DesignCrowd is an online marketplace that provides print and graphic design services, website work, logo designs, and more. The company provides access to freelance designers worldwide so that clients can find the very best talent for their project and choose from numerous contributions in a variety of styles.
Business owners and other logo seekers can hold a design competition which allow designers to submit entries; this is the growing trend of crowdsourced graphic design. Or, clients can choose to work with one designer if preferred.
This unique site offers design pros a platform to showcase their skills, make contacts, and build their portfolios. Freelance designers are free to choose which project proposals they’d like to take on.
The average project runs around $150 and generally results in over 50 design concepts to choose from within 10 days or less.
DesignCrowd Service | Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|
Client Contest Post | Up to $129 | Nonrefundable |
Client Transaction | 4% commission | Nonrefundable |
Client Project |
$99–$1100 plus 20% commission |
Refundable unless you've committed to fund your project |
Client Project Upgrade | Varies | Nonrefundable |
Designer Account Registration | Free | No membership dues |
Designer Contest Reward | 15% commission | Includes place payments, participation payments, paid invites, and tips |
Keep reading for pros and cons of using this logo design service, plus DesignCrowd reviews from consumers.
Sydney-based DesignCrowd was established in 2008. Over the years, the company has grown to have over 700,000 freelancers. DesignCrowd allows people from a variety of backgrounds to find work on its site and has helped prestigious customers from all around the world with custom design projects.
Having a worldwide marketplace of professional designers makes it possible to select from more than just a team of in-house designers with limited vision regarding design concepts or only the experiences of a specific small company. It makes a lot of sense to draw from the well of thousands of creatives rather than hire a designer that may or may not produce the style or quality of work you're seeking.
Furthermore, the site allows users to complete all transactions in an orderly and fair manner by hosting payment, job assignment, etc. This helps make freelancing job opportunities easy by cutting down on the hassle of organizing the various aspects of solo freelance work.
DesignCrowd provides a money-back guarantee and is available to be contacted directly should any client have problems communicating with their chosen designer. Many other companies that crowdsource designers are unable to help you if there is a problem, but DesignCrowd does its best to resolve issues involving designer quality and service.
The money-back-guarantee is valid within 30 days of posting a project and before any files have been provided to the client, except in cases where the client guaranteed their project.
The online help center covers topics relating to troubleshooting, copyright, fees and costs, designer portfolios, designer payments, submitting designs, and One Designer Services. You can also contact customer service directly with specific questions and concerns.
Turnaround times with DesignCrowd are quite short. When starting a contest, you can choose a 3–, 5–, or 10–day deadline for your design contest and can expect to receive your first designs within 24 hours of creating your project.
So how much does DesignCrowd cost? For business owners or other logo seekers running a contest, custom design package options start at $99 and go up from there. Common listings are $150 and run up to $1100.
In addition to the design cost, there is a posting fee of $29 to $129 depending on your selected package. You can also pay more to keep your listing private or to add a featured upgrade. These additional fees are non-refundable unless you do not receive any designs, in which case all fees are refunded.
For designers, DesignCrowd takes a 15% commission on all payments received, which can include place payments, participation payments, paid invites, and tips.
To offset design posting fees and design project fees, DesignCrowd offers a weekly discount code that will save you up to $100 on a project. The website has a full inventory of coupon codes for near-unlimited discounts.
DesignCrowd is a one-stop-shop for small business graphic design needs as it has plenty to offer in addition to logo design services. Customizable packages can include the following:
Online crowdsourcing can be messy, but DesignCrowd has implemented some rules that increase competition and improve quality.
Openly-available payment information incentivizes designers to contribute to contests that offer participation payments and placement payments for first, second, and third place. Contest entrants can't see other submissions, so they won't copy or modify other ideas.
DesignCrowd allows designers to see if a client has guaranteed payment for a contest. This means more users will submit to this contest because they know at least one entrant will be awarded.
Entrants are also awarded more from a DesignCrowd logo design contest than they would be on some other freelancing platforms. DesignCrowd takes 15% of a package price along with some posting and payment fees, whereas other crowdsourcing platforms can take up to 50% of the package. This encourages good designers to flock to DesignCrowd.
It can be a little overwhelming to have so many designers to choose from and to try to narrow it down based on prices, presentation, and time constraints. With so many designers as part of the group, DesignCrowd is not able to personally interview each designer and make sure that they are professional and courteous throughout the design process. Additionally, their prices aren't set, and they do not disclose how many concepts you'll be getting. Each designer's work experience, price, and quality varies greatly.
Unlike other freelance logo maker services, DesignCrowd charges a fee on the incoming payments of freelance designers. While this can be resolved by designers charging a higher price for one-on-one services, creatives should be aware of this policy before beginning work on any DesignCrowd project. Additionally, DesignCrowd encourages competition for custom design projects via a design contest, instead of merely assigning one designer per project.
Crowdsourcing platforms are becoming increasingly popular in the gig economy, and several logo design sites use competitions that will receive hundreds of submissions to create the best logo for a client. For most crowdsourcing sites, only the competition winner is compensated.
While this can be great for the customer and for small businesses on a tight budget, many graphic designers complain that this undervalues a specialist's experience and labor. For this reason, some designers are against design contests and recommend that clients work directly with one designer or one team instead.
With DesignCrowd, customers can offer designers a Participation Payment if they want a specific creative to submit to the project, or the Participation Payment can be paid out to designers as a bonus after a project is complete. The compensation is typically $10 to $20 and is determined by DesignCrowd based on the size of a submitted budget. Keep in mind that this compensation is based on client discretion, might not match designers' effort in crafting a submission, and is still a small sum for participants who do not win.
Additionally, DesignCrowd does offer the option to work directly with a designer.
Some customers note in negative reviews that the refund isn't a 100% money-back refund as they had assumed. DesignCrowd may retain posting fees and other fees related to a design package; this is common in the industry. Be sure to read the fine print related to the refund policy and ensure that you understand it.
The verdict? DesignCrowd's services can jumpstart your path to improved brand recognition with a variety of crowdsourced design ideas for any budget over $100.
DesignCrowd's power is in its niche. It's one of the biggest sites that is attempting to connect designers and clients in an online, freelance-style marketplace. This is no small feat, but DesignCrowd has managed to build a website platform that is organized in a clear and user-friendly manner.
DesignCrowd is an established source for any graphic design work or advertising designs. Notable services include t-shirt design, brochure design, business cards, letterhead, banners, custom logo designs, car decals, and so on.
This is a company that has been in business for a decent amount of time and has provided graphic design services to thousands of clients all over the world. Though DesignCrowd may not be as heavily involved in the design process of each creative project as a design agency due to its crowdsourcing business model, the company has customer service representatives available via phone or email for complaints, concerns, or questions to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Having so many professional designers on hand makes it easier to produce ideal results; clients just need to provide clear expectations and instructions for their creative project.
With crowdsourced graphic design, a freelancer has the potential to earn money, find unlimited clients, and build a career. But if design contest sites get over-saturated with freelancers, earning potential is diminished and it may no longer be worth their time to participate. DesignCrowd offsets this concern in part by offering contest hosts the option to provide tips, participation payments, and placement payments in addition to rewarding the winning design — all within a reasonable price range.
The fact that DesignCrowd offers these options demonstrates that it values both the integrity of the work of designers and the quality and pricing that consumers demand.
Star Rating
148 Reviews
Review Breakdown
Sentiment Criteria
Amanda
When designing my logo for my clothing brand, I loved using DesignCrowd to get quotes and see different options.
Ariany
I don’t recommend this website at all. My experience was the worst as possible. I paid for a package that promised 15+ designers + 30+ designs. I was excited about the idea and trusting on the 100% money back guarantee. After 3 days I started to be concerned because we just had 1 designer and 1 design. They offered me to extend my project. After one week I couldn’t be more disappointed! We had just 3 or 4 designers and one was good, but the other 3 were super bad, they are way too far to be professional. I couldn’t even show my boss the horrible designs we got because would be a mess! I asked for refund and guess what? They charged me 44 dollars for posting the project! Don’t waist your money on Design Crowd! I wish I could have tried 99 Designs instead. Now I messed up with my budget and no design. My boss is pissed.
David Zabran
Steer clear. I started a project for which I typed in a single line and got pulled away so the design brief was 99% blank. Design crowd launched my project blank. Their emails were going to my spam folder so I was not even aware it was live until I logged in and saw there were 300+ designs with the wrong company name. So I got 300 designs based on nothing more than the type of company it was. They don't respond to inquiries and designers don't respond either. Was not able to get the one design I liked edited to be useable so Design crowd then finalized the project pick a winner for me and said here we did it all for you don't really care what you wanted. Ended up having to dispute with the credit card to reverse charges.
Yojana Sharma
I am having a terrible experience with Design Crowd! Please go somewhere else if you can when you have time. It is a waste of time and money. I wanted to use design crowd because my company is a start up and did not have lot of money to go for professionals. After I paid, my designs were not submitted even after 4 days and I tried to reach this designer (Luis- Never work with him). No response! Then I reached out to their customer service and they switched my designs to someone else and promised me to submit the first prototypes within 24 hours- 24 hours has spent and NOTHING yet! I am going to complain about this in serious places so other people don't have to go through this. This company has to shut down or improve their services. It is like a scam and waste of your valuable time. Read other peoples reviews, I have no idea how some people gave them 5 stars -should be 100% fake.
Cassie G.
I paid $350 for what was supposed to be 10+ designs. I’ve received a total of 4, 3 of which are from the same amateur designer. It was not disclosed when I signed up that I had apparently checked a box that made my project ineligible for a refund. In order to get more designers on board, they want more money. It was a costly mistake for my business to use design crowd and I’d recommend that others avoid this service.
Lisa Dennis
The designer was extremely helpful, and when I wanted changes done, she did them within the hour and was able to make my decision very quickly. I get compliments on our logo all the time
Kristi
Design crowd was relatively easy to use, highly productive and gave me tremendous designs to choose from. My experience interacting with designers was very positive and their designs kept improving with my feedback.
Erika
My experience with DesignCrowd was stellar. I received over 100 great designs over the course of 2 days. The hardest part was deciding which one to choose. I prefer this platform to working with an individual because you get to see several approaches to your project. I was really satisfied with the results. It was easy to input all info and I got the results I wanted.
Patricia kingsland
Easy to use, reliable and conciencious service. I will definitely use again
DUCATUM LLC
I wanted a very specific ambience set by my logo. Loved working with DesignCrowd because I had talented designers from around the globe working on my design. Superior product at an incredible price. Thanks.
PFMolloy
Have used them three times, two fantastic successes and one so-so, but the company itself has always been responsive to the max and I have no hesitation recommending the platform. I will certainly use them again when my need arises.
AutoRealty Consulting P/L
My experience with Design Crowd was not only an absolute pleasure, but more importantly....seamless transaction. Very Talented pool of designers with ‘Pizzaz’!
KANDEENA PTY LTD
Received many logos to choose from. The one we choose could not have been better. The designer took on board we requests and made changes as we wanted.
R Cumming
I had over 30 designs submitted for my company logo, at least 10 of which were high quality. I worked with one designer to create the logo I wanted.
Colby Myers
The only reason they get a star is because I received many different logo options, otherwise they would get a zero. This company has wasted so much of my time and money. They are incompetent and don't care enough to reach out by phone even if you ask them to. The people they have working there do not know what they are doing. I have been working with them for more than 2 weeks to get my email signature design done and it is still not working. They won't even make it the way you want and don't tell you that until after you pay them. Getting logo revisions by the designer I chose was like pulling teeth. My specific designer could not even follow the most simple of instructions. I would ask him to change a color to black for example and he would send it back with green over and over and over this happened. One of Designcrowd's US based customer care consultants finally had to step in. My advise to you is to stay away, it is not worth the headache!!
Trevor B
Tried to get a t-shirt designed but the designs I was presented were a joke.
Disattisfied Business
The designs I received didn't match my request at all. The majority didn't even use the colors I asked. When I looked at each designers profile, I could see they just substituted my initials in other logos they did for other projects. Zero time, thought or attention. I spent a week looking at all the submissions and was not left with a logo that I could use. Then they didn't stand by their "guarantee" and only gave a partial refund. BEWARE. Don't use this company
Osan
We received terrible designs. We trusted their promise of "full refund", but it turns out they keep 55Eur out of 165Eur payment. We feel cheated and we do not recommend this dishonest marketplace to anybody.
Michael Collins
I have used/paid DesignCrowd multiple times for logo designs but will never use them again. I hate their process. I had only 1 designer working on my logo, who it's important to note I couldn't pick, DesignCrowd automatically picked him. He was based in Venezuala and worked slowly all the while, DesignCrowd had me on a deadline timer that was running out fast. I did not like the logos and to spare the designer trouble, I asked DesignCrowd to cancel the project and refund my money as they proudly proclaim to do. Due to small print on a seperate page, they were only refunding me part of my money and they were keeping 1/3 of it. What a waste of time, I'll gladly refer and use a competiting service instead.
aanda
I had several projects running on this website. This is the worst way to find a good design. First, it is not as cheap as it seems. Non guaranteed projects are at least $40 even if you choose not to finish the project. 100% refund guarantee is actually not 100%. Second you pay the amount they ask, but the designers gets almost 50% of what you pay. Absolutely unfair to the designer. And if the designer knows about it, they will not give 100% of their effort. Getting hundreds of submissions do not equal to hundreds of QUALITY submissions. there are designers who submit unoriginal or copied proposals. Some are very rude. Others speak no english. Some can not deliver the files that are necessary. In many cases it is a headache. In my experience I found it much more useful to find a good local designer that can communicate and that can deliver everything I am asking for, since a logo is not just a logo. If you love your company, you need to care about it's message, it's look, it's position from the start. Designing a logo, requires all info about the colors, fonts, idea behind it and many other things. If you are ready to spend $500 on a design, you better be ready to spend twice as much and find someone who knows what a logo means and how to deliver everything you need and can guarantee that they will work with you later as needed. A qualified designer knows how important a relationship is and he/she values it. Don't forget, a logo is not just an image... You want someone who does it all. You do not want someone who makes only one thing and then you switch to someone else. Things might not fit... Also designcrowd's customer service sucks. they need more training. Some have no idea how to treat a customer.
Lee
You have to baby sit the designers using designcrowd
Edyta Lee
While googling logos ideas for my business, I stumbled upon Design Crowd. I was directed to a designer, who previously designed logo I liked. I agreed to work with this designer and naively processed a payment in the amount $101 dollars. From that point things started going downhill. First, the designer sent me a message in Spanish ( a language I don’t speak). Since I couldn’t understand her, one of costumer service members did the back and forth translating for us. Next the designer messaged me directly, communicating in perfect English..... I was looking for a simple logo of a men/ woman head for my Hair Salon. The designer Novi11, followed my requested, but kept delivering samples of logos that looked the opposite to what simple means. She made corrections, like I asked her to, but kept sending logos with strange face expressions. At one point she included a photo (I never asked ask for ) of a red- hair womam with “ creepy “ look in her eyes, ( my 13 year daughters observation). I realized that the designer is not going to deliver what I needed. I called the costumer service and quickly learned that I am not going to be able to switch to a different designer or get a refund. I offered to pay the designer for her time so I could just get out of this situation. I learned my lesson. The DesignCrowd made me feel like I was a difficult client, and cared more about keeping my money than helping me with the project. I spent $101, and walked away without the logo. Be careful!! BTW, I am not the first unhappy customer, before you hire Design Crowd for your project, check the online reviews, including complaints from BBB.
John Martin
Worst option for any developer. They don't know how to create a rating system. If you are new there, you don't have a rating and aren't even eligible for submitting your work to most area. Then when you do submit your work, it's put on hold and the bid closes before anyone can even view it. Their entire website is screwed up and obviously some kind of setup so that they can just scam half your earnings off of you if you do manage to make anything.
Catalina
High volume. Low quality. One good design was a ripoff from an existing logo that couldn't be trademarked. So nothing usable. They still charged $90 "posting fee" when I got nothing in return, and a lot of wasted time and effort. Very frustrating. Ripoff.
Grace
I'm a designer, but none of my designs made it past their quality control team. I followed the guidelines, but my designs were rejected for no given reason. Nothing I made even made it in front of the client. The site works by pitting designers against each other for very small pay. We waste time on creating designs without the normal careful consultation that normally happens when working 1:1. Each design is really just a shot in the dark. If you're a customer who can't afford to work directly with a designer, you're honestly better off designing something yourself using canva or logojoy. If you're a designer, designcrowd is a black hole - get out!
LONDON
Their designer could not deliver and said so himself. They charged me a fee anyway. A hefty $40 fee they took and would not refund on a $99 gig. The 100% refund is really not a 100% refund. Do yourself a favor and use Fiverr instead or another company. This one is a scam that will not deliver but still take your money.
Brian
I used their service and the designs were horrible. I only used their service due to the "money back guarantee". I asked for a refund and to cancel the project after just 2 days. BUYER BEWARE: Read the fine print. They keep a whole lot of money. In my case, 32% they kept. The website makes it appear you will be issued a full refund but when you read the fine print they keep a "posting fee". Wow, I don't expect them to be in business long with shady practices like this, I would never use this service again nor recommend any of my friends to use it. There are many other crowdsourcing sites that probably do much better. I have used some of them and always gotten outstanding work.
Max Cheong
I am so disappointed with the whole experience. I was not aware of not getting my money back when electing " commit the project budget ", which I wish I'd never done, as there's no refund policy warmed, but a false encouragement to get more designers involved only if you tick that. The designs I have received were absolutely appalling, some I left comments on, most of them literally came out truly shocking. If you wanted a nasty, downmarket looking logo made by a "designer" from Bangladesh, DesignCrowd would be your best bet.
Arif
Quality logo for my business card. Awesome customer service too.
Brit
I was eager to try DesignCrowd to have my small business logo designed and after reading some reviews, I thought it was worth a shot. After all, there was a money back guarantee (excluding a small posting fee). I had my creative brief posted for two weeks and received about 35 designs, all extremely amateur. However, I posted feedback for each design with clear instruction on how to tailor the design to fit my brand. Some designers failed to respond and others completely ignored my feedback. After the two weeks was over, I was asked to pick my winning design or forfeit my money. So, I connected with DesignCrowd and asked them for a refund, given the poor submission quality. To their credit, they did refund 80% of it, but kept 20% for themselves, despite nothing near a final product being provided. I responded requesting all the money (everything except my processing fee of $9), but they said because at least one designer submitted something, they are authorized to keep 20% (see the fine print). This is infuriating. If this review service had an upload section, I would show you how poor some of the designs were (created in paint). Please beware of DesignCrowd.
trend
to stressful for designers hours of work and 1 rating in some point you feel exscusting and humiliating as a person -totally not worth it
C M O
I tried DesignCrowd out as another outlet to reputable freelancer websites I've been using for the last 8yrs. Another resource, etc. DesignCrowd has to be the most convoluted, strange freelance website I have ever seen! Their guidelines for submitting projects is vague and their review process to get "verified" on their site is unspeakable equally vague. "Something is rotten in Denmark" so to speak. I hope someone will shut them down as they're using up graphic designers time and clients time and making the bulk of their money off the $59.00 client fees. I have found quite a few client reviews of DesignCrowd where the client has received nothing for their $59.00 sign up fee. I don't have time to pursue this as I'm a freelancer working to earn a living but if anyone wants to help shut DesignCrowd down I'd be more then willing to help! This is another freelancer opportunity that only comes with the Free Lance: through the designer and the client. Nothing good here as far as I can see..... Hope someone reads this and ends up better informed then I was and I'm not internet freelance ignorant at all - this is a good song and dance site that's paying to keep the truth at bay.
Dean
This site is terrible. From experience, I could have had a logo of similar quality designed for $25 (10% of what I paid on Design Crowd) on Guru or Elance. I was very disappointed and couldn't get my money back despite them sneakily advertising a money back guarantee. If I chose to get a refund, they (Design Crowd) would keep about US$60 as a 'booking fee', about a quarter of what I paid upfront! To make matters worse, it is impossible to get in touch with customer service. I also had a $50 voucher which I was unable to use because, again, I couldn't get in touch with customer service! Save yourself the hassle (and money) and go to Guru instead!
Max A
Horrible experience and a total ripoff. I put in a design for a 12 page guide. The designer provided 1 page as a sample, and said the remaining 11 would be provided once I picked a design. After choosing the winner, all the designer delivered was just plain pages with no design for the remaining pages, and with quality way below what was in the original sample. Called customer support to use the money back guarantee and they haven't provided it. If customer support turns this around I could change my review but so far this is an awful experience. Feels like I just had $500 stolen from me with nothing to show for it.
Kyle B
Horrible Experience. They false advertise their money back guarantee - they decided to keep 25% of our project budget as "posting fees". After reading other reviews, this number always seems to change. There is no set value for a posting fees - poor ethics. The design quality was way below expectations. Not one designer could wrap their head around what the ask was - everyone kept submitting similar designs. Their customer service centre seems to be offshore somewhere - two service calls ended in silence due to a dead line. When I complained about the false advertising of the money back guarantee I was told too bad and hung up on. If you decide to go the crowd sourcing route for a design, I would HIGHLY recommend using another service.
Allison Rudd
Seamless process. Enjoyed receiving so many designs. In the process of launching another project with Design Crowd. Thank you Design Crowd!
Richard Vincenti
Very easy to work with. Highly recommend!
Uzziah Thomas
First time using designcrowd, and I must say it was not easy to pick the best one out of so many talented graphic designers with unique designs. Eventually do you find what you are looking for. I will be back for more projects.
Karen
It was an easy seamless process to launch my logo design project. I was pleasantly surprised by how many great designs i received (>250). The difficult part was choosing just one. DesignCrowd's telephone support service was good too. Karen
Stefano
I am very satisfied have looked for a suitable logo and have luckily found one. The only thing that bothered me the really everyone here a design can submit. To 80% was only bad quality available.
Ian Inglis
Very slick and professional and so very useful for those in need of any type of design service.
Matthijs
Great service. within 1 day already 45 design in my account. The only 'problem' was that is was hard to choose one winner. So many creative designs. And also the communication with all the designers went very quick and easy.
Chris Chadwick
We wanted a new logo to re-launch an existing estate agency. As you do, we looked to the internet for inspiration and found a great logo by a Design Crowd designer. Not wanting to step on any toes, we approached this one designed and am thrilled at how the experience was managed, the interaction from Design Crowd and the designer. I will definitely recommend and would be very happy to use them again in the future.
Ilana Levitt
Great service. Loved the outcome. Fun to get all the designs from all over the world. Thank you design crowd!
Saj Ali
Great company, great service, very simple to use, the designer was amazing. Thank you
Lachlan
Excellent service, made my logo design a breeze, plenty of quality designs and very capable designers happy to work with you Toto win the job.
Paul Knopf
The graphic specialist who helped me design my business card was professional, courteous, and prompt. I'm very pleased with the final product. Thank you! Paul Knopf, Evanston, Wyoming
Meagan Shand
Prompt service, quick response and fair pricing.
Rita M Bowden
Thank you so much for my new logo! I had many changes even a complete new concept and you were on board with my changes. I love it!
Carlos Hernandez
Service was great. Received way more logos than expected (over 150), all great designs and very creative. The first designs came in only hours. The hard part was making the decision on which one to pick.