Depending on who you ask, crowdsourcing is either the greatest thing that has happened to the design industry, or the very worst thing. As you can see, there are the haters on one side and then there are the supporters on the other. Let's take a peek into some of the pros and cons of crowdsourcing in design industry and what professional graphic designers think about it...

1. Crowdsourcing In Design

2. What is crowdsourcing? Crowdsourcing is
the process of obtaining needed services,
ideas, or content by soliciting contributions
from a large group of people, and
especially from an online community,
rather than from traditional employees or
suppliers.

3. Crowdsourcing In Design: In United States,
startups are sprouting all over. And while
importance of brand image is evident, most
startups do not have the resources
necessary to hire a professional designer
or design firm. Entering crowdsourcing
gives such companies a relief and provides
them a platform to solicit contributions from
a large group of designers to help them
with their branding efforts.

4. Pros of Crowdsourcing: Eliminate overhead, cost saving, optimize
creativity, increase options and high competition.

5. Cons of Crowdsourcing: Large scale management, excessive collaboration,
missing end-to-end branding, little or no customization and high lack of
commitment.

6. Crowdsourcing: How Did It Harm or Benefit
Design Community? We asked designers
and here's what they say...

7. One big downside of crowdsourcing,
specifically in the design field, is that it’s
difficult to get a clear idea on what
message the client has in mind and what
should be portrayed. What’s the concept?
At the end of the day I guess it’s ok for
businesses who’s priority is not that of
(visual) branding. ~ Rute Ferreira Rodrigues,
Management Assistant at Brw Groep

8. I could write all day about damage it
imposed upon design community and I am
yet to hear any however small benefit. ~
Aleksandar Topolac, Creative Director at
Arteria D.O.O.

9. I see no benefits to crowdsourcing for the
design community. Not a single one. Even
as a newbie, you're better off seeking
clients on your own while developing your
skill in your own time than entering some
sort of rat race where you invest resources
without any guarantee of compensation. ~
Alex Mera, Visual Designer 6pm.Com (Zappos)

10. There are certainly some alluring points to
crowdsourcing: Generating a lot of ideas
from a broad network in a record time at
little or no cost. A good example is the
Doritos Super Bowl commercials but that is
the result of an excellent brief to start with
and a motivating prize at the end. The
reality is that "Good-Cheap-Fast" is difficult
to attain. ~ Laurent Bourscheidt, Freelance
Creative Director

11. I wouldn't say that the clients that use
those sites are clueless, quite the opposite
really. The clients that use those sites are
looking at money, but I am sure they are
also looking at what they are getting for the
money. ~ James Cole, USAF VETERAN |
Graphic Designer

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