99 designs is a great example of how online outsourcing levels the playing field between small companies and big business. Need a logo designed in one week? Create a competition on 99 designs where graphic artists from around the world compete to win a cash prize. You choose whether or not to award a winner based on the submissions, so you only have to pay if you find a logo design that you like. Prize payment amounts vary but you can run a competition for as little as $204.
You can run a contest for just about anything! Corporate identity, web design, print design, other graphics or merchandise are just a few examples. Post the contest on 99 designs and let designers compete for your business over a 7 day period. What makes this process even better is that throughout the contest, you can provide feedback to the designers so they can make improvements. If there is a design you like but you want something tweaked, you send a comment to the designer so he can modify it.
So far I’ve run two contests with a prize amount of $204 each. Both have been a success. One of the logos was designed for my business partner on one of his sites – car tips and the other is for a new project that I’ll be announcing shortly.
Where else can you get dozens of mock ups send to you for free and only pay when you find the perfect one? to start your own project, visit 99 designs.
Have you been impressed with a graphic design website or online system that makes outsourcing easy? Let me know. I’m always excited to hear about new sites!
