If you are looking to have some graphic design work done there are an absolute ton of options available online. As you might have seen on tbwhs.com, I recently had my logo redone. It was a decision I needed to make because the last logo didn’t look very professional. I wasted a lot of time having people on fiverr.com concept something and wasn’t very happy with the designs I was getting. In this article, I do want to show you what 99designs.com can do. This 99 designs review will focus on showing you your options for logo designs.
I have used everything from Logomakr to https://www.hipsterlogogenerator.com/ and even toyed around with graphics in Canva and Pixlr. I have spent countless hours trying to concept something that looks good. Then I would talk with my online business partners and get feedback on them. They would always tell me something like that looks cheap, unprofessional, etc. So, I discover 99designs, and I am so glad I did!
How 99designs Works?
99designs.com is a website that runs the contest, and you sit back and look at different designs that professionals have created. Think of 99designs.com as a site that you can run a contest, and get 50+ designs for a fraction of the price. There are many different options to choose from if you want to have a logo developed. Here is a screenshot that shows you the prices:
To get started your going to want to go to 99designs.com which will ask you a series of questions. The questions are what type of logo are you looking for:
There are tons of them to choose from. These help the designers get to know what kind of style you are looking for. Optionally, you can skip this step, but I would highly recommend that you don’t skip it.
Then there is a series of sliders in which you specify the class or modern, mature or youthful, Feminine or Masculine, etc.
Then you pick your colors. If you are unsure of it can check “let the designer make suggestions.”
Then you fill out a short little form and select the kind of contest you want to run. Try to be as descriptive as possible. The more descriptive you are, the better your designs will look.
The Contest Begins
Once you have selected the plan, you want it takes about 24 to 48 hours before the designs starting coming in. You rate designs on a 1 to a 5-star rating system. I have read that you can get more designers to enter your contest by contacting different designers on 99designs.com and letting them know you started a logo design contest. I do recommend doing a “blind” contest because this blocks your designers from viewing the designs that were submitted. A lot of them mimic what you have already liked and just make slight variations of different designs. I like blind designs because you get all kinds of unique logo designs.
You have 5-7 days to narrow down the different designs before the next round. The goal is to rate different designs and leave comments. The designers will then make changes to the logo design. Then, once you’re happy with the logo you pick the winner. The designers then send you the files through 99designs.com and can make some additional changes. Then, you complete the transaction and leave the designer feedback. 99designs.com really will go the extra mile to make sure you’re happy with the design you have chosen. They treat their paying customers like royalty.
From the design I started for tbwhs.com’s logo I used the $299 plan and got 54 entries. I had lots of awesome designs to choose from and it was really hard to choose which one I liked the best. I could have gotten more entries, but I saw a logo come in that I loved. In just 7 days I had a brand new logo for tbwhs.com.
Pros & Cons of 99designs.com
Pros
Affordable. Logo designers are very expensive. A freelance designer can cost you $250 to $2,500, an independent firm can cost $500 to $3,000, and agencies can cost you $1,000 to $5,000. At those prices, they will only do so many revisions. So the price could end up being considerably higher.
More Designers. If you were to hire a designer or a team of designers, you would only get 1 to 10 different concepts to choose from. Some of them might not be at all what you are looking for. Therefore you are limited to the choices of different designs. With 99designs you will have over 50+ designers to choose from for only $299.
Turnaround Time. The turnaround time is a lot quicker than working with someone one on one. When you work with someone one on one, you’re simply waiting for the other person to design and then contact you back. Then, you have to say yes or no. With 99designs you just eliminate designs you don’t like.
Escrow Payments. Payments with 99Designs.com are Escrow payments. This is good for the buyer. There isn’t a risk on your end for running a contest for your graphic design needs. As stated above they work very hard at keeping their paying customers happy.
Cons
Some Bad Designs. Whenever you start a contest, there are going to be some very poor designs. Of the 54 designs I got in my contest, there were 2 or 3 of them that were horrible. But, that is just 3% of the designs, which isn’t all that bad.
Relationships. There is a good deal of going back and forth with the designers. You do have to spend some time communicating back and forth on different designs. This can be quite time-consuming for larger projects like web design.
Location. If you live in the United States and use 99Designs.com, there is a good chance that the designers are from the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Philippines, China, India, etc.
Final Verdict On 99designs
99designs.com is a great idea for both designers and people looking for logo designs. From a designer standpoint, I would say it might be kind of hard to win the contest since there are so many other designers competing. But, on the other end of the coin; if you are looking for design, it’s certainly worth the money. This article talked mostly about logo designs, but you can also purchase other design projects (web design, mailers, graphics, business cards, etc.) I have personally recommended many my clients to 99designs, and they love them. I used 99designs for my logo for tbwhs.com and love it. Highly recommended! You can check out 99designs by clicking here.
Hi there. 99designs.com really did an amazing job on your logo. I like how it blends in with your theme.
The price does not sound too expensive compared to others. I may look into logos and website design in the future.
It really does sound easy to navigate the website and get what you want done in a short period of time. And the idea of the contest is really great too.
Thanks for sharing this post. Looking forward to your next post!
Best regards,
Jason
Thanks a lot, Jason. A lot of people were actually really surprised when I told them it only cost me $299.
But, seriously check them out. A well-developed logo really goes a long way. People judge very quickly when going to websites on the internet. The more professional, the better 🙂
I do agree with that 100%. As our websites mature, we have to take a professional looking logo into consideration.
I have been using 99Designs for about 3 years now and love them! I have had all my companies logos, business cards, etc. done with them. They really are a great asset to our business. I have networked with a number of designers on their site over the years. Seriously worth every penny and more!
Good to hear.
hi Garen
First off, congrats on your new logo! So glad you got one that you were truly satisfied with. Finding a good designer to work with can be challenging. I had one originally made through Fiverr and although I liked it, it was a process….The guy wanted me to leave me a 5 star review when his service was definitively not 5 star! It seems like 99 designs offers better service. That being said, I don’t think I could spend even their lower price ($299) on a logo. I was lucky enough to connect with a web design on my site’s facebook page. He made one up, we discussed it, made some changes. And voila, a logo for me and publicity for him! It could not have been a better deal than that 🙂
Hey Emily,
I do agree that $299 is kind of pricy, but the quality of work is certainly there with 99Designs. They do run different discounts from time to time which will give you $50 off and such. It’s very important to have a logo and site that looks great. People judge very quickly on the internet, and something that doesn’t look professional can really put off a lot of people.
But, I am glad you found a designer :). You could always test them out if you want to see what it’s like to use them, though.
Very glad I ran across this article! My site is maturing but looks slightly bland and design is something I will definitely have to focus on in the upcoming weeks. $299 for perhaps 1,000 more potential consumers interests’ per month or more is a very worthwhile thought indeed.
Yeah, sometimes you need to spend money to make money. I think the ROI is certainly there, though.
Great informative article, and so timely! I have just contacted a designer friend to have a new logo made for a business I just purchased. I wish I’d read this first! What a great concept. I’m interested to know if the other competitors get paid anything, but I guess when you’re skilled this is a very quick job.
It’s so hard to find good services online, and it’s awesome when you get a great recommendation which shows you exactly what something’s all about. Thanks so much for your research 🙂
Hey Yvette,
Try them out for yourself, and you’ll be impressed I promise!
Hi Garen,
Great personal review.
I’ve seen 99design around, it is a great place for logo ideas and inspiration, but never used them myself. Might be something to consider though after your review…
A question, all the people that work on the project but doesn’t get picked do they get any kind of compensation or does the whole pay go to the “winner”? Does this effect the quality of the initial logo? If you compare it with the final result…
Thank you
Vicky
Hey Vicky,
That is a good idea about using 99Designs for design inspiration. I never thought of doing that.
No, only one person gets paid which isn’t that attractive for the designer. You could invest 4 hours into a logo and still end up making 0. It doesn’t seem to affect the quality of the other logos, though. People make tons of changes based on the feedback they give them.
My problem was I had about 8 designs that I really liked so narrowing it down to 1 was difficult. But, I guess that isn’t a huge problem that you lose a lot of sleep over.
Hi Garen,
I absolutely enjoy reading your reviews. They are always concise and to the point, with a sufficient amount of images to back up what you want to say, and just the structure of your reviews is professionally done.
I heard of 99designs recently, through the online publishing school, and I was curious about it. And here you come again 😉
I am pretty surprised to hear about the price for the logo – never thought it’s from about 250$ and higher. With this in mind, it’s always better to see the best design platforms out there to make sure you have high quality designs for whatever. I am currently working on an e-book, so I will consider this platform – that shows just how much I trust your reviews!
Where did you make the first logo? Unfortunately, I wasn’t around then, but I really like the current one. You have a good taste 🙂
Thank you very much for sharing,
Zarina
I used someone on Fiverr until I had $299 to invest in a new logo for this site. It is kind of expensive but can give your website a really nice touch to it. It can be a very smart idea for your eBook. People judge very quickly on the internet 🙂