Crowdsourcing graphic design (part 2)

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about crowdsourcing graphics design for a splash screen and icon set for DoxCycle, the source document management tool we've just released.

At that point, we had 88 submissions, and we just initiated an online "focus group" to help us select a winner from our top 10. We did that, and now I'll review the project wrap up process provided by crowdSPRING. The process is divided into four steps:

• Step 1. Pick a winner.
• Step 2. Approve your proof
• Step 3. Approve your final files
• Step 4. Rate your creative.

Here's how it worked for us, by step. 

Step 1. Pick a winner.

This step seems like it should be easy. Unfortunately our team couldn't agree on a single design, so we decided to award $200 for the second place design as well. We did this by adding a second award for $200 through the crowdSPRING site, which cost us a total of $230 ($200 + the 15% award fee). Here are the two designs that we picked:

We liked this one because it is simple and readable even at small resolutions like 16x16.  The image of the paper clip suggests organizing bits of paper, so it's appropriate for DoxCycle.

This is the corresponding splash screen:

In the end we had to get a friend with Adobe Illustrator make some minor adjustments to the image to fix the readability of some of the type, but more on that later.

Our second choice took a similar concept, but turned the "D" into a sheet of paper with the edge curling up.  We bought this one because we having a second icon gives us an option for DoxCycle version two.  The paper clip is also a little more identifiable than the previous icon.

Here's the corresponding splash screen:

Step 2. Approve your proof

This step in the wrap up is an opportunity to fix any remaining problems with the final design. We iterated with both the design winners over the course of a day or two. I was a little disappointed in the speed of the responses in this step. Neither of our designers responded as quickly as they had during the competition. It may have been that my expectations were too high.

Step 3. Approve your final files

This step is similar to Step 2, except with final files. It should have been straight forward, but both designers required two days. One forgot to provide the files in the Adobe Illustrator format that we had requested. A few iterations sorted that out, since the designers do not get paid until you accept the final files.

One annoyance is that once you approve your final files, there is no way to contact the designer to make even minor changes. We had some indecision about the capitalization of our product name, so I had to find someone else with Adobe Illustrator to make some these changes to the accepted final files.  Had we worked with an agency or a freelance graphic designer, we could have addressed these late changes more quickly, and probably more cost effectively.

Step 4. Rate your designer

crowdSPRING asks you to rate the designer on a scale of 0 to 100. You can also leave a comment if you wish. I rated both our designers 88, and left them both a thank-you note.

Once you complete the process, you have the option to initiate future projects directly with your designer, without the competition phase.

Final Thoughts

By the time we finished the process, we spent a little over $1200 to get two sets of icons and splash screens. From design brief to final files took just over ten days.

We'll continue to work with our agency for larger and more strategic projects. We'll probably do some crowdsourcing as well, but before we start another project, I'd like to investigate a third option: finding a local freelance graphic designer. If you know a good one, leave me a note in the comments!

Comments

[Shaun Hensher | Toronto Graphic Designer]

So in the end, what is your level of satisfaction with the process and the product? No doubt you could find a freelancer or small firm for not too much more than you spent and have a much more direct approach to arriving at a good result. I'd never participate in crowdsourcing sites myself (I touch on why in my post about graphic design pricing, but you seem to be pretty aware of the limitations), but I'd be interested to know, are there aspects of the process that you enjoyed that you wish you could have with a studio or freelancer?

[Cameron Peters]

Shaun --

I enjoyed the novelty of the process initially. On the second day there were times when new designs showed up every five minutes.

The limitations show up after the process is finished. For example, I need a few derivatives of the commissioned work and there is no easy way to do that. We need to build a complete icon set for our application and there is no easy way to do that using the crowdsource sites either.

I believe that crowdsourcing can work well for one-off logo design, and maybe for business cards or stationery. For work that requires iteration over a longer period of time, I'd prefer to hire a freelancer and build a business relationship that survives over several projects.