Are you looking for a good and creative graphic designer for your new project? Or are you just starting your career as a graphics designer? Are you looking to earn that extra cash by doing something extra besides your work? Then 99designs is the place to go. In this article, I will give you an in-depth review of 99designs.
What is 99designs?
Just think about a creative platform. By that, I mean a place where you can share your creative imaginations and ideas. Now, 99designs is the global online platform that enables designers and clients to work with each other effectively.
Here clients can hire designers, and designers can get jobs and show their skills. 99designs was created for any individual looking for high-quality custom designs, and it is also a platform for talented designers looking for projects to work on.
99designs helps connect good quality designers with clients who may choose among different types of designs skills sets. Those may include creating logos, business cards, t-shirts, and other designs that work according to the client’s preference.
The platform offers a unique tool termed a Designer Search tool that helps you connect with the designers by taking into account a variable amount of different expertise and will match you with one who meets your requested skill level, requirements, and availability.
Why Should You Use 99designs?
One of the best reasons to use 99designs is if you are searching for a designer to help you create a logo, website, flyer, or artwork for your project. To find the perfect candidate for your job, you can type in your demands which you think are essential to complete your job successfully.
Your search query will give you several options of designers to choose from; from those, you can narrow down your selection to the one that is the best candidate for your job. One of the unique 99designs features is that you can run contests.
For example, you can start a contest if you are looking to hire a graphic designer and want more than one design variation for your project. Seeing designers compete and submit their best work for you is fantastic.
To start a design contest, type in your preference and how you want proposed designs to be presented. The designers who will meet your requirements can enter the competition. Between those, you can choose the contest winner by judging the design quality.
Remember that you can only use the contest winner’s design; in other words, you are allowed to use only the design you paid for and not all the different submitted designs. Besides that, you can run one contest exclusively for one specific design job.
For example, if you want to run a single contest for a project where you need a logo, website, and business card. This can’t be done with the 99designs platform because this type of competition is tough to manage and keep track of. So, you will need to run a single contest for one specific design job.
You can work with the winner of your current contest or start a new competition once your current one is finished and taken care of. 99designs is strict about its rules and regulations. Any attempt to misuse their site will ban you from their platform, or they will take other necessary actions against you.
What Benefit Does 99designs Have For a Designer?
One of the best things about 99designs is you can get hired instantly. By that, I mean you will open an account as a designer and be able to compete in design contests straightaway. The best thing about participating in competitions on 99designs is a tremendous increase in your design skills.
If you are a beginner graphic designer and are new in this industry, I suggest you open up a 99designs account immediately. It might be challenging to get hired at first, but you will learn new things and gather experiences that will help you win future competitions.
When I started working as a graphic designer, I became a member of 99desings, and the experience I gathered then helped me build my design portfolio, which helped me find my first job as a graphic designer.
I advise you to participate in as many contests as you can. Besides that, try competing in different categories, and find out which suits you best. Do not get discouraged if you are not winning in the beginning but go in with a mindset that you are polishing your design skills with every try.
There might be some contests you cannot enter because you do not meet the requirements set by the client, but there are so many different ones running on the platform that I’m sure you will find at least a dozen different ones where you can participate in.
Now, if you are a professional graphic designer with a full-time job, you can earn extra cash by competing on 99desings. Some designers became so successful on the platform that they left their day jobs and focused on working only for 99design clients.
The system works like this: once you win the contest, you will get paid, and also, the client might hire you directly for any future jobs.
I cannot stretch enough how vital the 99designs platform is for graphic design. 99designs, in some way, revolutionized the industry. Because of this platform, graphic designers worldwide can find projects to unleash their creativity on, and people looking to hire one can do it effortlessly.
The Pros And Cons of Hiring a Freelance Designer on 99designs
Pros
The best thing about freelance designers is they are paid on a project-to-project basis, unlike in-house designers who have a fixed salary at the end of the month. So on the 99designs platform, you pay freelancers per project.
This way of hiring a designer is helpful because you might have different projects which require different skills. Now, if you have an in-house graphic designer, they would have to learn a new skill for the specific project and apply it in the best way possible.
On the other hand, if you are working with a freelance graphic designer, you can choose the one with a specific skill set needed for the particular project. This will make things more effective and smoother for you.
Another good thing about freelance graphic designers is that you will only hire them when you have a project to work on, unlike in-house designers, who get paid monthly even if there is nothing to design.
If you can’t employ a full-time designer, freelance graphic designers make things smoother and more comfortable.
Cons
One of the drawbacks of working with freelance graphic designers is that they will not be as familiar with your brand as in-house designers. So you must ensure they have been briefed well about the particular project.
There is a huge market for freelance graphics designers available, and you need to judge and clarify who will be the best fit for your task because it is a bit difficult to find out who is the perfect freelancer before you start working with them.
Another downside to working with a freelancer is their unavailability for any sudden meetings. Also, they might decline any last-minute tasks if they are currently working on other projects.
Final thoughts on 99designs review
99designs is one of the best platforms that connect clients and designers. I suggest you sign up and hire the preferred designer for your project, and if you are a designer, search for a gig that fits best your talents.
