots smoother and be more fair to both the designer and the company looking for a design.

      4. contact – I know these sites survive on the 10% finders fee, but i wish, that once you are chosen a “winner”, that you and the company were allowed full contact. The site still gets their 10%, but after that, the designer and the company should be allowed to contact each other. The company might need cards in the future, and the designer did the original artwork. They should be allowed to contact directly.
      -
      Once upon a time I was an elance member – this was back at the beginning of elance. At the beginning, the designer did not pay a fee. they bid on jobs and went from there. elance got a fee when payment was made. but not a fee just to have a chance. Over time, elance started to grow, and then they had fees, a little bit at first, then a whole lot. They were making far too much off the designer. And then the amateurs and kids with a program started bidding on jobs. lowballing. elance once had a minimum of $25 for a logo. eek! And the kids bid $25 and the company went with them, not knowing any better. And got a design that was either stolen or useless. And then the company had to start all over again. I got many a job as a second choice after a company got screwed from a kid.

      I do like mycroburst in that it doesn’t make designers pay upfront to have a chance, but I don’t like that you let anyone in. You should have a process to prove that you have design skill – a real portfolio? something? And you need to raise your minimums.
      -
      a few weeks ago I was in a design contest – not in these sites, but a company holding it’s own design contest. The link ended up on standard sweepstakes sites and brought in a lot of just anyone with a picture. There were a few designs that were good. Very good. too good? It was pointed out that 90% of the entries were stolen work….

      This is the drawback to holding a design contest.

      I am not anti-crowdsourcing. The concept is good. But there are things that need to be improved upon to make it work very well for the site, the designer, and the business looking for a design.

      Remember! crowdsourcing sites should not be all about your main income. It should be thought of as an extra income when you have slow times.

    • Keith J. Hamilton Says:
      March 3rd, 2010 at 11:38 pm

      Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and comments.

      @colourburst: Thanks. Your thoughts and ideas are much appreciated. Design contests are a great way to make that extra income.

      @Chris Thurman: Crowdsourcing does lead to a heated debate with many, although it provides a cost effective solution to many. And since both the parties (designers and businesses) are benefiting from it, I’d say “why not?”

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    • Joslyn Cullens Says:
      March 15th, 2010 at 6:08 am

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      March 17th, 2010 at 2:02 am

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    • Johnny cricket Says:
      March 20th, 2010 at 6:57 pm

      Hi, I want to say thank you for an interesting site about a subject I have had an interest in for a long time now. I have been lurking and reading the posts avidly so just wanted to express my gratitude for providing me with some very good reading material. I look forward to more, and taking a more active role in the discussions here, whilst learning too!!

    • Tatiana Says:
      March 24th, 2010 at 10:09 am

      Hi All,

      Thank you for very interesting article.
      I’m inclined to think that people do not like crowd-sourcing because people always embrace changes guardedly. I agree that two heads are better than one, and that still more heads will yield even better results. Crowdsourcing is about gathering inspiration from those who are central to every marketing communication: the customers.

      With kind regards,
      Tatiana
      http://world4brains.com/

    • Keith J. Hamilton Says:
      March 25th, 2010 at 5:47 am

      @Tatiana: Thank you for your feedback. Yes, you are right. Crowdsourcing is gaining momentum, be it the design industry or the marketing. Although so many people out there are reluctant about it, still there is no denying that crowdsourcing is here to stay.

    • Keith J. Hamilton Says:
      March 25th, 2010 at 5:48 am

      Thanks you for the feedback guys and for appreciating my post. Looking forward to more interaction :)

    • Keith J. Hamilton Says:
      March 25th, 2010 at 5:50 am

      @Johnny cricket: Thank you for appreciating our efforts. Looking forward to more feedback from you regarding crowdsourcing. I would love hear what you have to say.

    • colourburst Says:
      March 25th, 2010 at 9:18 am

      The thing I am noticing a lot lately is “designers” using clipart, stock photos, already designed art. What’s up with this? Some sites have a “design court” where other designs can vote whether it really is stolen art or not, take it down, and the designer who used it gets a point against them. So many points and you are gone.

      Clipart can’t be copyrighted! It can be used for desktop publishing – free to use in that aspect. But you can’t sell the rights to it to the company wanting a logo. You can’t sell the rights to something you do not have the rights of!

      I’ve seen in some sites where it happens all the time. Clip art is used. Business buys logo. What happens next? Business goes to copyright it and can’t or business does and then has a lawsuit against them.

      These design contest sites need to take this more seriously to prevent “designers” from using existing art, and to better show the business owner what to look for.

      LOGOS MUST BE ORIGINAL ART!

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    • Gregory Barman Says:
      March 26th, 2010 at 3:10 pm

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    • Lai Goodfriend Says:
      March 29th, 2010 at 7:55 pm

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    • Zunes Says:
      March 30th, 2010 at 5:23 am

      I think I’ve read something simillar a few days ago. I don’t remember where, might have been on digg or wikipedia, not sure.

    • Keith J. Hamilton Says:
      March 30th, 2010 at 5:59 am

      @colorburst Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you, designers should create original logos and using clip art is just plain wrong. We strongly condemn the use of clip art in logos submitted to the design contests. These contests are for the talented individuals who need a platform to showcase their talents and for getting recognized.

    • Keith J. Hamilton Says:
      April 4th, 2010 at 10:38 pm

      Thank you for your feedback. Keep a look out for more posts on crowdsourcing. I will be sharing more thoughts on this soon.

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    • Calgary Painters Says:
      April 12th, 2010 at 6:48 pm

      Crowdsourcing really is dependant on who you go with. Sites like Scriplance attract mediocre designers and even worse webmasters looking to get logo’s and websites built for $5, where sites like Elance and GetACoder are better, it’s hard to nail those first jobs unless you do it for next to nothing or can seriously know the socks off the project owner for a low budget. Being in the USA, Canada or UK also has it’s disadvantages as a designer, because they cannot compete with the cost of living in countries such as India, Romania etc., where a dollar goes a lot further.

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    • Call Center Outsource Says:
      May 11th, 2010 at 9:00 pm

      Crowdsourcing represents a tremendous opportunity for small business owners. Especially ones that have a passionate client base. The real key is actually finding the right way to solicit the ideas and suggestions of your client base directly. Then effectively evaluate them. After attaining and evaluating the information you can then choose the best ideas that make sense for your business to implement. Crowdsourcing can’t be just for show or publicity value. As a small business owner using this method you must be ready to seriously consider all suggestions and be sincerely open to change.

      Charlie

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