Article
Design Contests Made Me A Better Designer
The topic of design contests is a polarizing one. Those who are against them are really against them, maintaining that they exploit designers and devalue the design industry. The NO!SPEC mantra has been adopted as a code of conduct by graphic design associations like AGDA and AIGA, and those who agree with this philosophy consider entering a design contest to be entirely unprofessional and just plain wrong.
Finding supporters of design contests is not hard though. Naturally, contest holders love them because of the economical savings and the variety of solutions they'll be presented with when crowdsourcing a task like the design of a logo, a web site or a business card.
But what about the designers who enter these contests? Matthew Magain spoke with Richard Scott, a designer who makes the majority of his living from 99designs.com, about freelancing, why he chooses to ignore the pleas of the NO!SPEC crowd -- and how he's a better designer because of it.
Disclosure: 99designs was founded by a team of former SitePointers. We still let them use our espresso machine every now and then.
SitePoint: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Richard. First up, tell us a bit about yourself, and how you got into design.
I was born in Australia, but I grew up in England. I always loved art and design, so I knew early on that it was where I wanted to focus. After two years of college, I specialized in graphic design and photography, and did a three-year degree at Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall. I was fortunate enough to have had brilliant teachers who really inspired me; I just loved it.
But I never wanted to work for anyone else. Never.
SP: Really? Even from when you were really young?
Well, since forever, really. I've never wanted to work for anybody, I always wanted to be my own boss. I mean I did get a few design jobs, working in studios, but it just wasn't me. Starting from the bottom, working your way up, that kind of stuff. I knew I could do more, and faster.
I got a bit disillusioned with design and did some travel for a while. When I moved to Melbourne and applied for a few jobs, I started thinking, "Why am I wasting my time? I'd rather be finding my own clients than trying to find a better job."
So I decided to set up from home. I didn't have a plan or anything, but I somehow stumbled upon 99designs.com.
SP: What was your motivation for entering your first contest?
I just wanted to get back into design after taking some time off to travel. I knew I was good enough to compete, but basically I just figured I had nothing to lose.
After I won a few contests early on, I thought, "Hmm, I could make a bit of money here. Maybe I could actually make my business out of it." So I just decided to dedicate myself to focusing on these design contests, thinking that if I used them to make a few contacts, then I might get follow-up work as well.
And that's exactly what happened -- everyone who I did work for loved my designs, and wanted me to do follow-up work rather than holding another contest. It was just too easy, and I could see that there was potential for establishing a good client base through this channel.
SP: What's your business model, then? And where does 99designs fit in?
Basically I use 99designs.com as a stepping-stone to get contacts. And for that it has honestly been just amazing. My income, literally just from winning contests, basically pays all my bills. Add to that all the follow-up work that comes in, and you're rockin'. It's as simple as that.
SP: So 99designs.com is like your marketing department?
Honestly, it's everything, really. Now that designers can list their portfolios, it's amazing. I don't even need to market anything anymore. That's the beauty of it as well. The site is attracting such a huge audience, so now the whole world is looking at it!
I don't even need to advertise anymore. I mean, when I went out on my own, I didn't really know how I was going to find work. And basically this has been my lifesaver. It's just been great. I know that's an unpopular viewpoint to take among some designers, because of the whole NO!SPEC thing, right?
SP: It's definitely something that people are passionate about.
Here's my take on it: I don't believe it's black and white. There are obviously plenty of people who will argue for and against both sides until the cows come home, and that will never change.
But for me personally, not wanting to work for anybody, it suits me perfectly… I just didn't want to climb the career ladder -- starting with making coffees for everybody and working my way up. I did that once, and I hated it. I just wanted to be my own man, do my own thing.
With 99designs.com, I choose what I want to do. Sure, the rewards might not be guaranteed, because you've got to win. But if you've got ideas and skills, then you will win! So it's the perfect platform for someone who wants to choose their projects and is prepared to have a go.
SP: How would you describe your style?
My style is generally quite clean and minimalist. When I'm creating a logo, I always like to embed a clever little idea into the design -- even if it's just a word mark, or an icon, it's got to have some kind of little creative element, some extra layer of meaning.
Usually when there's a brief, all the information that you need to produce that final solution is there – it's just how well you interpret it. I think I'm quite good at interpreting the brief, and that's one thing I think I do quite well. Some people might enter a heap of contests, and win nothing. For those designers, I would say that winning a design contest is a lot to do with how you interpret the brief and how you apply your creativity.
SP: What percentage of your time is spent on entering contests, as compared to doing follow-up work as a result of winning a contest?
At first it was just all contests. I decided that I'd just churn through them, working as hard as I could to win as many contests as I could. My plan was just to get as much prize money as I could early on, so I could be comfortable and hopefully set myself up for more follow-up work.
Now I don't really do that any more. Back then I would enter 10, maybe 15 contests at a time to get my name out there and build a portfolio. Now, it's probably about 50/50, I'd say.
The trouble is that the contests are so addictive.
SP: Really? Why is that?
It's true, it really is addictive. I guarantee you a lot of the other designers who compete in contests would say the same thing.
Just knowing when you see a brief that you have a killer idea… it's difficult to ignore. As soon as I see one of those briefs, I think "Bang! I know I could win that!" and away you go.
I have to confess that quite often the follow-up work is not as exciting. If I've been given a brief, and it's just for me… there's no thrill of the win, you know? Of course, it's a safer option, because you know you're going to get paid. But it's not really about the money for me. It's become more about the competition, and the excitement of competing against so many other talented designers.