I often recommend 99designs to startups that need logos. For startups, logos are like domain names: they don't have to be great, just good enough. (E.g. Google.) And I have never yet seen 99designs fail to deliver in this respect. Often the startups that use 99designs get better logos than the ones that hire individual designers for the purpose.
The designers who complain about 99designs remind me of the record labels. Something you used to charge a lot for, you can no longer charge a lot for. But things aren't going back.
The guys that charge a lot aren't the ones being hurt by 99designs. Business is fine for me.
It's the younger designers in school or fresh grads that are building their first portfolio that are being commoditized even more than they already are, which is why I tell them to do pro bono work for non-profits. Designing for non-profits is like programming on open source projects - you can simultaneously gain experience on real work, build your portfolio and give back to a worthy cause.
They'll get more respect and true client interaction than with the minimum wage grunt work on crowdsourced competition sites, even if they pay rent by being a barista until they get their foot in the door somewhere in the industry, like as a low-level production artist at an ad agency.
As an example, I got one done for my (NOT YC) company (I ended up changing the name so I didn't end up using it). My experience was fantastic - the key is providing a ton of feedback.
The company was "Super Bomb Labs" the logo can be seen here:
Pretty cool conceptual logo, but the type is where the lack of professional attention is evident.
Not trying to be nitty-picky here. You got a GREAT deal. And depending on what your needs are, you're probably fine. I'm just surrounded by pro designers everyday and have analyzed what they do ad nauseum.
The other problem is simply that a logo is but one piece of a big design solution for your entire company. You could, by yourself, fit the rest of your company's design assets around the logo. However, from my experience, without a great designer, you'll probably end up with something pretty spartan or messy. They know what to add and what to remove to the design in different realms (layout, color palette, interaction, etc) to make it have a professional look.
I think everyone would love to hire a good designer. But as already told: if you are a startup or doing some weekend project you cannot afford the money - this doesn't mean that you will never hire a pro designer and change the design if your thing is going off.
If you only have a logo its kinda hard to build a harmonious design around it but its still better than nothing.
When the free market comes into play it's called spec work. When through-the-roof fees need to be justified it's called pitching. I love design but the hypocrisy in the game is amazing sometimes.
Yes, it's possible to get good stuff from 99designs. No doubt about that.
But I've worked with a fair bit of designers in the 'creative' industry and the good ones could go on 99designs and win close to every competition they entered (barring terrible taste from the submitter).
The lesson is that separating great design from good design isn't subjective (as opposed to some kinds of art) and I've noticed that design is one of those things that only delivers an effective punch when it reaches a certain level of quality. Once it hits that level, it has a disproportionate amount of power to influence potential customers, particularly in spaces that aren't used to great design (b2b products, etc) and the majority of the non-tech public.
That would lead me to believe that, for the long term, it's far better to hire out a reliable, kickass conceptual designer (freelance contract/hire) that can consistently make everything you release look cohesive e.g. e-mails, business cards, website, t-shirts, etc etc. These hires/contacts don't even have to be that expensive: You just need to know where to look and recruit from e.g. NOT Internet boards.
If I was a small startup just looking to gain some traction, I might use 99designs, but with the understanding it was a temporary solution. Because once things get rolling, you're probably going to need a good designer to come in and either redo the brand or try to salvage the existing logo.
Well I hate to say this, but you get what you pay for, those cheap designs look cheap. I like 99Designs, but if your really after something exact I wouldn't go that route, not to say you cant get something good from it.
From a designers stand point, I notice your startups aren't that great about design and not to say it doesn't work out. Some are really great at design, but I guess the main focus would be function over design, but if both are in play, its great.
The designers who complain about 99designs remind me of the record labels. Something you used to charge a lot for, you can no longer charge a lot for. But things aren't going back.