What is creative.gd?

Need something designed for yourself or a client? A new logo, a web site design, some business cards or letterhead, or maybe even a magazine ad for your next product launch? Whatever you want created, post your requirements at creative.gd and let our community of professional designers from around the world compete for your award.

How can I find out about changes to the site?

Simple! Subscribe to the creative.gd blog It's the best place to find out exactly what we're doing.

What are design contests?

A design contest is a competition run by a contest holder, who challenges designers with a creative brief for a piece of work. Designers create designs to meet that brief, and, after providing feedback to help designers improve their designs, the contest holder picks a winner, who wins a cash prize (the award).

How does a contest work?

The contest holders have a design job. They write a design brief describing what they want. They choose an award amount and finalize payment to out escrow account. The contest is posted. Designers from all over the world submit design concepts.

The contest holder provides feedback to each designer, when the project ends, the client picks a winner, and waits for the design files. Once the design files have been delievered the payment is sent from our escrow account to the designer, all rights to the winning design are transferred from the designer to the contest holder (Client).

How much does it cost?

It is free to launch a design contest.
For designers participation is free.

What is crowdsourcing?

Crowdsourcing is the process of sourcing skills; in this case, design skills from a group of people; the creative.gd members.

How do I sign up for an account?

Whether you are a designer or a contest holder (Client), simply click on the "Join Now" link conveniently located in the top right corner of any page on creative.gd, the whole process takes less than a minute!

Can I have more than one account?

In a word, No. Creating multiple accounts dilutes your reputation and confuses other users. It's also very confusing for our support team, please don't create multiple accounts. We will catch you!

Be aware, you must pay the full advertised award to the contest winner, beyond that you are welcome to offer additional prizes, although designers aren't obliged to transfer copyright for less than the full advertised award.

How do I change my password?

You can change your password by going to the "my creative" link, then look under "account details".

How do I run a contest?

First, sign up for an account on creative.gd so that you can post a project. One you have an account you can click on the "Post a Project" link. When you post your project, you'll need to provide information about the requirements of your design task (the brief), and you'll need to specify how much money you'd like to award as a prize. This award amount is the prize that will go to the winning designer you'll choose at the end of the contest.

How long do contests run for?

Your contest can run for up to seven days. Of course, if you don't have that much time, you can cut it short. Just remember that unless the prize you offer is worth the extra effort, designers will often pass up these contests.

What is feedback in a contest?

Contest holders must provide feedback to every designer who participates in their contest. Feedback is given to a designer in the designer page, which is accessed by clicking on a designer's entry in a contest. Feedback is crucial to a contest; it ensures that all entrants get an idea of what you think of their designs, and their skills. Everyone can read feedback to any user, so giving good feedback helps other designers by giving hints on what you like and don't like.

How do awards work?

You'll need to offer an award for your contest, and it'll need to be a cash prize. You can, of course, offer more than one prize, and other non-cash prizes if you like; the more, the merrier! Specify your prize amount in US dollars, and think about offering more than the minimum prize: the bigger the prize, the bigger the competition and the quality of the designs.

See the prizes page under "Help" for details on what the suggested prizes are.

What is a design brief?

It's a document that specifies exactly what the contest holder wants. Designers rely on the brief to create quality, on-target designs. The design brief is like a roadmap to create exactly what the Client wants!

How do I write a good brief?

Don't worry; we'll show you how! As you begin to set up your contest, we'll guide you through the process of creating a clear brief that will help designers create the design you're after. Click here to view our Creative Brief template. This will guide you in creating your brief.

Can I change the details of my contest at a later date?

Of course! You can edit your contest at any time. Once your contest has received one or more entries, you won't be able to reduce the prize money offer (you can increase it anytime though!). And, as you'd expect, you can't edit a contest that's ended.

How can I have more than one winner?

At present, you can only award one winner officially. This is something we are working on. In the meantime, you are welcome to post a comment commending the additional winning designers in the contest.

How do I choose the right award amount?

Good question. What can you afford? Do you have a little extra to offer as prizes to second and third place-getters in your contest? What kinds of prizes are other contest holders offering; and how will yours compare? Answer these questions, and you should have an idea of what will constitute a good prize for your contest. You can view our recommended guide by clicking here.

How do I pay out the prize money?

You have to pay in advance for every contest using our escrow service. This will ensure that the winner will receive his prize for the work done.

How does the creative.gd escrow service work?

Once you start a project you have to pre-pay the award amount + listing fee. The award amount will go dirrectly into our escrow account. You can pay using Paypal or Google Checkout. We hold the funds till the Creative sends you all the files. Once you confirm that the files have been received by doing a click on the OK button showing next to the project under your account we'll pay the Creative for you. It's safe and easy!

The most popular way to pay is PayPal, where you can sign up for free and transfer money either via credit card or directly from your bank. We recommend this service, as it has a good level or fraud protection.

Some countries can't use PayPal, so you will often be asked to use another service. We recommend Google Checkout to process a payment via credit card or from your bank.

Can I pay the prize money with a credit card?

We offer Google Checkout which allows us to process a credit card payment, however if you have the possibility to use a service such as PayPal you can sign up and pay with your card.

How do I give feedback?

You can give designers feedback in two ways: as a text comment that's entered into the designated “feedback” field, or as a star rating. Star ratings are just indicators of what you like and don't like, you still need to leave text feedback.

Why can I see my contest in search engines, like Google?

We want to attract as many designers to your contest as possible. So we make every contest on the site search engine indexable. That means your contest will appear in search results, which exposes it to designers who don't use the site as well as those who do. If you don't want search engines to find your contest, tick the "block search engines" option at the bottom of your edit contest screen.

Can I end a contest early?

You can. Ideally, you'll award your contest prizes when you end the contest; whether you're planning to use the designs or not. Backing out of a contest tends to be bad for contest holders' reputations, and might make it hard for you to attract designers to your future contests.

How do I become a designer?

Easy! Just sign up, set up your profile, and start reviewing briefs. You're free to submit as many designs as you like to whichever contests you like; It's FREE to be a designer on creative.gd!

What are the rules of participating in contests?

Have a look at the Guidelines for Designers; they'll tell you all you need to know.

What are the payment options available to me for the prize money transfer?

PayPal and Check are the two payment options we provide. Before you participate in a contest, make sure you can accept the payment through the methods offered!

Please note that we deduct an escrow fee of 10% from the prize amount.

Do I have to pay to enter a contest?

Nope. Contest entry is free.

What format should I submit?

Check the design brief for the contest you're thinking of entering. Each brief specifies the format the contest holder wants for the finished art.

Am I allowed to use clipart or stock images?

No; unless you own the copyright to the images you're thinking of using, or you clearly inform the contest holder that you are using images that they will have to license. You cannot use iStockPhoto images in logo designs, ever!

What do I do if the contest holder doesn't pay me?

All payments are handled through our escrow service so every new contest is already paid for. We will send you the payment as soon as the contest holder will receive the files. Please make sure that you have the complete details added to your profile.

How do I report a contest?

Use the Contact Us form, or click "report contest" on the contest page. We'll try to solve this ASAP

How do I report a designer?

Use the Contact Us form, or click "report contest" on the contest page. We'll try to solve this ASAP

Can the contest holder ask me for a copy of my entry before the end of the contest?

They can, but you don't have to say yes! Don't send any files to the contest holder until the contest has been won.

Why is the contest holder taking so long to declare a winner?

Sometimes, contest holders can have difficulty deciding on the winner. They might also have to present designs to clients or other stakeholders. Be patient!