This is simply terrible. What will now happen is designers with the biggest/best portfolio will get all of the partition payments which essentially will deter new designers submitting their work. What about new designers? they will have no portfolio and therefore why would the customer choose to give them a partition payment? I think this change to the payments will deter and alienate new designers and you will probably find that customers will get less designs to choose from.

This is very disappointing and I fail to see how you believe this to be a better option. Sorry for the rant but I really do not agree with the new system.

Ben

I would also have to say this is a terrible idea. Absolutely the designers with the most current wins will be the the ones getting the participation payments. I mean wouldn't you. So your whole site and the idea of a contest now becomes a hoax.  The voting system is a joke anyhow no offense. But on the open contests anybody can go to anyone with a computer and drop in a vote for themselves. So I really think giving the participation payments out that way is a bad idea. I think if your going to go that route you should give it the designers that received feedback from customer, who did several changes for them, who the customer apparently liked but lost the contest anyhow. That seems more like a participation payment winner.

Steve

As a new designer to Hatchwise, this is also discouraging for me.  I see the participation payments as an incentive to join competitions.  If it is just as an invite only, I don't really see the point in offering it.  The people getting the invite are probably already going to join the contest. Just my two cents.

I agree with all the above comments, as this will discourage all new designers. High rating designers are already established with portfolios to impress the customers. So why will they waste time looking at a new designers work. I agree with Steve, if you are going to change the process then give it to someone who has had feedback from customer, who did several changes for them, who the customer apparently liked but lost the contest anyhow. That seems more like a participation payment winner.
Nishu
Rain Dezin

@Ben (Oxigen Internet) - The old participation payment system had a major flaw - it was a first come, first served system that rewarded designers who were fast but not necessarily good.  If anyone has alternatives to our new system please post them - but at this stage we are still confident this is a big improvement and the right path!  Here's why ...

Customers have been requesting the ability to invite designers that they like and it makes to allow this.  If a customer likes a designer and really wants them to work on a project - what's the best way to make this happen?  Allow the customer to directly invite this designer and offer an allocated participation payment.

You're right, designers with the best portfolios may get more invitations (this would be a big positive for those designers - so it depends on your perspective).  The solution for new designers is to take action - build your ranking, build relationships with customers, post comments on a customers brief!

In saying that, customers can invite any designer they see and like want for free with a regular (unpaid) invite.  I can tell you within the first 24 hours of this new system going live I have seen a) good designers reject invitations because they are too busy and b) customers inviting designers who are not at the top of the rankings. While the invite system will use a lot of the participation payments up, we expect (as I mentioned in the post) a lot of them to be left as 'surplus' that we will dish out as bonus payments.

Here's how new (and existing) designers should approach our system:

• Be active on DesignCrowd - submit good designs to lots of projects and customers will see this, visit your profile and invite you to their project
• Build relationships with clients on DesignCrowd - many clients submit repeat projects on DesignCrowd.  If you impress on their 1st project (but don't necessarily win) the client is likely to send you a paid invite on subsequent projects - regardless of your ranking
• Improve your overall ranking on DesignCrowd - Win other contests based on the merit of your design, look to gain ranking in your country directories and in directories specific to your niche
• Approach customers - be entrepreneurial! - post comments on the comments section of a customers brief - say "hey I would love to work on your project.  If you like my portfolio send me an invite!"
• Offer Niche Services on DesignCrowd - get listed in multiple directories - submit to banner design and icon design projects - get earnings in those directories and get a top 5 ranking quickly because there is less competition!
• Drive traffic to your profile page - post comments on our blog, create links from other websites, twitter about designs you've uploaded.  Traffic to your profile page will now = sales for you

I think everyone should be more positive about this!  Under the old system it was extremely hard to reserve a payment (and random).  This new system means designers can do things to influence who gets invites and who doesn't!  i.e. it is now within your sphere of influence - I like this.  Other thing is we don't know for sure who will get the most payments.  Lets wait and see!

I think its not a good idea. Because if customer want to see from the designer's portfolio and ranking, he'll choose only that designer who is top ranked. Hence there is no scope for new designers. Can I ask you why you changing this criteria? The old method was good. Even its really a bad idea that participation payment is given to who has lots of votes. anyone can create votes for themselves. I advise before doing this you have to disable the button for the developer, so that he can't generate votes for its own.

Guys, wait a minute. Although there is this new feature, the invite, you can still submit your designs. You will not be left outside if you don't get an invite. From my point of view the invite is a good thing. Anyone can submit their work but maybe the client want to send an invite to a specific designer. And with this new feature now he or she can. I also agree with the new way of how participation payment works. Until now everyone could reserve a payment, even if they were not willing to submit something. And don't tell me you never reserved a payment and did not submit designs to the respective contest. To be honest, a few times I myself did it. So it's a good thing to let the contest holder decide who will get the participation payment. It's not about votes or how high is your rank, it's about the CH liking your design. The bottom line is, I like the new changes, but there are still 2 things the guys from DC have to do: make a button on the brief page linking to the designs page (where designers can see the rest of designs submitted) and let us choose the designs that will be shown in the portfolio page.

In my opinion i like the old system (50%) and the new system (50%),

I absolutely agree with Designplus, I do like the old system, but you have to be quick. I think 50x50 real fair system.

With the old system clients were contacting/targeting the top 10 anyhow. Now design work is going to have to be stronger, no more shortcuts. Just because you submit 10 color variations does not mean you deserve a win. If you want the advantages of being high ranked you're going to have to earn it. It will deter new designers with poor work and the talented ones will break through regardless. Which in turn may actually drive up payments as legitimate designers understand what goes into quality work and will be reluctant to enter low paying briefs whether they have an invite or not.

I think that as so many of you do the invite = participation payment system will simply go to the top few designers.  ESPECIALLY now that the images in portfolios are so large. Already time-pressed customers will see even fewer portfolios because it is no longer easy look at a portfolio on one page.

And Adam really?.... you want designers soliciting invites in the comments section?  As a designer I am frequently embarrassed when I see all of the unprofessional comments that appear in there...solicitations for other services, negativity by designers, designers with no earnings critiquing other designer's submissions. Ugh... might as well turn the project comment section into a street corner in the bad part of town. I have already seen customers get testy in the comments section about invite solicitations...
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That being said I agree that the old system was bad... it rewarded the first clickers...not the people who participated with quality submissions.

And I see that this is a selling point to potential buyers, it gives them more of a reason to use DesignCrowd if they feel they can attract top quality designers to their project even if they can't afford to award the highest payments. And it gives them the opportunity to invite designers who have a style that they especially like. That will result in more business for all of us.

I see that DesignCrowd is making many changes, much effort and thought is going into the changes. I applaud them for that, for trying to constantly improve this service and the experience of both the buyers and the designers. Thank you guys for that!

really i don't care anymore...i'm bored...i want to get a life...peace be with all...

I do not like this this system at all..
why do not you do it some how the clients will rank the best designes and give the participation payment to the second and third best designs or so..? easy and give oportunity to everyone to participate..

I'm curious, who pay out the surplus participation payments to designers with good designs but who did not win the contest? Customer or DesignCrowd staff or the DesignCrowd system?

I do hope that the customers are able to pay out the participation payments to designers who make effort to review the proposed changes by customer and submit multiple revision. I mean at least a participation payment is better than nothing for all the hard work done.

I actually have the same question. Does Design Crowd still decide what to do with the Extra Participation Payments? What system are you using if so? Also why wouldn't the contest holder have full control of there funds? If they don't decide ahead of time why not have the opportunity to award a little something themselves to another design they liked?

Hello! I have a question, I received a $10 paid invite and I won 3rd place on that project. Do I still get the participation payment???

very bad idea.

My logo not submission just why sir what happened

Hi, when I receive an invite to design a logo with the phrase 'Participation payments x 4,' what does it mean? Does it mean I will be paid four times the indicated amount, or has the client chosen four designers to receive the indicated amount?