Why Starting Designers Should Crowdsource

When you’re a designer first starting out, you work hard (as you should) to present yourself as a professional. You pump up your resume with “work” you’ve done, stack your portfolio with class projects & neighbors’ websites and practice your elevator pitch until it’s just right – all in the hopes of landing that first job or that first batch of freelance clients. Now you’re feeling good and ready for the “real world” of professional design. I hate to break it to you, but no, you’re probably not.

The question is – How do you get that needed experience? How do you step ahead of the multitude of web designers going after the same job position that you are? How do you stand out from the wave of independent designers and agencies bidding for your next freelance project?

The answer is – crowdsourcing. Today more than ever before, there are an extensive number of sites, communities and opportunities out there for you to do work. Work that is marketable, in demand and will help you stand out from your peers. “But I’m going up against designers from all around the world. What chance do I really have? What if I don’t win?”

My answer to you is…Who cares? And I’ll tell you why.

Before we begin, let me make this clear. There are many benefits and some risks to crowdsourcing, just like more traditional routes. However, once you read through this article, you’ll see that the benefits far outweigh the risks and with a little due diligence and keeping your eyes open, you can minimize these risks even more.

The Benefits

1. Real Work
This is a big one. You’re going to do real client work – small businesses, design agencies, Fortune 500s and large corporations. You’re doing work for the AOLs, the Best Buys, the GEICOs, etc. All of these different types of companies are running competitions. When would you otherwise have the opportunity, especially as a starting designer, to do this level of work? This is not something your professor assigned to you. This is not something you made up to demonstrate how you can design a sports logo or an e-commerce web page. These are actual, real clients.

The important thing to note here is that by doing real client work, you’re also dealing with real business goals and real business requirements. These are specs written by people that want results. Results that are going to be marketed and resold. Results that the company is going to make money off and in turn, make them more successful.

So when you go on that job interview or that freelance sales call, what do you think is going to be more impressive? Work for AOL and Disney or work for your uncle’s auto shop and your school projects? Well, we all know the answer to that one.

2. Real Experience
Here’s the dirty little secret about crowdsourcing and job interviews. Ready? The companies don’t care if you won. Let me repeat that…they do not care if you won. What they will look at is:

• The work you created in the various competitions
• How you interpreted the business requirements, the creative briefs and the technical requirements
• How you took those interpretations and implemented them into a professional, usable design.

And they’ll want to see these things for one very simple reason – because it’s exactly what they’ll want you to do for them.

3. The Competition
Yes, you’re competing against many other designers. Accept it. Some at the same skill level as you, others have less experience and probably a lot of them have more. But that’s a good thing. Why? Because it gives you the opportunity to analyze the other competitors (and certainly the winners), see how they read the contest requirements and review their final designs. You might find that you interpreted the spec a particular way but now understand why a more experienced designer read it as the client meant it. Or you understood the requirements, but your design techniques were different so you start to familiarizing yourself with some other ways to design (typography, white space, subtlety, etc.).

Competitions are not simply a win or lose scenario. This is a chance to learn and grow as a designer.

4. The Community
You’re now part of a community and as a part, you’re given the means to communicate, share and collaborate with other community members. Most of these sites have live forums and discussion groups before, during and after a contest ends. Use them.

During a contest, communicate with the client. If you have a question, ask it. Not sure of the requirements, ask it. Not sure if you have the right approach, ask it. These are the actual clients answering your questions and you’re never going to learn if you don’t ask.

After the contest, follow up with the client. Ask why they chose a certain design over your submission and the others. Talk with other members. Ask what they thought of the contest, why they designed a certain way and why they interpreted things they way they did.

Outside of the contest, start online discussions about design techniques, software, sites you like, etc. This is a community of your peers. Take the opportunity to gain some collaborative knowledge and to make some valuable connections for your upcoming professional life.

5. Exposure
Congratulations. You’re now out there in all your glory – on the various social media sites, blogs and communities you’re involved in. Take advantage of it.

Most communities offer a profile where you can include a bio, a photo and a URL. This is your chance to start building your personal brand. Tailor your bio to your elevator pitch, link to your own portfolio site and upload a photo that is easily recognizable as you. Then use the same profile in all the communities you’re involved in as well as all the social media sites you’re already a part of.

Why is this important? Because I know from experience, many companies observe these communities to search for talent, whether you won contests or not. They know that they’re going to find quality designers. They also know that in any other situation, they would’ve never been introduced to you and never had the opportunity to get you to do work for them.

So just because you didn’t win does not mean that you’re not getting the needed exposure and it certainly doesn’t mean that you won’t have opportunities, because you will. Embrace the exposure and be a part of the conversation.

6. Time Management
Like it or not, competitions force you to work under a schedule and an immovable deadline. You have to learn to analyze the requirements and set your priorities.

“OK. I’m going to spend the first 10% of my time going through the requirements and then work on my initial sketches. Next, I’m going to ask a ton of questions in the forums so I fully understand the contest. Then I’ll to hunker down and work for the 60-70% of the time. I’ll finish up by asking any last minute forum questions, do a few tweaks, and leave enough time for my submission to upload.”

This is time management. If you’re doing work school projects or work for your uncle, of course you have to deliver on time, but what if you’re late? “You’re a great kid/student, you can finish this a little late.”

Not here. Absolutely not. If you don’t submit on time, you’re out of the contest and all your work was for nothing. This is a hard but valuable lesson to learn.

7. The Cash
This is not a guaranteed benefit, but a benefit nonetheless – you might win some cash. Simple as that. It may be $50, $100 or thousands. Who knows. Who cares. For the amount of work that you’re going to put in it and the possibility of winning, why not?

The Risks (and how to minimize them)

Here’s the part where I put the disclaimer on all of this and start discussing some of the things to look out for. Of course, there’s always some inherent risk in everything you do. But if you plan accordingly, pay attention and think about what works best for you, these risks should be considerably reduced.

1. Competition Rules
I know that the majority of us skim through terms & conditions and scan through rules/policies because they want to compete. We look at what’s required, how much time we have and what we’d get paid if we win. Sure, I can do that. Let’s get started.

Read all of the contest rules. Look at the submission rules and specifically the rules of ownership. Crowdsourcing sites generally approach ownership in one of the following ways:

• The client only owns your work once they pay you (you win the prize).
• The client owns your work just for the fact that you’re competing in their contest, whether you win or lose.
• The company that’s hosting the contest, not the client, owns your work simply because you’re competing on their site.

As designers, we want credit for our work – in name, recognition and compensation. You have to decide your comfort level, but always remember who owns your work and when.

2. Competition Structure
As far as design competitions go, there are generally two structures crowdsourcing sites go by.

• Maximum Feedback: The client is consistently providing feedback, putting up comments, tweaking your design and ranking your work to the point where they think it’s sufficient even before a winner is declared.
• Minimum Feedback: There is only one point during the contest where specific client feedback is given. Otherwise, the client is available to answer any forum questions throughout the contest, but nothing else is offered on an individual level.

Now, I’m not saying that one is better than the other because honestly, I haven’t made that determination yet. What I can say is that you should choose whatever type you’re comfortable with. If you like more client feedback to consistently tweak your design in the hopes of getting as close as possible to what the client wants, then go with the maximum feedback. If you like being left alone to work and ask the questions you want when you want to, then go minimum. These are simply the options.

3. Competition Results
Before competing, look at the results of various contests on a particular site. Are the winner selections so subjective that there seems to be an absence of judging criteria? Are the rules so rigid, that there’s no room for innovation and creativity?

Not to be repetitive, but find your comfort level. Decide if you work better in a more free-flowing situation or you prefer a more structured, production type of environment. You’ll find yourself much happier and more successful if you do.

4. Community Characteristics
Just like individuals, communities have their own personalities and characteristics. A community should fit your personality as well as your work habits. Consider the following examples:

• Pure Competition: Is there a strange lack of communication? Do the members seem to disappear into thin air once the competition ends?
• Pure Collaboration: Do the competitors help each other out during a contest? After the contest ends, do they congratulate each other and discuss unrelated topics, like what they had for breakfast?

Obviously, these are the two extreme ends of an overall community spectrum with all different types in between. If you’re an energetic person that enjoys fun, interactive contests, then pure competition is probably not a good idea. If you’re a very serious designer and you just want to get in there, do an awesome job, win and get back out, then the collaborative, friendly group may be too lax for your competitive nature.

So where do you fit in? That’s a question you’ll need to answer for yourself. I’m good, but I’m not that good.

The Point

As a starting designer, crowdsourcing can offer you more work for better clients and teach you the professional skills you need far sooner than by other means. If you take advantage of the opportunities, put forth the effort and be aware of the risks, you’ll end up right where you want to be – a successful professional designer.

So get out there, compete and let me know how it goes. Good luck.