What is 99designs?
99designs is a popular marketplace for freelancers where they can create book covers, logos, flyers, website designs etc. By designing graphic related things, they can earn money. So, if you are a skilled graphic designer and wants to earn money online, then 99designs is for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a professional graphic designer, then 99designs is the best option for designing your blog, book cover, website and many more within your budget. All you need to do is to run a contest in 99designs, and then wait for professional graphic designers to send ideas for your request. It is all upon you to select the best graphic designer according to your project.
How Does 99designs Work?
For placing order for any desired design on 99designs, the first step is to select the type of design that you are looking for. For example, if you want a logo design, you have to provide all information about the logo. In other words, you need to specify your requirement for the logo design. This can be helpful for the designers to understand the project and know what you are looking for. Some of the specifications that you need to provide for the freelance graphic designers includes queries like:
- Any specific color you want to add in?
- Should Logo include tagline?
- What should be the size of Logo?
If you want your project to be done according to your desire, provide detailed information to the designers. After providing the necessary information, you have to select the price for the designers. This price is shown in the design brief to designers. Also, you can run a contest. If the designers want to work on your project, they will participate in it and submit designs to you. When you start getting the design, you can choose any one design which you like and can give feedback on it too. After checking the design, the designers are shortlisted. Those shortlisted designers get a shortlisting notification, which can boost their confidence in their work. After you provide the feedback on your favorite designs, you can finally choose the winner among those designs. After the selection of the winner, you will get all the designed work. Then, final copyright agreement is signed and designer get the money from 99designs.
How much is 99designs?
If we talk about the pricing options on 99designs, there are four options. The prices of the services on this freelancing platform starts from 299$ to 1299$. The four categories of pricing offered by 99designs are as follows:
- The Bronze service which is starting from 299$
- The Silver service which is starting from 499$
- The Gold service which is starting from 899$
- The Platinum service which is starting from 1299$
Every category offers different services according to the price, but the quality of the work is never compromised. The major difference in each category is regarding the experience level of the freelance graphic designer. There are freshers, intermediate and experienced graphic designers in the least paid pricing category. As you sign up for a higher price, the most experienced designers are recruited to do the project.
Pros of 99designs:
99designs is a popular freelance marketplace. Some of the qualities that make it stand out among other freelance websites are as follows:
1. Professionalism
The graphic designers on 99designs are more professional than other freelance marketplaces like Upwork or fiver. The designers are very experienced and know how to design according to the desire of the client on 99designs. Moreover, the website itself has a more professional and systematic process of hiring the perfect freelance designer for yourself. The type of work and affordable services you get on 99design are not available on other popular freelance sites like Fiverr or Guru. So, if you are looking for the best designers from the world, never go to other freelance sites. 99designs provides the best freelance designers for sure.
2. Affordability
The services of 99designs are more affordable than other freelance marketplaces. If you still think, it is expensive then just give it a try. Your opinion will definitely change because you can find the best talent from this platform at comparatively lesser price. On other websites, there is no guarantee that you will get quality work from them. Therefore, hire your desired level of graphic designer from 99design and you will not regret spending money.
3. Easy to use
You can hire a graphic designer on 99designs easily because the website comes with a simple and user-friendly interface. There is no need to do research on how to hire designers on 99 designs since it is done in a few easy steps. Hence, this is an excellent feature of 99designs, which makes it stand out among other websites.
4. Refundable
Before processing payment on any platform, it is recommended to read the terms and conditions of the website. 99designs offers their client a refund policy too, which looks complicated, but it is not. It is a pretty straightforward and easy step. The design which is created on 99designs is refundable and they offer 100% money-back guaranteed in case the designer does not meet your demand. However, there are some terms and condition that apply before a refund. Before claiming a refund, make sure that the contests do not enter into the final round. If the final round has started, then you cannot claim the refund.
5. Time
A customized, controlled and hassle-free hiring of designers is the best feature of 99designs. After submitting the brief, you will start getting acceptance within 24 to 48 hours. The link is provided to you to check the regular updates. This can save a lot of time which you can utilize to do more things.
Cons of 99designs
On the other hand, there are some loopholes of using 99designs too. Some of them are mentioned below:
1. Communication Hurdle
As we know, the designers on 99designs are from all part of the world, so it is not easy to communicate with them. 99designs is an international platform, so there can be a language barrier. Therefore, English plays an essential part on the freelancing website. However, if the designer is French, you can feel challenging to interact and convey your requirements to them.
2. Dissatisfaction of Designer
There is a huge disadvantage on part of the freelance designer on 99designs. When an employer runs a contest, it is a positive thing that they get a lot of designs. On the other hand, the seller who invested his time and efforts will be disappointed if he does not get the project. Hence, his efforts will be wasted too. In this way, most designers feel dissatisfaction on 99designs.
3. Availability Of Experts
Most irritating feature of this platform is the availability of experts. In the basic plan, you cannot hire the best and experienced graphic designer. If you want to hire an expert graphic designer, you have to buy Platinum or Gold plan, which is expensive. Your investment will increase in hiring the expert graphic designer for your business.
4. Risk Factor
Risk factor is another issue faced by the clients on this platform. Sometimes the client does not like the final work of the designer. According to the refund policy of 99designs, refund is only available before final round, but after the final round, there is no such option. So, if the client is not satisfied by the work, he cannot claim the refund and end up wasting his money.
Tips To Hire Designer On 99designs
1. Writing a Brief in detailed
To avoid any trouble, make sure that your instructions are as clear as possible. The detailed brief can end the barrier between client and designer. To make your point of view more precise, you can use all options provided by 99designs.
2. Run a blind contest
Always prefer a blind contest on 99designs while hiring. A blind contest will not show the work of other designers to everyone. In this way, every designer will present creative and different ideas.
3. Give Invitations
Invitations are liked by freelancers. This will also encourage the designers to take part in the contest. They will invest more time and effort into your design and will try to connect with you.
4. Give them feedback
Feedback is an important step when working with a freelance graphic designer. Good feedback motivates them to work harder than ever. So, never forget to leave feedback to your design. Designers can improve the design by your feedback, and you will get what you want in the design.
Conclusion
So, if you are in search of a graphic designer to set up your website design, hiring an expert from 99designs can end your quest. Don’t waste money and time on other freelancing websites to hire a graphic designer at a cheaper rate. You will not get satisfied with the quality of work from other freelance marketplaces as compared to 99designs.