Crowdsourcing Part 2: My own experience

by Andy Wright

As mentioned in my previous post, I didn’t feel that I could comment on crowdsourcing without having my own experience of the process. In this example, I posted a contest very similar to the B&T contest for a new ‘Australia logo’ posted at Design Bay (more on that later).

To develop the Brandhabits identity I tested the pool of designers at 99Designs. I posted a brief and put up $150 (of my own money – and guaranteed the prize) to find a logo and header for the Brandhabits blog. The contest lasted the standard 7 days. I kept the brief simple specifiying what the blog was about and why I was writing it. I added information around favourite colours, style and a desire for something clever but simple. I explained the concept of Brandhabits – good habits that marketer’s and brand’s should practice to influence habitual purchase of their brands by consumers.

The first 3 days were exciting. Around 20 entries came in, but I was a long way off finding a winner. The designs were simple, but didn’t really play on the terms brand or habits how I might have hoped. Having worked with some great designers throughout my career I had higher expectations.

Designers were submitting logos very similar to submissions in other contests they had entered. That was fair enough. As I said in my last post, crowdsourcing is a good opportunity for designers to express their individual style.

Based on this, I went in search of other logos (designers) that I thought could bring their style to the Brandhabits logo and invited them to enter my own contest. Unfortunately, they didn’t stretch too far from those I’d already seen. Some examples of entries can be seen here.

I provided feedback throughout the contest (best practice for crowdsourcing according to 99Designs) and while I found the experience interesting and valuable, I didn’t find the logo I was looking for. Still, I chose a winner as promised when guaranteeing my prize:

As you’ll see, it’s not in the header above. I didn’t feel that any of the designs cracked my brief. However, a designer friend of mine delivered just what I was looking for from a 3 minute telephone conversation. He runs his own agency and designs for some of the top brands in Australia. He gets brands, most of the designers who entered my contest get logo’s. There’s a difference. Although, if I’d raised the prize value who knows, I might have experienced a very different result (I did offer a prize lower than some other contests).

I’m following the B&T ‘Australia’ contest with added interest following my experience. There are 44 entries up on the site and in my opinion, there’s still a fair way to go. Again, I think the issue they will come across is they’re sourcing a logo. Not a brand. I was looking for an identity and I still didn’t find it and perhaps the only person that knew my brand (at that point) was myself. Brand Australia is a completely different animal (hopefully not the inevitable kangaroo). However, given this isn’t the actual search for the brand, it should help those who are in charge to understand the thoughts of a sub-set of the design community.

There’s much more to crowdsourcing than the examples in this and the previous post. I’ve since read a very interesting interview with someone who makes a living from crowdsourcing. In the software industry it can be a key component of product development working with a number of stakeholders ranked by expertise in a like-minded community. One of the key points I took out from the interview was this:

“The final lesson is that crowdsourcing is a model – an approach to solving a problem.  It’s not a solution in and of itself.”

In conclusion, I’m all for crowdsourcing, but not as a substitute for brand / business strategy. It gives many talented individuals a platform to grow their reputation and income. It also provides a pool of advice, feedback and ideas. However, the process still needs a leader and controller. At the end of the day, the decision lies with the brand owner and the outcomes must be aligned with the brand strategy. Don’t get carried away by the short-term process. If you’re brand is worth millions of dollars don’t offer up $500 or even $5,000 for a new logo on a crowdsourcing site.

By all means crowdsource opinion, but don’t use it as a shortcut for making crucial business decisions. Give it a structure. I’d recommend crowdsourcing elements of a project rather than an end solution. Use it to garner opinion, develop ideas and generate feedback.

I’d love to hear what you think of some of the designs above and your own experiences with crowdsourcing. Please feel free to comment below or contact me direct.