What is a design contest and how does it work?

See the how it works page to learn about design contests, or click here to launch a contest.

🚀 Table of contents

How contests work and how to post one

Contest: When you post a design contest, you’ll receive multiple design entries for your project and choose the design submission that you like best.
How to start: See how to launch a design contest for a summary of launching your design contest.
Types of designs: Design contests are terrific if you want to design a new product, product case design, product packaging design for 3D printing, new prototype design, 3D rendering for marketing materials, manufacturing designs, and more.
1-to-1 projects/ongoing work: If you like the winning designer, you can continue working directly with the person with our confidential 1-to-1 project.

Better description = more entries: A detailed description will increase participation from designers (for contests) and improve the quality of the work delivered. The details often include dimensions, aesthetics, material used (plastic, metal, wood, etc.), and colors.
Sample: If your contest requires a lot of work, you can increase participation by asking designers to complete a smaller part of your design and asking the best freelancer to complete the bulk of the design work.
Budget: Offer the most substantial prize that your budget can handle; a more significant budget will attract quality designers and more submissions for your project.
Pre-paid contests: Prepaid contests receive 3-5X more entries than payment pending contest postings.
Rankings: Assign star rankings to each entry on a daily basis. The ranking gives designers a better idea of where they stand with a design submission and how to improve.
Feedback: Providing good feedback to all contestants, even if it’s just a brief sentence or two, will help give designers a better idea of what you’re looking for.
Winning entry: Select a winner within 7 days of the end of the contest and make sure that you send revision requests to the designers as soon as possible.