99designs Reviews Summary
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
This site screwed me over as a designer. A few years ago I entered a contest and after multiple (and I DO mean multiple) revisions, emails, messages from the client (I'm telling you, I lost track of the time I had stuck into this logo - I mean, the guy was SO demanding, he had me nearly in tears a couple of times), I was told I was going to be chosen as the winner. The time came for the contest to end and lo and behold, I was not chosen as the winner. Ok, that was a waste of time, but no big deal, right? Wrong. Come to find out, the company used my logo anyway! They saved my design, created a vector version of it (something any designer could do) and used it. It was on their website, on their clothing. It was their whole identity! I contacted 99designs about this problem and they basically told me, "Suck it up buttercup. There's nothing we can do!" Never again will I work with 99designs.
Great way to get a broad range of concepts resulting in a unique design. Great resource for small businesses who are on a budget. I also love that you can get a design in as little as 2-3 days if you are on a tight timeline.
Hi there Shelley,
Thank you for your feedback! It's always a delight to hear that our Global Creative Platform was able to help small businesses find a design they love! We wish your business all the best and we hope to get to work with you again in the future.:)
- Jerlyn from 99designs
The support is awesome but i belive they should be more transparent.
We pay 299$ for the logo. How much of it doesnt 99design take?
Hi Mohamed,
Thank you for the feedback and glad to hear that you were able to get support for your concerns. As a global creative platform, it is our duty to not only cater to our clients but also to the designers so we make sure to do our best to be as transparent and as fair as possible to all involved. Prizes for each design contests are posted for designers to view so they know what they're getting if they win. We will make sure to work on this more and be transparent to both clients and designers.
- Jerlyn from 99designs
They suspend accounts for more than a year without any explanation and they took the money from that account and never activate that account again. It was the worst experience ever in my designer career.
Hi Jovica,
Sorry to hear you did not have the best experience. We do not actually hire designers—it is free to sign up and our community consists of several hundred thousand designers from all over the world.
We do always pay the winning designer the prize amount, except in rare cases in which it breaches our copyright rules where we would have to allow the customer the option of choosing another design to legally protect them. You can read more about these rules here: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204761075-What-are-the-rules-for-participating-on-99designs-
Once a designer has won a contest and the design transfer is complete, they are paid in credits, which they can exchange for cash by making a payout request to the payment provider of their choice: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204108719-How-and-when-do-I-get-paid-
Our support team is happy to look into your account to see why you have not yet received payment for a won contest if you could let us know your username.
https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
- Jerlyn from 99designs
Very user-friendly platform, intuitive to use. Great designers on board and the contest option is a great way to get your concept into practice and implementation. Great value for money.
Hi Eitan,
We are very excited to hear that you had a pleasant experience. Thank you for coming to us for your design needs and we look forward to working with you again soon!
- Jerlyn from 99designs
Book cover to logo to webpage designs, 99designs and its designers and systems are creating concepts for me that serve my desires with excellence. For me or my clients, an unintended result of using 99design is that I'm inspired by all of the creativity and competition I'm immersed in... SIMPLY AWESOME! Thank you 99design and designers. -T
Hi Teresa,
Thank you for your feedback and for trusting us with all your design needs.:)
As a global creative platform, it is our mission to connect you with designers to create a design you'll love whether be it for a logo, book cover or webpage design; be it through a design contest or a 1:1 project. We sincerely appreciate your loyalty and we look forward to more design contests and projects to come!
- Jerlyn from 99designs
The companies don't pay you and they steal your design. Don't use. Only if you expect not to be paid
Hi Sean,
Sorry to hear you did not have the best experience. We do not actually hire designers—it is free to sign up and our community consists of several hundred thousand designers from all over the world.
We do always pay the winning designer the prize amount, except in rare cases in which it breaches our copyright rules where we would have to allow the customer the option of choosing another design to legally protect them. You can read more about these rules here: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204761075-What-are-the-rules-for-participating-on-99designs-
Once a designer has won a contest and the design transfer is complete, they are paid in credits, which they can exchange for cash by making a payout request to the payment provider of their choice: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204108719-How-and-when-do-I-get-paid-
Our support team is happy to look into your account to see why you have not yet received payment for a won contest if you could let us know your username.
https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
- Jerlyn from 99designs
The all concept, the details and the process of 99Designs is very well done and professional! However in the first drafts I got few designs of the logo and when I asked for adjustments I had to commit 100% that is fine, but that all depends on the designers you get! One of them was very willing and quick on doing revisions, others not really and one refused all together, instead giving me advise on what to do... At last I picked a logo and then purchased another design package that offers the business card, branding and facebook cover for an extra $250 and that was fine. However that was done quickly and not as nice! Most important for me was to get the original and editable files, instead I the files they sent me are all flattened out, not quite editable and for the fonts they just gave me the name, not the actual original. Even if that would be a separate charge I would be willing to pay for if but they should have give me that option and say that before... Maybe any other customer may be more lucky and get everything done super nice because the concept and the process are very nicely done!
Hi Roberto,
We appreciate your feedback!
We're so sorry to hear that your experience with your design contest is not as pleasant as you expected. Our mission is to provide clients with a design that they love with scalable and editable deliverables. If you can reach out to us directly at -https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new, we'd be happy to assist you and make sure you receive the editable files you need.
We look forward to working with you to resolve this.
- Jerlyn from 99designs
Just wrapped up a contest for a new company logo. Wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for, but would know one I saw it. After completing the best as thoroughly as possible, designers from all over submitted some really creative samples. When you get a lot of designs, it can seem daunting, but once you get into the flow, it starts coming together pretty quick. Would certainly give this a shot again.
Hey Kevin,
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the process. :) We understand that it can be overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it, it will get easier. Our customer support team is also here to help you in anyway we can so please make sure to contact us via chat, email or phone for all things design contest.
We thank you for trusting in our service with your design need and we hope to get to work with you again soon!
- Jerlyn from 99designs
This site had not only great designers but also great ability to grasp your abstract ideas to making them into a reality. Customer service was great and the responsiveness along with revised submissions were done with little to no time. Quick and efficient. If you are looking to get a logo done and have a deadline to meet, this is the company for you. Definitely recommending this to anyone who is looking for a graphic designer. Cheers!
Hi Alex,
Than you for your feedback!:)
So glad to hear that we're able to help you find a logo design that you love. Rest assured that not only we will keep the quality of service we are offering but also to improve on it further. As a global creative platform, our mission is to connect you with designers and help you find a design you'll love - and we're happy that we're able to fulfill that.
Thank you for the trust you put in the service and we hope to work with you again with your future design needs.:)
- Jerlyn from 99designs
This site was recommend to me by a graphic designer who gently let me know we couldn't afford his services. After my first 99designs experience, I know I'll go this route again in the future regardless of how much money I have to spend. We were amazed by how many designs we had to choose from--and we actually had a lot of fun with the process! The poll feature was incredibly helpful. We reached out to customer service on multiple occasions with questions about the process and were always pleased with the answers we received and the quality of service. Will definitely use this service again in the future and have already recommended it to others!
Hi Emily,
We appreciate your feedback!
It is our honor to be able to help you find a design that you love and it's great to hear that you had fun while doing so. :) As a global creative platform, it is our mission to connect designers and clients into achieving a great custom design! Thank you for trusting us with your design need and we look forward to your future projects!:)
- Jerlyn from 99designs
99 Designs from beginning to end was so professional. Their communication is better than most businesses. When I called the company they would call me back immediately.
I bought their logo service. Great price! All the designers were so professional! The designer who won CUBE is an incredibly creative artist. I received rave reviews from everyone I showed it to. If I need anything else done I would honestly just go back to this company.
Hi Deborah,
Thank you for the feedback!:)
It was a pleasure to be able to work with you in getting a custom design you love! Rest assured that we will keep providing good customer service and we hope to see you back in the platform soon and we wish you all the best!:)
- Jerlyn from 99designs
Was running a contest to design a mascot got all the way to the end and only found one designer was worth dealing with. I called up and asked for advice on how I could only work with the one designer so I didn't lead the other designers on.
The advice came back from 99 Designs to eliminate all of the finalist and just work with the designer you like, which I did. With three days from the end of the contest I had a call from 99 designs saying the brief wasn't clear and the finalists you eliminated weren't happy. Also you are expecting to many illustrations from your designers so could you find a winner and create another 1 on 1 Project with the winner to finish the illustrations.
That would be another $400AUD. (I don't think so 99 designs)
I stressed to the caller from 99 designs to please sort this out as time was a problem for me as I had a deadline to produce a mascot in three days. She said that she will call back that day and let me know the outcome!
I had no one called me and once I got home from work I found out the contest has been put in dispute and will be resolved and 59 days!
All the work and time put into the contest from myself and the designers was gone!
Thanks for wasting my time and the designers time! I will not be using 99 designs for a contest again!
We started our project using another platform - it was a bad experience due to the design quality being very poor. We came back to 99designs (which we'd used years ago) and ended up having so many good designs, we struggled to choose a winner. We'd definitely start a design project with 99designs again and not bother going elsewhere. And we're glad we paid for the top-level designers - it really showed in the work quality!
Hi Cheryl,
Thank you for the feedback! Glad to have you back in the platform and we're always happy to help you with your custom design needs. :) We look forward to your next project and should you need our assistance, our Customer Support Team is eager to help you in anyway we can.
- Jerlyn from 99designs
My company has used 99designs for 6 different logo projects and 5 out of 6 times the designs were amazing and the end result perfect. One time was very good, but probably not well thought out on our end. I have found that you get what you pay for, and I always go for the Gold package and am never disappointed. Don't know what is wrong with the 1-star reviewers--possibly they didn't have a good brief, or wanted a great design for little money. We have had nothing but great experience and I could not recommend this company higher. Make sure you give feedback to the designers. If you don't like something, tell them why so they don't keep going the wrong direction. Give feedback every few hours--don't waste the designers time allowing them to go a certain direction that you don't like without giving them direction. If you need to, send a message to all designers to tell them "stop using red", or "don't use any versions of human symbols" etc so they have direction. There are some amazing designers here and you will get out of it what you put into it. Give timely feedback and you will be amazed at the quality of the work you will get. And it comes very quickly and at a price that cannot be beat.
Hi Jim,
We appreciate your feedback!:)
Thank you for trusting us with your custom design needs and we're always happy to help you find a design that you'll love. Your thoughtful tips on how to run a design contest is great, especially for first time contest holders. It's awesome to hear it from a client first-hand and we hope to work with you with more of your design needs soon.
- Jerlyn from 99designs
I had never done anything like this before and I enjoyed navigating the website. I got some designers that didn't match with my style and they quickly were declined. New ones popped up immediately and I enjoyed working with several right up until I picked the winner.
Hi Carolyn,
We're very excited to hear about your design contest's outcome. It's our pleasure to be able to help you find a custom design that you truly loved and it's great to hear you get to work and connect with many of our great designers.:)
We hope to work with you again in the future and wishing you all the best!
- Jerlyn from 99designs
My contest for the book cover design was so enjoyable and the process of involving my clients and friends in voting had such a positive impact and I got such positive feedback from them. I highly recommend it.
Hi Randa,
Thank you for the feedback!
We're thrilled to hear about your great design contest experience! :) It's our pleasure to help you find a custom book cover design that you and your colleagues really love.
Looking forward to seeing the book published and we hope to see you again in the platform with your future design need.
- Jerlyn from 99designs
My designer account was suspended and I received a template e-mail which didn't specify the concrete reason for suspension. Even tried talking to their support but I got only a copy-pasted answer.
An entry I worked hard for and got great feedback from the client was deleted without any notification.
I have not received any answer from them regarding this issue.
I do not recommend this website at all.
Edit: The only design in my portfolio was chosen as a winner by the client, which invalidates quality as a reason for suspension.
Hi Istvan,
Thank you for the feedback and we're so sorry if your designer account got suspended. I was able to check your account and it looks like our team has temporarily suspended it for quality.
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
Poor quality; didn't like any of the designs. Didn't look professional and all were unusable. I should've vetted the designers first but was unable too.
Hi Linda,
We're so sorry to hear that your experience with your design contest was not as good as you expected. We still appreciate the feedback and know that we hear your concerns to better our service. If you can please send us an email through https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new so we can look at your contest for review and see how we can resolve your concern. You may also call us at any of these numbers, whichever is convenient for you:
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
We look forward to resolving this with you!
- Jerlyn from 99designs
99 Designs delivered! I got the logo I was hoping for for my Look Mom, No Leash! Dog training business, thanks to great designers entering my contest; and the customer service was stellar when I needed help.
Everything positive I had read about this company, and the process itself, was exactly as written and frankly I was not expecting that to be so. It's no wonder they are such a successful company.
Hi Kevin,
We sincerely appreciate your feedback! It was our pleasure to be able to help you find a custom design that you truly love and we're happy to always be of help with any of your concerns. Thank you for trusting in the platform and we hope to see you again on the site soon!:)
Wishing you all the best!
- Jerlyn from 99designs
From the business
99designs is the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers + clients to work together to create designs they love.
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you for brining this to our attention and we're really sorry to hear about your experience with the design contest. I want to assure you that we take matters like this seriously and our designer support team is always happy to help! Please feel free to contact them at: https://support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
We will look forward to your email!
- Jerlyn from 99designs