99designs Reviews

In order to become a member of the 99designs freelancer community and partake in a contest, you need to go through the sign up process first. Although creating the account only takes a few steps, you won’t be able to submit your work without proper account verification. Said verification is done by providing a scan or webcam-shot of your ID card, passport or driver’s license, and a snapshot of your face made by your webcam. The system processes the data in a few minutes, and then stores them on an encrypted network.

But don’t think you can immediately become the Paganini of the artistic world the moment you have registered, because fresh members are limited to participating in 20 events per month. Furthermore, during your first days, your creations will be judged by the 99designs staff, and they only elevate your account if your work hits the quality mark.

There are several perks catering for clients. For one, you can demand a full refund if you are unsatisfied with the results. You are also allowed to contact the artist to request specific changes or to initiate the so-called “Final Round”, an extra stage of the contest in which you can pick up to six of the best contenders. This latter option is highly motivating for designers, especially if they learn that you are allowed to split the prize money between different freelancers.

99designs utilizes a somewhat unique approach when it comes to pricing, because it applies no service fees on your earnings as a freelancer. Instead, the site maintains itself from the four pricing packages (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum) each employer must choose from to activate their design contests.

The price of these packages depends on the art category: for example, getting logos created is $299 in the Bronze pack, $499 in Silver, $799 in Gold, while Platinum is the most expensive as it charges you $1,229. At first these outlandish prices seem to favor freelancers, but remember that any artist whose work is dismissed will not be compensated in any way. In fact, the only package that guarantees a participation award for each contestant (thus somehow justifying the sky-high prices) is Premium.

Although 99designs is a decent solution for serving the needs of both sides, we cannot help but feel that the site prefers employers over freelancers. In fact, the site addresses clients most of the time and explains very little about the other side of the coin. Most features cater to employers, as they have the ability to demand a full refund and even initiate private projects with selected designers only. On the other hand, freelancers must undergo a verification process and have to face some limitations until they can prove themselves. However, the most insulting thing is that only the winning artist gets properly compensated (unless it’s a Premium contest), making it virtually impossible for newcomers and other, more experienced freelancers to earn their living. And last but not least, the packages are very expensive, despite that there are no other service fees.

Overall, 99designs stands for quality design work, but on the longer run it only pays off for the client. However, if we take into consideration all pros, including the thriving community and the many help options, this site is guaranteed to be satisfying for everybody participating in the contests and the creative processes.