The effect of crowdsourcing and design competition sites

A

AlexC

Member
Hello all.

I think this is an interesting topic and would like to know what you as fellow forum members think. We all know about the sites where designers are either selling their design services at an underprice or spending their time on competitions where chances are slim that they will succeed.

I believe that this depreciate the value of design and make design customers less willing to spend money on design. They will for example think "why pay £699 to the local designer for a logotype when I can get it for £5". We who are active in the design industry, all know that a good design can play a big part in how a business, organization, charity etc is perceived by people.

I'm not saying that all designers on crowdsourcing or competition sites are bad or less skilled, but anyone can sign up and label himself/herself as a logotype expert. That's a problem. I have heard of examples where people have got logotypes which have infringed on others copyrights. But maybe these problems are good, not for the buyer of course, because people will understand the value of professional designers who spend their creativity and time creating great designs.

Let me know what you think :)

AlexC
 
I don't agree with them but they are here so that's that.
I really don't agree with the kind of sites where they get loads of designers to compete for the job.

I guess they can give lesser experienced 'Designers' the opportunity to do some commercial work and build/improve their folio but I don't think that's the case.
I'd rather just make up my own projects as I sometimes still do. :D

Mostly they seem to attract people from developing countries where £5 would be a lot, or at least something but I'd imagine some kind of sweat shops with many people on old PC's and dodgy Photoshop cranking out stuff that's either stolen or lifted from free image sites.

Yes it devalues the industry but to be honest, I'm not in the £5 market and wouldn't want to work for someone that would consider using that kind of service.

Recently I was working on a project where they initially hired an "Illustrator" from where ever to do them some work but once they started asking for specific things making the Illustrator up and disappeared on them.
Personally, I think they'd been using stuff from sites like FreePic and got out of their depth.
In one of the images they'd done there was a tree in there which was EXACTLY the same as I used to do them and I'm sure they'd lifted it.
 
Thanks for the reply @scotty. You have interesting opinions.

The theory that lesser experienced designers could get the opportunity to build their portfolio is interesting. I agree with you that this isn't normally the case. When I want to showcase my designs, I work on my own projects and have my own ideas how things will be. My portfolio reflects how I work and what style I have. People wanting to work with me will know beforehand what they will get in terms of design and style.

Doing work for £5 would be exhausting. Firstly I will be underpaid and there is no incitement whatsoever to do a good job. Also my designs will be dictated by the customer's requirements. They could want me to do a design which is not in the style I prefer or usually work with, but because I have taken on the job I will still have to do it.
 
I used to have a very negative opinion of crowdsourcing sites, but as time went on I became less concerned by them. You can argue that they devalue design as a whole, but you could also argue that people that use those sites to find designers don't value or understand design in the first place. If you're charging £699 for logos then you have no hope of gaining someone as a client if they see what you provide as equal to what somebody charging £50 provides. Sometimes you get people who just can't or won't spend the required amount to hire a pro, and that's when crowdsourcing sites are useful.

Of course, I don't recommend anyone does work on spec but if these people are willing to do it then it's on them. As for it affecting the industry, pitching for work happens all the time where big agencies are expected by the big clients to submit ideas on spec. I'd argue that it's this practice that has more of negative impact. Some studios take a stand against pitching and refuse to do it but I wonder if it just makes it easier for the studios that do pitch to win the work?
 
crowdsourcing sites basically 'prey' on countries where $5 is like a weeks wage or on people who 'own a copy' of photoshop. Do I like them, not in the slightest and I actively remove any links/threads promoting them from the forum because like most of us here we believe in a fair wage for the work we do, sadly because of the 'but my mates son owns photoshop' situation many people now believe that our work is a 2 minute job and doesn't require any training etc.
 
If you're only willing to be spend £5 on your company logo, which is the flag for YOUR business, then you really don't value your own business at all.
 
@hankscorpio

I agree with you that a person that is only willing to spend £5 on a company logo doesn't value his/her business at all. I was once approached by a person who wanted a new logotype for his online business. The logo he already had was terrible. It looked like he had done it himself with the help of microsoft paint and google image search. Taking a picture from Google and then adding a text over it. I went on to ask him about what requirements he had and then gave him an estimate of how much it would cost. He wanted me to dramatically reduce my estimate as he could get a logo from a certain website for only £5. He didn't understand how important professional design is. To cut his costs, £5, he went and designed a terrible logotype himself. Then when he realised how bad it was and that people got a bad impression of his business because of the logotype, he thought he would get one for £5 from someone doing designs for a living. What a joke!

@Levi

I agree with you that some people don't understand what design is. They think that owning a copy of photoshop means that they are professional designers. They don't understand that photoshop is only a tool. A designer might use photoshop, but it's his skills, experience and creativity that allow him to make great designs.. It's not that someone watches a 5 min Youtube video and suddenly he is a designer.
 
I think one of the problems is that we now use computers instead of drawing boards, pens, Gouache, artwork cameras and people think computers do all the work for us.

We use a computer as a tool but you need the skills to use the tool/s.

Anyone could buy some paint brushes but that does not make them an Artist in the same way as Photoshop Elements doesn't make someone a Designer.

People still seem to respect old school skills and tools as if they were some sort of black art.

Computers put things on peoples laps without having to do much so you can see the misunderstanding.

People are just generally stupid and that's a fact.
 
scotty said:
I
Anyone could buy some paint brushes but that does not make them an Artist
Click to expand...
Well based on some of the stuff I've seen passed off as 'art' recently I'm not exactly sure that's true lol

Put contemporary art into google and the first image is an 'art' piece which is essentially a load of spoons with a hole drilled through the spoon part on a locked padlock.....
 
scotty said:
People are just generally stupid and that's a fact.
Click to expand...

People might be stupid, but still they're not expecting their local mechanic to do repair jobs for £5. What can we as designers do to improve the image of the design industry? What can we do so people understand the value of good designs?
 
People often make comparisons to different trades - and they're good anecdotes, but they don't tell the real story.

If you value your business then hire a designer with a proven track record, experience, and that can supply correct artwork, and correct files, that will add value to your business that you originally set out to get in the first place.

The second you start cutting corners to save a few quid - then that's the moment your business starts to fail. The more corners you cut the more you devalue yourself and your business.
 
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