Can you also make a better elance/odesk just for programmers? Seriously; elance isn't it and the average hourly rate on there is about $10.
Show HN: A better elance just for designers
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Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#22Can you also make a better elance/odesk just for programmers? Seriously; elance isn't it and the average hourly rate on there is about $10.
Is this possible? I get the impression that any such websites will always simply draw such rates, because that's what the market is willing to pay. I'm not talking about the market in general. I'm talking about the market that would be attracted to browse such websites. Anyone who's willing to pay more, they do things like browse github profiles. No?
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#23If you are reading this and would actually like to hire a proven designer today, take a look at https://scoutzie.com . We have a fabulous curated group of designers, many of whom are ready to start today. You can can browse through their portfolio work and past client reviews. Send messages to as many matching designers are you like; work with the one that matches you best. More on how Scoutzie works here - https://s…
How do you feel about http://99designs.com , in particular the competition model in regards to design? I've personally used them a few times with vary levels of success. It is particular useful for lightweight projects such as logo designs.
I used 99designs to get a book cover designed and I was very happy with the results. My designer was responsive, friendly, and made a wonderful design that went above and beyond what I was expecting.
However, I was unhappy with how little the designer actually received. I paid $799 to run the competition, and the winning designer only got $387! Charging >50% commission seems highly exploitative, especially when all the designers who don't get selected receive nothing at all despite spending spending time creating designs.
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#24If you are reading this and would actually like to hire a proven designer today, take a look at https://scoutzie.com . We have a fabulous curated group of designers, many of whom are ready to start today. You can can browse through their portfolio work and past client reviews. Send messages to as many matching designers are you like; work with the one that matches you best. More on how Scoutzie works here - https://s…
How do you feel about http://99designs.com , in particular the competition model in regards to design? I've personally used them a few times with vary levels of success. It is particular useful for lightweight projects such as logo designs.
I both despise and admire 99designs. Let me tell you why.
From the point of view of being a business, they did a very good job. They went for the lowest end of the market, where at a typical price point on 99d, clients don't require a lot of hand-holding. Instead, the illusion of value is delivered to clients by the fact that many designers compete to create something for you. They have captured the cheap-and-fast market well.
From the point of creating value, however, I am really not a big fan of 99d. I do know some people who had some level of success there, but I know a lot more who spent money only to get back some very crappy results.
The mechanics of a cheap marketplace simply don't allow for value. Designers have no incentive to spend time working for you, because the odds of them getting paid are really low. They are, in fact, incentivized to produce the bare minimum at the fastest speed possible.
At the end of the day, you may feel like 20 people worked for you and one was the winner, but in reality, you only got the minimum attention and effort.
I wrote a little more on this topic before, in case you're interested: https://medium.com/startup-shenanigans/66896bbf21da
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you feel about http://99designs.com , in particular the competition model in regards to design? I've personally used them a few times with vary levels of success. It is particular useful for lightweight projects such as logo designs.
I used 99designs to get a book cover designed and I was very happy with the results. My designer was responsive, friendly, and made a wonderful design that went above and beyond what I was expecting. However, I was unhappy with how little the designer actually received. I paid $799 to run the competition, and the winning designer only got $387! Charging >50% commission seems highly exploitative, especially when all t…
See my comment to the person above, /re why competitions are soul-sucking experiences for designers.
Also, to your point about charging 50%+. Word is, 99Designs used to do very well, up until the point when the founder took on a huge VC investment and left the company. I guess since their business model is pretty much tapped out, they figured that raising margins would fix the slow growth.
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#26Dear Pixelfold team, the graph icon above "2. The community votes" on the site looks like someone's showing a middle finger! You may want to change it, considering the impression you want to create as a community of top designers.
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#27How would you go about preventing elitism from creeping in, given its self-curating nature?
I think that the self-curating aspect is probably better at preventing elitism than an invite based system. That way it is not so much about who you know but more about how good you are.
Potentially true, though I would imagine it depends on the size of the initial pool. Otherwise, if its small, I think you'll see bias in the selection of the early members which will carry forward.
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#28Dear Pixelfold team, the graph icon above "2. The community votes" on the site looks like someone's showing a middle finger! You may want to change it, considering the impression you want to create as a community of top designers.
And the pencil icon above #3 "Great projects find you" looks like a penis. Sorry, but I looked over the page and definitely saw a graph and a piece of paper/pencil. I think there are a LOT of icons and illustrations that we can look at and see something unintended (not always a bad thing!)but just because this happens doesn't mean the design in question is bad.
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#29Can you also make a better elance/odesk just for programmers? Seriously; elance isn't it and the average hourly rate on there is about $10.
Is this possible? I get the impression that any such websites will always simply draw such rates, because that's what the market is willing to pay. I'm not talking about the market in general. I'm talking about the market that would be attracted to browse such websites. Anyone who's willing to pay more, they do things like browse github profiles. No?
I don't know any better than you. But my guess is that if you set a minimum hourly rate and also had peer reviewed contractors, that you would attract clientele willing to pay more.
Re: Show HN: A better elance just for designers
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would recommend www.folyo.me. I posted a job there recently and got 20 high quality leads.
> "Posting a project on Folyo costs $99." Is a bit of a turn-off for small projects where design cost will likely only be $400-500.
That's actually on purpose. We try to encourage larger projects with a higher budget, because we don't want to compete with 99designs and other similar sites at the lower end of the market.