When starting on design projects, I like to take my time.  I like to know my target, start with a few sketches or scribbles on paper, and eventually get around to digitizing a few elements of the design.

But the idea of competing on a single project makes me very uncomfortable.  I secure freelance work because my clients see work I’ve done and know it’s good. They trust that I’ll do good work for them.  And if they don’t like my first draft, it’s agreed that we’ll work together until I create something they appreciate.  I don’t even like collaborating with other designers, because I feel like I always compromise quality.  If it’s not my design, I don’t believe in it.

That’s why I’m not a fan of CrowdSpring.  I came across The Creativity of Crowds on Forbes.com, and the positivity in the story and comments irked me as being insincere.

If you’re a designer, design is its own reward.  Taking a few elements – be they information or ideas or graphics or words – and putting them into a design that makes sense is a fantastic feeling.  It is an art.  To some extent, a designer is an artist.

But art competitions bother me.  Completely public design competitions are the worst.  Look at this CrowdSpring project for a logo for Medical Careers.  Look through a few of the designs, and scroll to the bottom.

Now, think of the logo you might make for Medical Careers Online.  What colors would you use?  A light blue and a dark blue combination?  That’s all I can think to use, because that’s all I’ve seen.  And I’d probably use a sans-serif typeface.

The gallery has already killed my creativity.  And I know I’d make mistakes in my design for Medical Careers Online, because I’ve already made subconscious assumptions about what they want in a logo.

I’m not usually a logo designer.  I don’t sketch logos all day.  And I feel like a logo should follow the concept of the product or company.  It shouldn’t come from a file called “logo designs” and get words plugged into it.  The winning designs on CrowdSpring are usually first-rate.  But there is plenty of second-rate, cut-and-copy work that shows up on CrowdSpring.  Work appears that took three minutes and no thought to produce - for $200 projects.

CrowdSpring is no breakthrough for small business, either.  Given a search engine, good designers are not hard to find - I have a bookmarks folder full of them.  And I’ve yet to see a portfolio site that doesn’t offer contact information.  CrowdSpring is merely a middle man.

Conversely, a mass venue for freelance work can be a great resource for a designer.  If I’m looking for work, I have a place to go to find it.  And if I don’t have a job or any current projects, I have the time to spend to put together quality proposals on random CrowdSpring or 99Designs projects.  It’s also hard and time-consuming for a business to troll through a directory of designers, pick their favorite, and then ask for a bid.  A directory is certainly a more favorable method for achieving this goal.   Resources like AIGA or Facebook are a great place to start.

And maybe seeing everyone else’s design and then starting your own is the best way to create a homogenous design that will be universally accepted and recognized.  I’ll let this idea sit with me for a while, but I don’t think I’ll change my mind.

I still think crowdsourcing sucks, and is a poor way to get something done.  It gives everyone a chance to answer, but only the best answer is rewarded.  Ideally, the best creator for the project is the only resource that should ever be contacted.  It’s lazy to ask a crowd a question that one person can answer.  Why ask everyone in the library when you could ask the librarian?

Certainly, crowdsourcing works as a micro focus group.  If someone feels they can be helpful by visiting a site, commenting on a draft design or story, or giving brief feedback on a question, then it can be effective.  It’s best used when everyone involved perceives they are receiving some kind of value in the process of exchange.

I occasionally use crowdsourcing on twitter.  But as a designer, it will be a long time before I sign up for anything like CrowdSpring.  I’d much rather have a client contact me directly.

By the way, if you’re interested, you can find some of my work (and contact information) here: http://www.karlfundenberger.com/