You Should Know:
99designs
by Chelsea Knorr, Associate Editor, Dentaltown Magazine
99designs might be the world’s largest online graphic design marketplace. Dentaltown Magazine caught up with 99designs’ Marketing Manager
Lauren Gard to learn about some of the things you probably didn’t, but should, know.
What is your background in dental?
Gard: 99designs has helped thousands of dentists grow their
practices by providing an easy way for them to get customized
logos, business cards, brochures, websites and other branding and
marketing materials designed. We’ve witnessed a significant uptick
in the number of dental industry customers in the past year. We
think this is because practices are increasingly aware of how important
it is to appeal to patients and prospects with a clear and compelling
brand identity. It’s not enough to have a nice sign in the
window, an ad in the Yellow Pages and simple business cards anymore.
Dentists these days need a professional presence online and
off to project a modern image and differentiate themselves.
Tell us about what 99designs provides.
Gard: 99designs is an online marketplace that makes quality
graphic design accessible to everyone. We offer a full spectrum
of design services, including our popular contest model where
dozens of designers compete to deliver the best design for a project.
We’re a great solution for businesses looking for unique and
affordable logos and other designs, and a perfect partner for
designers looking for their next client.
We connect business owners around the world with great
graphic designers. Anyone who needs graphic design work done
can launch a crowdsourced “contest” to our global community
of graphic designers on 99designs.com. Customers decide how much to pay, with prices starting at $299. In the course of a
week, customers receive dozens—sometimes hundreds—of creative
designs, provide feedback to designers, and ultimately
select and retain the copyright to their favorite design.
We began as a little startup with big ambitions in Melbourne,
Australia and we’re now based in San Francisco with more than 100
staff around the world. Since 2008 we’ve hosted
some 300,000 design contests and have paid out
$75 million to our design community.
What is the philosophy at 99designs?
Gard: Our philosophy is centered around
our belief that quality design should be accessible
to everyone. We’re passionate about connecting
entrepreneurs with designers and
believe that by doing so, we’re empowering
both sides of our community to succeed.
What would you consider to be the “best kept
secret” about 99designs?
Gard: Perhaps our biggest “secret” is Swiftly.com, a site we
launched in August 2013, for customers who need an existing
design altered but don’t have the technical skills to do it themselves.
For a $19 flat fee, customers can upload a design file of
any kind and indicate what minor changes they need. A dental
office, for example, may upload an existing business card design
and request that a new employee’s contact information be
added, or that the color or font be changed. Or, perhaps a dentist
wants to make a few changes to an appointment-reminder
postcard—update it with new information or swap out a seasonal
illustration. A designer active on the site completes the
request changes in less than an hour, making it a great solution
for businesses that need fast, affordable fixes.
What kind of service can dentists expect when
they pick up the phone and call you? Do you
also work with orthodontists?
Gard: Our friendly support team, comprised of people passionate
about design and marketing, would be happy to help
dentists or orthodontists get started. Whether you need help
choosing a pricing package or filling in the online brief, we’re
here to make sure you get a design you love.
What else should we know about 99designs?
Gard: We’re passionate about quality and stand behind
every project with a 100 percent money-back guarantee. To see
examples of some of our favorite dental practice logo designs,
we invite you to check out a recent blog post we published.
(http://99designs.com/customer-blog/dental-logo-inspiration/)
For more information, visit 99designs.com or
call 800-513-1678.
|