99designs: Design Contests and Creative Platform Guide
99designs runs design contests and lets you hire designers for logos, branding, and other creative work. You can launch a contest and choose from multiple submissions or search and hire a designer directly. This guide explains what 99designs offers and who it's for.
Contests and direct hire
With a contest, you brief your project (e.g. logo, packaging) and designers submit concepts. You give feedback and request revisions; at the end you choose a winner and pay. You get variety and choice without managing multiple freelancers. Alternatively, you can browse designer profiles and hire one directly for a project. 99designs is focused on design: logos, branding, packaging, and related work.
Pricing depends on contest type and designer rates. Contests have package tiers. The contest model works well when you want to see many ideas before committing; direct hire works when you already know who you want.
When to use 99designs
Use 99designs when you need design work and want either a contest (multiple concepts) or a curated design marketplace. For general freelance work, Upwork or Fiverr cover more categories. For our full comparison, see Freelance Marketplaces.