99designs Reviews 1,549

We wanted a t-shirt designed for an Ultimate Frisbee team (not a business - just some friends playing amateur sport!) Put up our brief, and started soliciting designs, and quickly got designers (who submitted REALLY bland, boring, flat designs, btw) reporting us and other designers for asking for a 'logo.' Every example on their 't-shirt design' page had complicated designs with graphics and art, but Customer Service gave us very conflicting information that said we could not have any graphical elements. Evidently this is very common where poor designers complain and moan about t-shirt design including 'logos' if it has ANY kind of art with it. So ridiculous. In what world would anyone bother to spend hundreds of bucks on a t-shirt design that can only have text?

In the end, we told them whatever they wanted and kept working with the designers who put actual work into the design. Thankfully we got 2 very good designs to choose from (and a BUNCH of garbage) from designers who understood what we were looking for - and we ignored whatever nonsense the reports were about. If their policies and customer service are so unclear once you've already paid them, there's NO WAY i would ever risk my money working with them again. Arbitrary application of policies and conflicting information - just don't take the risk. Your money and time are worth too much.

Experience was awesome. Louiza was kind and down to the point. Well done.

A couple years ago I signed up on this website to work as a freelancer on the contests they had.

My country was not supported on the website for transactions and getting money but all I wanted was to be able to participate in the contests to build up a portfolio and a good profile.

I didn't want any money.

These people were replying to all my questions until they realized where I am from and right away they became rude.

The tone changed and eventually they completely banned my account, banned my IP and started ghosting me.

The reaction I got from this company was beyond a normal reaction that any other place would have.

They could have just simply explained that I can't work there but they decided to do that.

I found it very racist.

Keep in mind that I let them know, I don't want any money even if I win the contests. I just wanted to build up portfolio.

Now I'm out of the country and still banned.

This company is the worst I've ever seen.

Hela is the best. She was with me in every step of the way and made my experience very pleasant.

Great experience with 99Design! I was able to get many awesome logo options from some great designers and found the perfect one to work with, who also helped me with business cards and marketing mockups. All options were affordable and easy to manage.

Most of the designs submitted were from AI sources, and it was so obvious, I’m certain I ended up choosing one out of pure exhaustion. It was not worth a fraction of the $350 spent. Garbage.

Very talented people that submitted their designs for my logo!!

great variety of designs - done quickly, and end product was excellent. Good communication practices throughout the process. Highly recommend

We thought we were a family, but it turned out we were a dysfunctional one. If you don’t have the passport of the ‘right’ country, you’re just a foster member here and sooner or later they’ll show you the door.

Designers were good, do not pay for the personal creative consultant. They didn't add any value.

99designs is actively penalizing the global talent pool that built their empire, leaving international designers with frozen funds and closed accounts. The new forced payment infrastructure is an absolute disaster designed to alienate international creators. It’s no longer a freelance platform; it’s a corporate trap. Clients, you are no longer getting the best designers here. Avoid at all costs.

They showed their true colors as a cheap business model by their recent changes/downgrade on their payment system. They simply discarded and showed the door to the countries/regions that new system is not supporting. Despite all the calls and negative feedback from the community they rolled with it which is a cheap cost-cutting operation in the expanse of a lot of talented designers and individuals.

It's nothing but hundreds of bad AI designs. Very few actual good designers and good designs. You get what you pay for.

The effective removal of designers in Türkiye who have been actively working on the 99designs platform for many years due to the new payout system is an extremely unacceptable situation.

This decision is rendering professionals who have contributed to the platform for years unable to work, without providing any alternative solution. Disabling accounts in practice without offering a viable payment method for designers in Türkiye is a clear injustice toward the creative community.

Even more concerning is the fact that, despite this issue, no realistic solution has been presented. This approach does not align with the fair and inclusive attitude expected from a global creative platform.

Considering the many years of contributions made by designers in Türkiye to the platform, excluding them in this manner is unacceptable. We expect Vistaprint and the 99designs management to urgently reconsider this situation and immediately develop a workable solution to the problem that is effectively excluding designers in Türkiye from the platform.

Respectfully,
99designs Turkish Community

I was impressed by 99design's concept of opening a contest to compete for the job and with the quality of the designs submitted. Thank you to all participants. Well done.

Hello,

The effective removal of designers in Türkiye who have been actively working on the 99designs platform for many years due to the new payout system is an extremely unacceptable situation.

This decision is rendering professionals who have contributed to the platform for years unable to work, without providing any alternative solution. Disabling accounts in practice without offering a viable payment method for designers in Türkiye is a clear injustice toward the creative community.

Even more concerning is the fact that, despite this issue, no realistic solution has been presented. This approach does not align with the fair and inclusive attitude expected from a global creative platform.

Considering the many years of contributions made by designers in Türkiye to the platform, excluding them in this manner is unacceptable. We expect Vistaprint and the 99designs management to urgently reconsider this situation and immediately develop a workable solution to the problem that is effectively excluding designers in Türkiye from the platform.

Respectfully,
99designs Turkish Community

The customer service during our logo design contest was great and helped us a lot with this process. We opted for the Platinum version, which offered a huge selection of designs (over 500 versions), and customer service guided us through the process. In the end, we had a great result.

If you are a client, do not run contests.
Why?
1) Risk of Unoriginal or Stolen Work: Some designers may use stock art, plagiarized elements, or slightly changed logos because the contest model rewards speed. This can lead to serious copyright infringement issues for your business later.
2) To make a good brand, you need to do a lot of market research and planning. Contest designers often act as "order takers," focusing on what you like rather than what your brand actually needs to succeed in its market.
3) They say that they "do not allow unoriginal work," but unoriginal work and plagiarized content are rampant, and they do not have a system that can monitor them. Several stolen designs were caught by the clients themselves.

Do not sign up if you're a designer.
1) You're working for free. You can spend days on a project and get absolutely nothing for it. It’s just free labor.
2) The best design doesn't always win. You’re competing against AI, stolen work, and low-quality entries that clients pick anyway.
3) In a contest with 50+ entries, your statistical chance of getting paid is less than 2%, making it an unsustainable way to earn a living.
4) They are claiming that they "have shaped the landscape of online design collaboration." It's true, but it's in terrible shape as a landscape of free labor.

The experience with 99designs exceeded my expectations! The designs were amazing and I received over 120 designs to choose from. We landed on exactly what we were hoping for. Thank you!

The items came quickly and are in good shape. However, one of my pens came without ink, so I had to order a replacement.