MycroBurst

10 Things We Love to Hate about Crowdsourcing

Keith J. Hamilton — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:43:27 +0000

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.

New Featured Listing – Get Maximum Visibility!

Keith J. Hamilton — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:13:18 +0000

MycroBurst.com offers a new listing option for Contest Holders!

Now you can stay on top of the contest list and get noticed. Our new value added feature enables contest holders to keep their design projects above other contests, ensuring maximum visibility. This allows you to receive more entries and design concepts for their projects. The distinctive ‘Featured’ listing is available for all projects, be it Logo Designing, Web Designing or Business Card Designs.

How it works?

Choosing the Featured Listing option is very easy:

Launch a Project at MycroBurst.com
Select the category of your choice
Choose a package and under Upgrades select the option ‘Featured Listing’ to promote your project.
Complete the design brief and your project will be launched above the running contests.

It’s that simple!

Crowdsourcing – Why not?

Keith J. Hamilton — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:28:06 +0000

Crowdsourcing has been in the spotlight ever since its inception in 2006. Unfortunately, inaccurate information and poor judgment has led many people to jump the gun when it comes to its true potential. Feeling threatened by the positive impact it can have on businesses, critics have come up with their own set of faults and blown them out of proportion.

In point of fact, this ingenious problem solving strategy is the most efficient and effective marketing technique a company can have in its arsenal. Even though crowdsourcing is designed primarily to assist business establishments reach quality economical solutions, it also assists participants in numerous ways, making it one of most promising marketing strategies of the 21st century. Here are just some of the areas where crowdsourcing shines.

Crowdsourcing Offers Brisk Economical Solutions

This is arguably the best and the most appealing feature of crowdsourcing. Since there is virtually no limit on the number of participants, a client can end up with numerous options for their project in a very short amount of time. Crowdsourcing also provides, specifically the startup and small businesses a chance to find quality solutions in a modest budget. All that is left is for the client to do is provide feedback and decide which option is in the best interest of the company. This makes crowd sourcing a very cost effective strategy.

Access to a Much Larger Talent Pool

Another exciting feature of crowdsourcing is that it enables the client to tap into a vast pool of talent that can aid and assist them with their queries. This way they are not limited to one inspiration or idea. Instead, clients can now get the feedback from numerous qualified individuals, and get competitive ideas for their design solutions. Given the right choice of crowdsourcing marketplace and proper incentive, startup companies can now achieve beneficial results. Now small businesses can weave their way out of today’s economic catastrophe with affordable solutions and no longer have to depend on hiring big shots of the industry.

Better Understanding of Customer Needs

One thing to remember about crowdsourcing is that while it may involve a large number of individuals working for the client, they are not company employees. In fact these are ordinary people who are either experts or amateurs in their relative fields. By giving them the opportunity to come up with a solution, clients can not only gain various options but also get the general idea about the demands and expectations of their customers and target audiences.

Opportunity for Others to Shine

So much has been said from the client’s point of view but what about the participants? Crowdsourcing provides a golden opportunity for the contest participants to apply their talents and get noticed by everyone. These participants can be almost anyone – students or novice designers just entering the field of graphic designing or expert freelancer designers who do this for a living. Crowdsourcing serves as a great way for them to learn from others and hone their skills to better assist clients in their future projects. Every participant walks out of a crowd sourcing event better than before. Almost all crowdsourcing events come with cash incentives or valuable prizes to further motivate and entice qualified individuals to participate.

Crowdsourcing is not just popular with private businesses. State and local governments as well as non-profit organizations and startup businesses aggressively pursue crowdsourcing as a means to gather prompt data and quality solutions. Crowdsourcing is breaking down the traditional structure of the business world, broadening the corporate domain and bringing versatility of the innovative minds together. The pressing question to ask therefore is not “Why crowdsourcing?”, but “Why Not?”

Logo Design Contest Highlights – January 2010

Keith J. Hamilton — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:03:04 +0000

We are proud of our talented design community at MycroBurst for producing exceptional logo designs. They continue to amaze us with the depth of their creativity and attention to detail. To give a glimpse of such craftsmanship at its best, we handpicked a few of our favorite designs for the month of January to showcase here.

Listed below are the company names (in no given order) whose logos are exhibited in this post:

Jason Dring Physical Therapy

Casey Cole Photography

Tidewater Life

SAMPAN

Centiveo Retail Solutions

Another Man’s Treasures

SwingBling

These logo designs portray the quality of designers we have at our disposal. To view more winning logos visit out Logo Design Album.

How to Get More out of Your Online Design Contest – 5 Quick Tips

Keith J. Hamilton — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:19:37 +0000

Sometimes contest holders are not entirely happy with their contest response. They fear that their time is being wasted as they are not getting ample designs and the designers fail to grasp their vision. While we do offer a detailed Guide to Launching a Successful Design Project in out help section, I thought it would be best to address the immediate concerns our clients have here.

Here are a couple of Quick Tips that will help you in getting the most out of your design contest:

1. Create Attraction:

Contests that offer guaranteed attractive prizes are likely to engage more designers. Better prize money and a guarantee on it only goes to show that you appreciate the time and hard work that designers will be putting in the design concept.

2. Be Specific & Clear:

Make sure that your guidelines are clear for the designers. Provide examples if necessary and offer as much information as you can.

3. Provide Feedback:

Actively provide feedback to designers participating in your contest. Don’t just look at designs; give some response as well. Remember, every designer who enters your contest is worthy of respect.

4. Invite Designers:

Like a designer’s winning logo? Don’t wait! Go ahead and invite designers who inspire you from other contests.

5. Rate & Elaborate:

Encourage the designers with positive feedback. Post comments on and give star ratings to the designs you like.

In the end it all comes down to active participation and feedback. When you provide clear cut directions, actively offer encouragement and feedback, designers will be able to understand your criteria better and produce winning designs. Following the given tips will not only help you to get more out of your design contest but will also ensure great results.