Comments on: Is crowdsourcing killing the traditional design industry?

By: James Tuckerman

James Tuckerman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:52:41 +0000

Hi Nadia. For an interesting industry opinion, you should track down the Melbourne owners of 99designs.com (just visit the site). They are turning crowdsourcing into a business model, much to the consternation of designers. Not saying it’s right or wrong but definitely worth checking out. JT

By: Nadia

Nadia — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:39:12 +0000

Hello there,
I’m Nadia, student of Swinburne Uni. of Technology (Sarawak Campus), and coincidentally, me and my group mate are doing ‘Crowdsourcing in the Fashion Industry’ for our E-Commerce Strategy final paper. Any other important facts that we should note upon? It’d be nice to get a little help from an expert

Cheers,
Nadia

By: Domo1

Domo1 — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:27:43 +0000

Lol Nice xD

By: Peter Connolly

Peter Connolly — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:39:12 +0000

The design process is built on ideation and sifting through the various designs – however generated – to best meet need within functional constraints, requires Design expertise. For this reason there will always be a place for Designers.

Using the crowd is the democratisation of design, but democracy too has its design constraints. Knowing these will likely be the most significant tool in the future Designer’s kit and could likely open a whole new field of study.

The most glaring of democracy’s design constraints is the fact that the majority can often be entirely wrong, and so finding the best design may eventually be akin to mining and refining ore.

I foresee a time when the “cloud” will be used to filter the “crowd” to recognise good design. This is the way Design must surely evolve and that to me poses the real threat for a large portion of the Design community.

By: Paul Rowe

Paul Rowe — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:24:14 +0000

There are examples of full-time designers involved in crowd-sourced designs. Threadless contributors include a stable of people who are full-time designers. For these the web has become their shop-front and a new way to connect with current and potential customers.

By: Paul Reynolds

Paul Reynolds — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:46:29 +0000

Interesting piece.
The man who made the most sense to me, and still does, on innovation , design etc – was/is Charlie Leadbeater in his seminal 2007 TED talk.
This presentationincludes his take on how the mountain bike was designed by the user community.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/charles_leadbeater_on_innovation.html

By: Crowdsourcing and museum futures update! « Social Media and Cultural Communication

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:14:17 +0000

[...] with AIMIA in Melbourne, Anthill suggested a piece for their magazine. The subsequent article: Is Crowdsourcing killing traditional design practice was published on 1st Sept and has received a fair bit of comment. I’m particularly interested [...]

By: Angelina Russo

Angelina Russo — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:53:18 +0000

Hi Alec
Thanks for your response. I agree that there is a difference between the strategic advisor/ manager of large design project and someone who works to deliver crowdsourced design solutions. Having said that, I would hope that crowdsourcing propels some designers, particularly small and medium enterprises, to imagine themselves more within the strategic space. The potential to harness crowdsourcing for some aspects of a managed project are very real and one of the areas we are hoping to explore more fully in our next research project!
Cheers
(and congrats on DesignBay!)

By: Angelina Russo

Angelina Russo — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:22:05 +0000

Hi Chris
I’m interested to understand how you think agencies will sharpen their service. Would be great to hear more!

By: Angelina Russo

Angelina Russo — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:21:08 +0000

Hi Elisa
It’s a great point! Rather than constantly doing the same type of work, crowdsourcing allows designers to dip in and out of different job types; developing their skills and playing with new partnerships!

By: Angelina Russo

Angelina Russo — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:19:53 +0000

Thanks Marty! A great example!

By: DesignBay Crowdsourcing Marketplace

DesignBay Crowdsourcing Marketplace — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:08:06 +0000

Crowdsourcing (whether fashion related or graphic design related) can’t be used in all scenarios and thus will never cause the “demise” of these professions. Crowdsourcing is revolutionary and will definitely alter the way these industries work but, essentially, it will capture a ‘market share’ of the spend in these industries (that has traditionally gone to full-time designers) and redirect it to a virtual workforce of freelance, moonlighting, offshore and amateur designers and creatives.

There will also be a large portion of design work that will continue to go through the traditional channels that it always has. Traditional designers will continue to have a place but they might consider how they can differentiate themselves from crowdsourcing. In the field of graphic design some clients want customer-service, strategic advice, someone to call and/or a designer that can manage a larger, more complex project. Crowdsourcing can’t provide this. These sorts of features and offering need to be the differentiators that traditional designers offer over crowdsourcing providers.

Alec Lynch
DesignBay.com

By: Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:55:26 +0000

I think it will just make the agencies sharpen their service offering to a more customised service.

By: Elisa

Elisa — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:18:08 +0000

Crowdsourcing is an innovative new way to design. I have seen designers who get too stuck in there boring world to be really creative anymore, this gives us the opportunity to find work that interests us and keeps the professional designers sharp and innovative.

By: Marty Hills

Marty Hills — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:53:45 +0000

Here is an Australian example of crowd sourcing at its best, and used to give aspiring fashion designers the kick start they need.

http://www.launchinfashion.com