Crowdsourcing – my views

For those that don’t know what I’m talking about here, crowdsourcing is:

The ability to tap into the collective intelligence of the public at large to complete business-related tasks that a company would normally either perform itself or outsource to a third-party provider.

In laymens terms, this generally means opening up a project of some sort to the general public in order to gain as many solutions to the problem as possible while keeping costs to a minimum.

Many businesses have utilised crowdsourcing, especially recently, to gain an advantage in the market they exist in.  Netflix, DuPont, iStockphoto and Threadless are all examples of companies that utilise the power of the collective to create real tangible output and even revenue from other people’s ideas and concepts.  User generated content is the in thing in today’s world and those companies that can harness that and turn it into revenue are leading the way for online businesses.

One company I’d like to discuss in more detail here is 99designs.  As an online service offering crowdsourcing for the design industry, it’s a site and business close to my heart and the world I work and live in.  There has been plenty of bad press, especially from the design industry, regarding sites like 99designs and I’m going to buck the trend and try to explain why I think it’s actually quite a good idea!

Personal development

In relation to 99designs, I believe crowdsourcing in this respect can be a useful and tactile way to develop your own design and UE skills.  Designers starting out find it difficult to gain experience with a limited portfolio and no client base, especially those who want to build a freelance client base.

Sites like 99designs allow these designers to participate in real-world briefs, answering real questions and dealing with real clients without the hassle of networking, winning pitches etc which may be seen as a huge hurdle for the inexperienced.  This builds their individual knowledge base and skillset and in turn allows them to build a personal portfolio of work.  I would have found this invaluable when I first started out and know a number of junior designers who participate in contest on 99designs purely for these reasons.

Surely, this can only be a good thing.  Allowing those with the skills an opportunity to show what they can do and lifting the perception of the web design industry as a whole, producing the future designers that will develop and change as the internet does.

The web

As a web designer with over 11 years experience I am still astounded at the number of poorly designed and executed sites out there.  Many built by cousin ‘X’ in their bedroom or friend ‘Y’ in their spare time.  It’s this kind of work which pulls the perception of what we do down, giving clients the expectation that sites can be built incredibly quickly and for minimal cost.

I admit, many contests held on 99designs still offer poor returns for the winner but the old adage still remains, you get what you pay for.  Look into the contests offering a good return and the number of entries and quality of submissions is incredibly high.  I believe this re-inforces the point above and clients are recognising that to get a great looking site, they need to be able to offer a good return.

I can only see this as a good point, raising the quality of the web as a whole, killing off sites that have been created cheaply and replacing them with considered, well designed and creative alternatives.  As the profile of the web increases, more and more businesses will need to compete and this will lead to an increase in projects for designers with the skills to fulfill them.

Recognition

The web design world is crowded, no argument against that, and recognition for what you do is an in-built ‘need’ for most designers, it seems to come with the territory.  This recognition is not always easy to come by, however, and an avenue to gain this is crowdsourcing.  By utilsing this stream of work a designer can easily make a name for themselves and get noticed in the steady stream of ‘web designers’ out there.

It’s dis-heartening to work 18 hours days (sometimes longer!) and not get the recognition for the work you have put in, believe me, I’ve been there.  Those that open up their projects to the public community give designers an avenue for being recognised for their skills.  This builds personal confidence and belief in each individual designer, boosting their creativity and output, how can this be bad!

Extra income

Sometimes it’s hard to make ends meet, espeically in today’s economic climate.  Personally, I have utilised crowdsourcing to my advantage when things got a little tight and many designers can access new avenues for creating income using sites like 99designs.

There isn’t always a steady stream of work for designers, especially those working on a full-time freelance basis and during those down-times, crowdsourcing may give designers the ability to maintain an income or boost it.  Competition prizes may help to purchase new equipment or pay for seminars or conferences in order to extend and improve the individual’s knowledge and skillset.  It may also just keep a roof over their head when things get a little tight.  If the designer taking part is aware of the nature of the competition and is happy to participate, crowdsourcing can generate a significant income.

Non-believers

As mentioned previously, there has been a number of blog posts and articles on how crowdsoucing it hurting our industry.  I’d like to try and counter some of these comments here.

Undervaluing talent

Many blogs have reported that crowdsourcing undervalues the talent that many experienced designers have and the competitions don’t allow them to charge the rates they deserve.  Maybe this is true, but you know what you are getting into when entering a competition and accept the reward for what it is.  I agree, a competition for an entire site design with a prize of $250 is certainly undervaluing what we do.  But those competitions offering $2,000 or $4,000 may not be.  And surely this is down to personal choice?  If you don’t feel the reward is sufficient for your experience and output, don’t enter the comeptition!  It really is that simple.

Crowdsourcing hurts the industry

Crowdsourcing has been blamed for a decrease in the perception of the web industry, with clients viewing design professionals as simply a service to be purchased at the cheapest cost possible.  Many articles have reported that clients do not view designers as skilled partners for their business.  I’m not so sure.  Crowdsourcing is simply another avenue for businesses to get online, many who have never had a website now have a chance to expand their business and this can only be done by utilising a professional.  As a designer, I would rather a client spend a little money on a site like 99designs and get a professional result than pay cousin ‘X’ and get something that degrades the web as a whole.  Those designers that can’t produce the goods certainly won’t get anywhere through crowdsourcing.  This can only serve to raise the industry, weeding out those designs which are pulling it down?

Spec work

So many designers are against the concept of ‘speculative work’, or creating ideas and concepts with little or no paycheck at the end of it.  I can understand their viewpoint but by refusing to even entertain the idea this could have a detrimental affect on the perception of the industry.  True, nothing in life is free, especially if you want a professional outcome but surely a little give and take is acceptable.

When you want the latest HD Televsion for example, you don’t run out and by the first one you see, you want to review them, watch a little, get owners comments etc.  I can see why some clients want to do the same, looking at a nice glossy website doesn’t always confirm the client’s expectations.  They want to know you can deliver the goods.

I don’t condone working for free but by demanding large costs for work at all times could give all designers a poor reputation.

Conclusion

It’s a tough call, does crowdsourcing affect the industry as a whole, degrade what we do?  Or does it give businesses a new avenue to get online, improve skills and help to make the web as a whole a better looking place?

I’m not sure this article will answer that.  Personally, I’ve had enough of designers posting blogs about how it’s detrimental, we shouldn’t be doing it etc.  If you don’t agree, simply don’t take part.  For those that see it as a way to improve, gain feedback, get recognition or simply raise some extra income, I wish you all good luck!

As always, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this post, what’s your view on crowdsourcing as a whole, and especially in the web design industry?  Let me know what you think!

P.S. If anyone is interested, you can view my 99designs portfolio.