website thubmnail of 99designs

99designs

How would you rate 99designs?
grey star
grey star
grey star
grey star
grey star
Thailand
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Shelley H.
Unfollow Shelley H.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Used 99Designs for a logo for my new startup. Could not be happier with the designs submitted and the overall experience. So easy and so professional. Absolutely love my final logo!

Date of experience: March 8, 2019
Connecticut
1 review
1 helpful vote
Follow Moakie J.
Unfollow Moakie J.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

I had a very focused goal: To hire an expert in Squarespace I could utilize to accelerate the learning of the front end authoring environment so I could build my own website.

I am a management consultant and am proficient enough in design to do it myself. It's the only way to go.

I found a smart gal to provide me 2 hours for a coaching, teaching engagement.

To my regret she helped me get started learning SS so I could build my own website. But there was really no pedagogical approach. In other words I would have benefitted from an overview of how SS organizes its web-based interface, the design conventions of SS. That didn't happen because the designer has no teaching ability and it WAS MY FAULT I DID NOT STRUCTURE THE TWO HOURS MORE EDUCATIONALLY. I didn't give her the guidance. And she went very quickly. My fault again.

She was very technically capable and a good designer but her communication skills were atrocious. She encouraged me to follow up afterwards with questions. Well she went AWOL. I was never able to followup. Very disappointed. Like a lot of hired guns she took the money and ran.

$250 an hour for a graphic designer through a middleman? If they can earn that I am worth $450 an hour. Very expensive. It would help to know how much 99designs earns as the bodypusher middleman. I am guessing $100 an hour? But since I don't know it is difficult to assess if the designer was paid fairly. $150 an hour because the bodypusher gets $100? That's fair to the designer. $30 an hour to 99designes and $220 to the designer? I would never pay a graphic designer $220 an hour directly absent the middleman.

You will have to trust me that I am a paying customer to 99designs for an SS website that is live but which I prefer to go unnamed for obvious reasons. People need to feel free to tell the truth without fear of retaliation.

I hired the designer in early August. Paid 99designs $500. Definitely too much for what I got.

Date of experience: October 5, 2023
Arizona
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Sivine L.
Unfollow Sivine L.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

I really like the concept of a design contest. The traditional transaction of just hiring a single designer for a single transaction that may never develop into your vision is unnerving. The design contest takes the pressure off the client and fuels the drive of competing designers. I will be honest. I was getting impatient with the results of my design contest early on and tried hard to keep faith in the process. The night before my design started to blossom, I almost pulled the plug on the entire operation. I woke up to a beautiful revision from my winning designer that put a smile back on my face. My vision was finally back on track after it was flying off the rails. I couldn't be happier with the end result of my logo as well as the new relationship I developed with my designer. I wanted an emotional connection to my brand upon sight of the logo. My designer made that a reality along with communicating flawlessly the whole way there. I am so, so thankful for this service! And shout out to Alli Schultz of Nomad Boutique who recommended this site and the design contest!

Date of experience: June 10, 2019
GB
1 review
1 helpful vote
Follow Louise K.
Unfollow Louise K.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

This is the second competition we have run and are very pleased with the results. We had submissions from all over the world and had conversations with designers we would never have had access to.

Date of experience: September 29, 2016
Support T. 99designs Rep
over a year old

Hi Louise,

We are very excited to hear that you had a pleasant experience. Thank you for coming to us for your design needs. We love your tips for other future customers as well!

Best,

99designs Support Crew

Nigeria
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
Follow Samuel A.
Unfollow Samuel A.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

I was looking for a similar service when I stumbled upon their website and it's One of the things that that made me use their service. The website was quite the charmer.

Date of experience: June 25, 2020
California
7 reviews
37 helpful votes
Follow Wilson H.
Unfollow Wilson H.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

The quality here is really mixed. If you need something designed that is cheap and generic, 99 designs is for you. If you need something really good, I'd go elsewhere.

Date of experience: August 10, 2013
Australia
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow D C.
Unfollow D C.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

We couldn't be happier with our 99designs experience. The contest was easy to run and gave up 50+ designs to consider. We saw some great work, and are very pleased with our winning selection.

Date of experience: March 23, 2020
Israel
1 review
6 helpful votes
Follow Yacov A.
Unfollow Yacov A.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Waste of time
March 30, 2017

Work quality very amuture and poor
Waited 8 days, spent work days just to receive zero.
Good support on chat on line.

But they really know how to market themselves

Date of experience: March 30, 2017
Support T. 99designs Rep
over a year old

Hi Yacov,

I am sorry to hear you weren't happy with the results of your previous contest, and I apologise the contest did not yield as many submissions as we generally see.

Please know we are always happy to review your Contest Brief (this may affect participation) and extend your contest if necessary if you choose to use our platform in the future. Feel free to contact our support team with any further questions and we'll be happy to assist anyway we can: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

-Rosalie from 99designs

California
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Thomas R.
Unfollow Thomas R.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Great experience! I felt the process was very helpful to finally decide on the best designer. I received 100s of of design options and ultimately narrowed it down to 6.

Date of experience: October 19, 2019
Indiana
1 review
7 helpful votes
Follow Roban K.
Unfollow Roban K.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Hmm...
December 8, 2017

For about $600.00 I ended up having 20+ offshore designers all generically copying the first two designs that I gave 4 or 5 stars. I had to get really specific (and directly message most of them) to get any of them to develop anything original.

There also seems to be a HUGE issue with fraud. Designs in my contest were constantly being withdrawn (or designers' account suspended mid-contest) because they were ripping off other designs as blatantly as possible and/or simply reposting designs verbatim. I did a little snooping and found that multiple entry level designers in my contest were taking designs from better designers (from within my contest) and posting them to their own profiles as samples, continuing the cycle of fraud into other design contests.

I'm savvy enough to catch this, but I worry for all the mom-and-pop shops out there who wouldn't think to thoroughly review designer profiles and catch the scammers.

There also seems to be no chat support on the site, which (again based on experience) is a clear indicator that they anticipate their customers being annoyed and don't want to deal with it, so it's easier to funnel everyone into generic support FAQs.

Ultimately, after a lot of legwork I was able to weed out the crappy designers and find a couple of good ones, but it was a messy process. This one time I used 99Designs will probably be the only time. I'll stick with real agency designs going forward, even if it costs a bit more.

Date of experience: December 8, 2017
Support T. 99designs Rep
over a year old

Hi Roban,

Thank you for leaving us a sincere review.

While we are disappointed to see that you did not enjoy the outcome, we are grateful for your feedback. Our teams are working every day to improve the platform for customers such as yourself, and for future customers. If you’re up to it, we’d like to chat with you about your contest experience to see if there’s anything we can do to make the experience better for you in the future.

If chat is not available, you can always give us a call at any of these numbers:

Oakland | 8am-5pm PST:
1-800-513-1678 (from USA or Canada) or (from any other country)

Australia | 9am-5pm AEDT:
03 9111 5799 (From Australia)

United Kingdom | 9am-9pm GMT:
+44 203 514 9220

Or send us an email at support@99designs.com

- Jerlyn from 99designs

India
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow kano p.
Unfollow kano p.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Hello every one,
Please donot participate in contest and do not submit project for design.
Only got you copy paste work plz check below link. This is winner designer logo and shutter stock logo.

https://99designs.com/logo-design/contests/make-holacracyone-fit-holacracy-*******/entries/61

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/vector-illustrations-company-logos-green-gray-*******?src=zropRNhAvFZ_Cgy-jswYMw-2-1 (vector no. 2)

Both are same. So do not enter in frod 99design company.
Thanks for reading

Date of experience: January 18, 2017
GB
1 review
10 helpful votes
Follow Josette H.
Unfollow Josette H.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Just to add my experience. I also found myself thrown out of 99designs despite positive feedback and decent star ratings. I was in the middle of reading a forum post and they literally logged me out. I couldn't log back in and later discovered the delightful email in my inbox pretty much telling me I wasn't good enough and to go back to school! I've been designing for years and find this quite insulting.

Even if a designer isn't up to the mark, surely a better system would be to subject potential designers to a vetting system so they do not waste their time and effort. Either that or lower the limit of contests they can enter until they improve via a polite message, instead of such a heavy handed approach, actually throwing them off the site as though they were a criminal.

Like an earlier reviewer, to add insult to injury, I couldn't log back in to unsubscribe from their email notifications. I wish I had read reviews about 99designs before signing up, but was lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that my husband has used them as a contest holder in the past. He was reasonably satisfied with his experience at the time, but he will not go near them in future, after witnessing the callous way in which they treat some of their designers. I feel very uncomfortable about the fact that I had to upload a photo of my passport and am now worried about what 99designs will do with that information. Well, lesson learned, I guess, better to stick to traditional work methods.

Date of experience: April 5, 2017
Support T. 99designs Rep
over a year old

Hi Josette,

I understand how disappointing it is to see your account placed on hold. Hopefully you can see by our email correspondence that this is not a permanent hold. We only ask that you submit a portfolio because your current entries do not appear to represent our minimum quality standards.

99designs is a professional marketplace, and we are dedicated to cultivating a community of designers who are consistently creating unique, well crafted designs. To this end, each designer account is reviewed personally by a 99designs staff member. In order to remain objective, we do not judge quality on things like education, certifications, or even contest ratings but rather on the actual quality of the entries themselves. We use these basic, universal graphic design principles as our forms of measurement: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204862935-What-are-99designs-quality-standards-

The reason for the three month period is that we want to make sure designers really take the time to improve in the principles of typography, visual hierarchy, composition and color, as well as technical skills. We have to remain consistent with all designers in our procedure for portfolio review. As such, our staff will not review a portfolio until three months past the date of your account-hold.

Please note that our Identity Verification is solely for internal purposes and we would never share your personal details (https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/205460145-What-is-identity-verification-).

If you feel these designs did not represent your potential, we encourage you to submit your portfolio in three months. Feel free to contact our support team with any further questions: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

-Rosalie from 99designs

Spain
1 review
2 helpful votes
Follow Tibor O.
Unfollow Tibor O.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

I started on 99designs two years ago from scratch. I was a big 0 in design. In just two years the awesome staff and the amazing community of designers helped to create a great portfolio, wherever I show it, people are amazed by it, not speaking about my little overall experience.
I really learned a lot and everybody was ready to help even when I failed. So thank you 99d, you are amazing.

I had no job and no profession, 99d helped me to feed my family for 2 years and then I was able to get a nice job in design. (and I can still use 99d for extra income)

As a designer it's an awesome place. I do not recommend it however for those who are not willing to learn, who don't like to play fair and be nice and for those who are dumb. These people will most probably get themselves a ban for good reason.

For customers I can safely say that there a ton of really really good designers and it is impossible to not find a man for the job. You just have to know at least partly what you want and invite the right man to your contest or for 1to1.

But rule of the dumb applies here as well. If you are dumb don't come, you will be disappointed most likely and just make designers waste their time. If you are normal guy with more then 80 iq you can come safely, you will get what you want. And if you have questions just ask the customer support they are awesome and happy to help.

Cheers to the normal people ;)

Date of experience: November 7, 2016
Arizona
1 review
20 helpful votes
Follow Nicolas N.
Unfollow Nicolas N.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Unprofessional
May 5, 2017

As a 8 year graphic designer I decided to give 99designs a shot. I designed a logo for a pizza company and followed all the procedures necessary to enter the design contest. However, within a day my account was suspended from 99designs. I don't really know why it was suspended but from the email they sent me it stated "As a result, we have put your account on hold. We encourage you to improve your design skills." I thought this was a slap in the face and really unprofessional the design contest that they host should be decided by the client and not 99designs cause ultimately the client is more important. My suggestion to all new business owners out there please hire a freelance designer that will take care of your business in the long run. The best designers build companies a brand identity not just a logo. 99design robs freelance designers for there craft. They get a bunch of designers thinking they are going to win some quick cash but they end up spending more time and work then the actual cost of the design. The one element that is missing is the personal relationship between the designer and the client and that is something you cannot replace I wouldn't recommend 99designs to anyone after this incident.

Date of experience: May 5, 2017
Virginia
1 review
28 helpful votes
Follow S T.
Unfollow S T.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Hidden fees
April 24, 2015

This is a buyer beware for anyone using 99Designs. I hosted a contest for a book cover and selected the $299 option for prize money. The process was easy and I received several good designs from which I awarded a winner. I immediately got a bill from the designer for $50 to purchase the stock image used. The design page stated the designer used stock images, but did not state I had to pay for them. The stock image cost $15 with $35 as a fee to the designer. Contacting 99design support, they told me I had to pay. I refused and they encouraged the designer to redo the design with free images. I selected one of the three options of lesser quality because I had no other choice. To get the files for the book cover, I had to award the money to the designer. When I downloaded the files, I found that I could not use or edit them without purchasing a software program costing $600. I asked for the files in a different format, yet the designer stopped working with me. 99designs have ignored my emails and messages for help.

Date of experience: April 24, 2015
North Carolina
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Joy P.
Unfollow Joy P.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Our 99Designs experience was AMAZING! Provide just a bit of information and your world opens up to some talented designers and their incredible skills!

Date of experience: April 19, 2019
GB
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Paul L.
Unfollow Paul L.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Very easy process
March 28, 2018

Quick and easy to use website from start to finish. Great to be able to request slight changes from the already submitted designs. Have created another project already for www.coinschedule.com

Date of experience: March 28, 2018
Support T. 99designs Rep
over a year old

Hi Paul,

Thank you for such a great feedback.

We are glad to hear that you find the process to be easy to use and it was a pleasure to have worked with you with your design needs. Should you need any assistance on your new project, please do not hesitate to contact: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new and we will respond to you as soon as possible.

- Jerlyn from 99designs

North Carolina
2 reviews
6 helpful votes
Follow Kevin G.
Unfollow Kevin G.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

T shirt owner
May 13, 2016

99 designs is the worst service to use they ripped me off and kept my funds.If you are starting out stay away from this place a acomplete SCAM! SCAM ALERT

Date of experience: May 13, 2016
South Africa
1 review
12 helpful votes
Follow san s.
Unfollow san s.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Like so many others have said, then frequently ban your account if the site owners think your standards are not up to scratch. Even if you were a finalist among contests. Their support team is non existent, yet they sit and police people's submissions. Its nonsense. Im sure they scam more people and there are a lot of fake reviews here. Stay away from them. Bunch of idiots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFss5cTlIl0, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlpy0ESmBgQ. A quote from the video above """""A good number of "clients" on these crowdsourcing sites are associates working for large corporate ad/imaging/graphics firms... What they look for are either ideas or designs for the smaller non-contractual "penny ante" clients on a limited budget (usually $5K and less), and then go to these crowdsourcing sites, and hold contests in order to get their pick of a cache of designs, and either pay the winner pennies on the dollar, or (more often) not at all... Then the associate re-works the project to make it feasible for print, or for the web, and then sells the finished project to the actual client at market price, and is still able to devote all their creative time towards the large scale big money contractual clients, while making extra money for the company, or for themselves on the side..."""""

UPDATE: As usual those morons copy/paste a generic reply below. Dont use their site or give them any business.

Date of experience: October 4, 2017
Support T. 99designs Rep
over a year old

Hi San,

I understand how disappointing it is to see your account placed on hold. We certainly did not mean to demean you in any way, shape or form. Hopefully, you can see by our email correspondence that this is not a permanent hold. We only ask that you submit a portfolio because your current entries do not appear to represent our minimum quality standards.

99designs is a professional marketplace, and we are dedicated to cultivating a community of designers who are consistently creating unique, well crafted designs. To this end, each designer account is reviewed personally by a 99designs staff member. In order to remain objective, we do not judge quality on things like education, certifications, or even contest ratings but rather on the actual quality of the entries themselves. We use these basic, universal graphic design principles as our forms of measurement: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204862935-What-are-99designs-quality-standards-

During this period of absence, we encourage you to work on your designs skills. Your suspension is *not* permanent, please make note of this. You will be able to re-apply once we open the application period, so you have a chance to reinstate your account.

Best of luck - we hope to see you in the next application period. Feel free to contact our support team with any further questions: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

- Jerlyn from 99designs

GB
1 review
0 helpful votes
Follow Toni L.
Unfollow Toni L.
Send Message
Share Review
Report Review

Long Lens Photography
February 26, 2020

Brilliant service, exciting and professional - I was lucky enough to work with a top designer for my logo - he was genius!

Date of experience: February 26, 2020

Overview

The company has garnered a mixed reputation, with many customers praising the platform for its ability to connect them with a diverse pool of talented designers and for facilitating a creative contest process that often yields satisfactory results. However, significant concerns have been raised regarding the quality of designs, with accusations of reliance on stock imagery and lack of originality. Additionally, customer service appears inconsistent, with reports of inadequate support and difficulty in resolving issues, including refunds and communication problems. Overall, while the platform offers valuable opportunities, the execution and support may require improvement to enhance customer satisfaction.

This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews

service
49
value
49
shipping
23
returns
26
quality
49
This company does not typically respond to reviews
+38