Designer Blog

By now, you have probably realized that we at 99designs are totally smitten with the alphabet — arguably the longest ongoing graphic design project in human history. Over the past few weeks, we have gone over basic key terms in typography and explored the history of type technology. Now, without further delay let’s dive into …

We won the first-ever Startup Pushup Charity Challenge — can we get a WOOP WOOP! Udemy, HotelTonight, Zaarly, GitHub and your very own 99designs each selected 5 employees to compete in the event. After a few weeks of dedicated fundraising and Twitter smack talk, we did 100 effortless pushups for our charity DonorsChoose.org. Appreciating our Australian origins (we were founded in Melbourne back in 2008), …

Toys aren’t just for kids! This collection of gadgets is all about fun and finding a way to bring something new and experimental to the table. Tapping into your inner child can be the best thing for your design – so take some tips from the product design below and make something unexpected. MaKey MaKey (you …

Stock. What the heck is it, and why should you care? Stock refers to a licensed image that is available via the web from a third party source. If you are going to use stock, there are a few things to know before implementing someone else’s work into your designs. “A copyright will protect you from …

Aloha, designers! Please meet Community Director, Jason Aiken’s sweet and totally-cute dogs, Job and Lily. Job and Lily have a love for professional swimming and we are going to use one of Illustrator’s brilliant design tools to show off their skills — the clipping mask. What is a Clipping Mask? A clipping mask is a shape (called …

If the number of typefaces out there seems overwhelmingly gigantic, even infinite, that’s because it is. Digital technologies have made the creation, distribution and use of fonts amazingly easy. As a result, brilliant type designers are constantly at work on new, interesting ways to shape our alphabets. You can rest assured that there will be …

At 99designs, we cherish relationships and are proud to have a platform that connects designers and clients, even past a contest win. We regularly hear from designers who have built their business’ foundation solely from the clients they’ve met through our site, and these stories are what we love to honor and share. When 99designer Caryn Garabette created the …

As a designer, you utilize artistic elements and principles to help create beautiful and effective designs. This series will make you more aware of what those design principles are and how you can employ them to make your designs even better! This is part II of a three-part series: Back to basics, part I: the elements …

In the previous Words for Winners, we uncovered marketing tips to ensure you build lasting relationships with your clients. So you’ve built your clientele, now what? To become a truly respected and noteworthy designer, you have to constantly push your skills and practice design. In this final part, you will learn how to do just that …

April’s Top Designer, and winner of the iPod Nano with a watchband case is DooShan. DooShan created a modern, bold and professional logo that effectively communicates Event Butler’s mission in one quick glance. He combined the company’s name and graphic into one solid emblem, making it easy for the client to incorporate into any layout: posters, banners, stickers, etc. And the icing on …