How to compete with crowdsourcing
June 1st, 2010
For the majority of freelance designers and design firms the rise of crowdsourcing is quite unsettling. The growing demand for cheap commoditized design is growing and severely undercutting the industry. This article on Sixrevisions got me thinking about this issue and how it relates to my business and other designers in my position. While I’m not going to write on the evils or merits of the crowdsourcing trend, I do want to share some thoughts that I had while thinking about my own business and what I need to do to compete.
1. Face Reality
Sometimes, truth hurts, but, it’s best to face it head on. The fact is, crowdsourcing is not going away anytime soon. From the business side of things I can see why it is gaining steam: low cost & choice. This is very appealing to small businesses with tight budgets, especially in lean times. For this reason, I think that this segment of the industry is going to be around for a long time. That’s the reality. Accepting this, I think, is the first step to readjusting to the new reality marketplace. Whining about it wont help anything.
2. Focus on Your Value Proposition
We all know that this is important in any kind of business. It’s what sets you apart from the rest of your competitors. It is what keeps your clients coming to you again, and again. Now, more than ever, it’s time to refine and refocus your value proposition. What makes your business unique? What value can you bring that the crowdsourcing sites cannot bring? Why is that worth the cost? These are questions that I am currently sorting out again in my own business. It can be a difficult task, but well worth it in the end.
3. Focus on Client Relationships
One of the huge negatives of croudsourcing is the lack of relationship between the designer and the client. As you probably already know, business is ALL about relationship. Why do I go pay double to get my haircut by my hairdresser rather than go to supercuts? Because I like my hairdresser, she’s nice. She gets me a cup of coffee (good coffee, not some instant crap) when I go to get my haircut. She asks me about what’s going on in my personal life and takes an interest. This is all pretty basic stuff. But it keeps me going back. Why would I go somewhere else? Even if she raised her rates, I wouldn’t even think of not going to her. Focusing on building quality relationships with clients that go beyond just the work that’s being done can add tremendous value to your services. Raise the bar. Care more. Remember the little things. This crowdsourcing cannot compete with.
4. Expand Your Skill Set
You’ve heard the term “Jack of all trades, master of none” before I’m sure. In this day and age, however, I think it’s to the designer’s advantage to know a bit of everything. Specialize in something, for sure, but don’t plateau. Expand your skill set to accommodate your client’s future needs. It may mean branching out into UX design, or learning a new scripting language. These things can make you more valuable to clients. If you’ve already formed a strong relationship with them they will be coming to you to solve their problem. It would be a shame to turn them away because what they need is not in your skill set.
5. Don’t Give Up
There will always be Walmart, and there will always be Neiman Marcus, and there will always be a market for both. I see this time as an opportunity to contrast my strengths with crowdsourcing’s weaknesses. I’m embracing the market reality, telling people about the real value of my services, taking excellent care of my clients, and adding more skills to my skill set. This is how I plan to compete.
How about you? Do you have plans on how you are going to compete? Or is crowdsourcing a non-issue to you? I’d love to hear what you think.
Tags: Business, Crowdsourcing, Design
Posted in Business, Graphic Design, Web Design ·
Killing the Artist
May 28th, 2010
One of the hardest things to learn, when venturing out on your own in the design world, is that you shouldn’t be too attached emotionally to your work. Clients come to you for a creative solution to their problem, and they trust that you are going to provide them that solution. Some clients give you all the freedom in the world and let you have your way with their website, brochure or whatever. These projects are always a pleasure to work on because it feeds the artist that is in most of us. For the most part, however, clients have their own idea of what the end result should look like, generally. Sometimes they have preconceived idea, or they simply do not like what you have done after they see your first iteration. There are times when it doesn’t matter how detailed a brief you get or how many interviews you do, sometimes you just miss the mark. They don’t like your design for some reason or another, valid, or invalid—dosen’t really matter. This is where you have to kill the artist in yourself and think like a business person.
What’s so bad about the artist?
An artist creates works of art that are expressions of his thoughts and feelings. He is attached to his work emotionally as it is essentially part of him. While most designers are artists at some level, and artistic sensibilities play a huge role in crafting effective design, the artist must not be Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Client Relations, Creativity, Web Design
Posted in Business, Process, Web Design ·
15 Incredibly useful jQuery navigation tutorials
May 26th, 2010
Having a clear, usable navigation system in place is key to any website design. There are many things you can do with CSS to spice up the navigation and make it more interesting and click-able. But you can take it a step further by using some cool jQuery techniques. Listed below are some amazing tutorials that will help you learn some great techniques to incorporate into your designs. Check them out and let me know what you think!
Mega Drop Down Menus w/ CSS & jQuery
Tags: jQuery, Navigation, Web Design
Posted in Development, Navigation, Tutorials, Web Design ·
This week’s super nice website – David Fooks
May 18th, 2010
I’m always on the lookout for well designed websites. I love seeing the innovation that talented web designers bring to their projects. It’s both inspiring and motivating. Every week, I’ll be posting an article that features a favorite site that I’ve discovered. I’ll breakdown what I like about it and why. I hope that these articles will inspire you.
This weeks pick: David Fooks
David Fooks has done well with his little portfolio site. He keeps it minimal, but maintains interest throughout the site.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Inspiration, Web Design
Posted in Best Practices, Graphic Design, Web Design ·
