A crowdsourced design company is an excellent way to get high-quality design work done quickly and professionally. Hatchwise and Designity both offer crowdsourced creative services. Hatchwise hosts design contests and Designity selects pre-vetted designers from their talent pool. Below, we’ve reviewed the pros and cons of each company so you can make an informed decision for your business.
Hatchwise began in 2008 as a graphic design contest platform, and we now host contests for naming and taglines as well. Design contests include logos, marketing materials, T-shirt design, business cards, web design, and more. Customers can pay for contests a la carte or with a monthly subscription for unlimited contests. Hatchwise’s diverse and talented pool of creatives competes to have clients select their concept. The winning creative gets paid, and the client leaves happy.
Designity is a crowdsourced design platform in which a dedicated “creative director” hand-picks talent for the client’s projects. It’s similar to a traditional design agency yet has a much broader talent pool. Designity promises quick turnarounds for a variety of projects, from graphic design to video editing to branding.
Lights, camera, action!
1. How it Works
A design contest is a way to outsource your projects without the time and cost of recruiting external agencies or freelancers. It also yields some amazing work as designers do their best to win you over!
You pay one flat fee that covers the prize money and the costs of running and promoting the contest. Contests can last anywhere from 48 hours to 10 days. During that time, you’ll receive multiple design concepts. You can provide feedback or request tweaks before choosing a winner.
This model helps reduce costs on your end, as you don’t need to spend time finding, vetting, or booking private designers. Your creative brief goes out to a pool of talent, allowing you to quickly connect with designers eager to bring your vision to life.
The standard contest duration is 10 days, but you can always upgrade to a Rush contest to get multiple entries within 48 hours. Select a winner at any time and the contest will close. The process is simple:
Designity connects each client to a “creative director” who then chooses the best talent for their needs. You would pay a monthly fee for access to this team, which may include designers, copywriters, coders, etc. You can request both small- and large-scale projects. The creative director manages all projects and coordinates the team’s work.
This model helps you move forward on your projects sooner, as you ostensibly don’t need to review a bunch of portfolios. Plus, the crowdsourced team is specifically assembled for your business. That saves you the frustration of hiring an agency only to find that their creatives don’t “get you.”
The creative director is essentially a project manager who makes sure everything gets done. Once you sign off on deliverables, the copyright transfers to you. As each project gets completed, you can open a new one, potentially with different creatives if needed.
However, if your projects are complex, they will take more time to complete on Designity. You’re also limited to 1-3 creatives at a time, depending on your plan.
To get creative services through Designity, you would follow these steps:
Each contest includes a minimum guarantee of at least 30 entries from at least 5 creatives. If you haven’t received that number and don’t see any concepts you like, our money-back guarantee offers a full refund.
2. What You Get
Design contests attract dozens, sometimes hundreds of submissions. Most clients find that a few designers truly nail the concept. You are welcome to request variations and revisions from them. Often, the shortlisted designers will gladly submit multiple concepts for your consideration.
This process leads to better results as you’re able to guide the creatives onto the right track. You may even discover new insights into what your business needs, inspired by the varied submissions from your pool of talent.
Once you choose a winner, the designer will upload the final artwork, including all editable files. You receive the copyright and all usage rights. In other words, it belongs to you to do with as you please!
Hatchwise connects you with highly skilled designers, copywriters, and other creatives who can truly bring your vision to life — all through a simple, straightforward process that reduces costs and frustration. Plus, our support team offers personalized guidance and tips on how to make your contest a success.
Your Designity team tackles your projects one by one, although you can upgrade for more creatives who can work on simultaneous projects. The timeline for deliverables will vary depending on what you need to be done.
Designity teams are cross-functional, meaning that creatives with different skill sets work together if applicable. For example, you could launch a brochure design project, and your creative director will choose a print designer and copywriter to collaborate on it.
The benefit of this crowdsourcing model is that a creative director selects the talent and funnels your feedback to them. They’re your main point of contact so you don’t have to juggle a bunch of designers. However, it is important to note that the creative director chooses designers, writers, etc. for you.
By contrast, a design contest allows creatives to self-select. Often, you’ll get submissions from people who take an organic interest in your project.
3. What It Costs
Hatchwise offers design contests for both a per-contest flat rate and a monthly subscription that includes unlimited contests. The latter is a great option if your business has a lot of projects to do and you want several options for each one.
The base contest cost varies by project type. Here are the most popular contest types with their starting rates.
You can upgrade your contest for the following prices:
Designity’s monthly plans range from $2,995 to $7,995 per month, with up to a 10% discount if you book yearly. The higher tiers provide more “active” creatives (i.e. actively working on your current projects), weekly videos, and seats for those calls. Only the Premium plan offers the full suite of creative services, including video editing and website development. On the Essentials plan, you are limited to print materials, graphic design, landing pages, and editing/proofreading.
Even the highest-tier plan limits your team to only 3 active creatives at any time. As you can only have as many projects as there are people to work on them, you’ll need to select “add-ons” to overcome this limit.
Hatchwise and Designity take different approaches to crowdsourced creative services, which makes it a little difficult to compare their prices. For a basic logo design, though, here’s how it might look:
Hatchwise | Designity | |
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Duration | 10 Days (can be upgraded to Rush) | 10 Days on Essentials plan (naming/taglines not included) |
Pricing | Base contest price of $89 | Base price of $2,995/month |
Minimum number of creatives: | 5+ designers | 1 active creative |
The Final Verdict
Hatchwise is a versatile, affordable option for businesses that need quick turnarounds on high-quality deliverables. While you will need to devote energy to reviewing contest submissions and providing feedback, you gain a range of stellar options. Plus, you can pay as little as $89 for a stunning design. Once you’ve closed your contest, you can start another or carry on with your business — no strings attached.
Designity requires a monthly subscription, which makes it more suitable for businesses with either ongoing outsourcing needs or highly complex projects. You don’t have the option to select your creative team, although it is nice to have a creative director to share your feedback. And while Designity offers other creative services besides graphic design and naming/taglines, those services are restricted to the higher-tier plans.
To choose your ideal platform, consider how many projects you need to be done and how much you can afford to get them done quickly. Hatchwise connects you to dozens, even hundreds of talented creatives for one flat rate. Designity charges you a monthly fee for access to a team curated for you. It really comes down to how much you want to spend and how hands-on you want to be.
Overall, though, both companies are part of the exciting shift toward crowdsourced, decentralized creative services, helping businesses grow and thrive in today’s digital marketplace.
Most Popular |
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Bronze | Silver | Gold | Unlimited |
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30+ Custom Logo Designs | 70+ Custom Logo Designs | 130+ Custom Logo Designs | Unlimited Custom Logo Designs |
5+ Designers | 15+ Designers | 20+ Designers | 40+ Designers |
$50 Prize Included | $150 Prize Included | $250 Prize Included | $360 Prize Included |
Completely Original Artwork | Completely Original Artwork | Completely Original Artwork | Completely Original Artwork |
Money Back Guarantee | Money Back Guarantee | Money Back Guarantee | Money Back Guarantee |
$89 | $189 | Dedicated Support | Dedicated Support |
Free Contest Extensions | Free Contest Extensions | ||
$289 | Featured Contest | ||
Highlighted Contest | |||
$399 |
CONTEST UPGRADES:
All Design and Naming Contests come with our Money Back Guarantee.