Comment by ggambetta | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ggambetta | Hacker News Reader

To add a related experience, but with different results... some months ago I used 99designs to get a cover for my novel. It wasn't $5 but $300, but still, I was amazed by the quality of [some of] the entries - 126 in total! See here: https://99designs.com/book-cover-design/contests/book-cover-... In this case the freelancers were required to disclose the licenses of the assets they used, and even provide the sources so I could verify them.

I understand why some artists complain about sites like these, but for a "consumer" like me it's a fantastic idea - and as another commenter said, "disruption". They do other things, like UI design and so on... check them out. FWIW, I'm in no way affiliated to 99designs, I just had a good experience with them.

We used 99designs and were happy with their work too. Our competition offered something like $700 -- we wanted to ensure that the better designers pitched for our logo while still being affordable to us.

What I noticed and found interesting was that the designers who participate in 99designs would do a lot of "police work" by calling out plagiarism and reuse by the other designers. I'm guessing that it's because more money was at stake than $5.

If you are happy with the end results as a consumer, that's what counts.

I would argue that with a talented artist and a slightly higher budget, you would of gotten a better result.

The real pain point (in my opinion) , is finding the right designer/artist that you can work with on a constant basis, that search alone makes websites like 99designs an optimal choice.

EDIT: 99Designs seems to have changed their model since my last visit. Definitely more sustainable for all parties.

>In this case the freelancers were required to disclose the licenses of the assets they used, and even provide the sources so I could verify them.

My worry would be that they seem to tag all the imagery as "stock imagery; does not require purchase." OTOH, the good part is that you can verify that yourself.

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