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CrowdSPRING is for the Artistically-Inclined

What is CrowdSPRING?

CrowdSPRING is an organization taking advantage of online crowdsourcing for custom logo design, web design, graphic design, industrial design and writing services. It is a marketplace where companies buy the services of writers and designers.

Buyers Post Their Projects

Buyers post their projects in CrowdSPRING. These projects are either a writing project or a design project. For example, a writing project can be about giving a new company a name and a tagline. A buyer will specify what he is looking for in a company name and its tagline. The image that the name and tagline should project must be in accordance to what the buyer wants. That image would be something the company stands for or aims to be. Examples of other companies’ names and taglines which the buyer likes may also be given. Sometimes, even the way the names and taglines sound when spoken is specified by the buyer. You see, some buyers can be very specific and a little kooky. After all they are paying for it so I guess it is justifiable. A buyer specifies how much he is willing to pay an artist for his services that will meet his requirements. On top of that amount, a buyer also pays a 15% commission to CrowdSPRING for hosting his projects and giving him access to CrowdSPRING’s community of talented artists. A deadline is set buy the buyer for all artists’ submissions. When the time is up for submissions, a buyer will take his time to review all the submissions. There are almost always hundreds of submissions. In fact, CrowdSPRING mentions an average of 110 or more submissions for each project. A buyer will give the submissions its corresponding numerical score which is a measure of how much he likes or hates a particular submission. Not all submissions are given a score, maybe that’s how bad some submissions suck that they are not even worth a buyers time to lift his finger to type a single-digit number as a score. Or maybe, there are just too many submissions and the buyer was just tired or what not. I think all buyers should give every single submission a score because that is the only prize non-winning submissions get, a simple acknowledgement that it was looked at however briefly the looking at might had been. After some time of deliberation, a buyer will then announce that he has picked one submission that he liked the best. Only one submission will be chosen, there are no second or third prizes, the winner takes it all. Most of the time, a buyer will personally communicate with a few of his potential winners to make little adjustments to the submission before everything is finalized and a winner chosen.

Artists Submit Their Works of Art

Artists submit their works of art for the project they decided to participate in. Submission is voluminous. Submissions, naturally can be either a design or a writing service. I would say that the effort exerted by artists varies depending on the requirements of a project. It can be relatively easy such as giving names or taglines, or it can be quite involved such as designing a web or a wine bottle packaging. I know how artists invest in their works of art, it is a labor of love. I would say that their submissions not only contain countless hours of toil but as well as a great deal of their soul. I know artists because I consider myself as one. Also, I know that they can be a little too fragile. In this I see a potential for a tragedy because of the inherent rejection that is in CrowdSPRING. Because of the large number of submissions, it is expected that the rate of rejection is high. Rejections can easily break some artists. Trust me, I know. Even if we don’t consider the emotional aspect of rejections, practicality-wise I found it quite devastating to work hours and hours and catch every little drop of inspiration to fuel an artist’s work and then end up with nothing. That would be such a sad waste of resources. Individual submissions are kept away from prying eyes which means only the artist himself can see his own submissions. Other artists cannot see his submissions in the same way he cannot see other artists’ submissions. This is just logical to protect intellectual property rights.

Buyers Perspective

I think buyers hit a jackpot with CrowdSPRING. Imagine having hundreds of talented artists at your disposal. CrowdSPRING even offers a money-back guarantee for buyers. The ease of getting what your project requires I am sure keeps the buyers smiling and springing to a bouncy, happy song. CrowdSPRING have worked with the world’s best brands including Amazon, LG, Starbucks, Barilla, Philips and a lot more. Lucky buyers, I must say.

Artists Perspective

CrowdSPRING is a marketplace where artists can sell their services to some of the world’s biggest companies and that I think is the main motivation for artists to join. For the winning artists, CrowdSPRING is surely a good way to earn money online. Prizes are pretty good which range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Signing up for CrowdSPRING is free for artists. These artists do not pay with money from their pockets, they pay with tears from their eyes especially when they worked hard and lost in the projects they participated in.

Money Soldiers’ Perspective

You must have guessed by now what my perspective on CrowdSPRING is. To me, CrowdSPRING is more pro-Buyers than pro-Artists. Of course, no one is holding a gun to the head of artists to sign up but I do believe that CrowdSPRING looks more after the welfare of the buyers than the artists, or Creatives as how they are called. I like CrowdSPRING for what it does although I would like to suggest changes which I hope would be taken as constructive criticisms:

1. Reward the non-winners. Find a clever way to reward non-winners for example, through a loyalty program or reward points that can be exchanged to something of value. Rewarding the non-winners will keep the artists motivated.
2. Branch out. Maybe it will be exciting to include other artists such as singers or actors. Hold an acting or singing audition, maybe. This is something to think about.
3. Make a blog where artists and buyers can get tips and news relevant to CrowdSPRING. This will also keep motivation level high. CrowdSPRING will be like a spring pushing hope afloat.
4. It’s time for a role-reversal. The buyers become the artists, the artists become the buyers. Maybe not literally, but in an abstract way. Think of new mechanisms or rules that will somehow reverse the roles. Come on, be creative. You are not CrowdSPRING for nothing.
5. Meet the deadlines. Yes, this last one is just that.

If CrowdSPRING becomes the buyer and I become the artist, my entry in a give-me-a-tagline project is this: “CrowdSPRING – keeping people smiling and springing to a bouncy, happy song”.