Australian design crowdsourcing design firm DesignCrowd is marking one year in the Canadian market this month, and the company said Canada is strongly embracing the crowdsourcing model.
The crowdsourcing graphic design firm launched in Canada last June as part of a global expansion backed by a $3 million investment from Austalian venture capital firm Starfish Ventures in late 2011. Its service applies the crowdsourcing model to graphic design; businesses can hold contests with a cash reward to solicit designs – say, for a new logo – with the winner selected receiving a cash prize. DesignCrowd provides the marketplace for these contests to be held, and for companies and designers to come together.
According to the company, it has grown its Canadian business significantly since launching its Canadian operation and opening the community to companies with a dot-ca address. Crowdsourcing job sales from Canadian businesses have grown by 145 per cent over the past 12 months, and design projects on DesignCrowd have grown from $4 million to over $9 million.
The DesignCrowd Canadian design community has grown by 133 per cent, and the company’s global design community has grown from 75,000 to 122,000 Overall, the company said traffic has increased by 65 per cent in the 12 months since the launch of DesignCrowd.ca.
It’s good enough to make Canada the fourth largest global market for DesignCrowd, and one of its fastest growing. It also hosted what it claims was Canada’s largest crowdsourced logo design contest, garnering 5,852 submissions for a contest with a $10,000 prize.