Ideas as follows:

1) Provide them with coaches or better real time support.
- Do they know that they can make choosing much easier by actually using the rating system? Do they know that there is an "order by" "Time" "rating" option that can show the top rated designers in order from highest ranking to lowest?
- Do they know that they can eliminated designs?
- Do they understand how important a good brief is?
- Do they know that they can control the direction that designers take by providing feedback?

2) 99 Designs should change the steps to a contest and include a step where they have a second brief to fill out as supplementary after they have received 25 unique designs. This brief could ask them more questions once they have seen some samples. The brief would helpl to narrow the scope of the project for both designer and CH.

3) 99 Designs should make submitting a series of a design concepts possible. When designers submit colour variations, stylized variations and tagline variations of THE SAME OR VERY SIMILAR DESIGN, it should go under one main image. Make is to when you scroll over that collection you get a quick view of the contents of the selection.

4) Let CH receive more designs to view ONLY AFTER RATING A BATCH. Meter out the designs in groups of 20 or 25 and hold back the rest until the CH rates these designs. Perhaps this could be part of the steps showing the progress of the contest.

Clear Gold Member criteria

I like the idea of having Gold Contest, but the criteria for considering Gold it's at least unclear: http://99designs.com/help/how-do-i-become-a-gold-designer
I saw many designer complaint about this, and also some 99d replies saying this is about "quality” or "hand work".

Take a look a this profile: http://99designs.com/users/948630 (this is not about this guy maybe he's an excellent, just pointed as a sample). Only got 20 days in the 99d community, no winnings, no portfolio, only 3 entered contest and he is already a Gold Member.

My proposal:
Take a few clear requirements, give X pts to each, If you have more than 3 points you become Gold. i.e:

- Work quality (subjetive but is what 99d want to evaluate) 1 pt
- Original hand work - 1 pt
- More than x entered contests (could be 10, 20) 1pt
- First win - 1 pt
- Won more than x contests (could be 10, 20) 1 pt

I know some may say it's not “about winning” but the actual requirements says “ it’s about the ability to create considered, high quality, original design that meets the design brief.”
So, if you won, how your work could not meet the brief, be original and HQ? Unless 99d consider that Contest Holders picks winners without meeting the brief, without being original or without high quality.

Please vote for this idea if you liked.
Thanks.

Greeting all,

Please remove the (like) button, I think this isn`t effective either, this can be destructing of the judging and also creating a pity conspiration between designers, where the friend support can be change the client view, or even make them (the client) contused to selecting the winner, the worst if the client choose the like most design rather than the best concept with "no friend liked".
Honestly this is make me uncomfortable to do a project not because I don`t have friends here, I got liked some time but, those came from new friend most.

Hope my suggestion make sense, thank you very much for this opportunity, for the rest..99 designs still the best :-)

Cheers,

AW Ghilba
(awugraphico)

There are many Guaranteed & Non-guaranteed contest which has got huge number of entries & NO WINNER has been selected. In such cases, I think the whole prize amount must be distributed amount ELIGIBLE designers; e.g. Distribute among who got maximum stars. In case there is NO rating distribute among all.

This will be a small token of appreciation who worked hard on a project which has no result.

Few HELD/ LOCKED Guaranteed Contests:

1. http://99designs.com/logo-business-card-design/contests/create-next-logo-popsugar-172192

2. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/dreams-alive-needs-banner-ad-176474

Few HELD/ LOCKED Non-Guaranteed Contests:

1. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ad-salathiel-records-139852

2. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/flash-banner-ad-airpush-105037

3. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ad-dating-76338

4. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ad-wanted-social-media-training-bars-restaurants-73577

5. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ads-ebid-open-interpretation-emphasis-vs-competitor-71553

6.http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ads-ebid-emphasis-eye-catching-graphics-71550

7. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ads-ebid-emphasis-getting-message-out-words-71546

8. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/banner-ad-betterment-70507

9. http://99designs.com/logo-design/contests/logo-design-identity-66584

10. http://99designs.com/banner-ad-design/contests/create-eye-catching-banner-ad-website-day-only-61901

There are many many more such HELD/ LOCKED contest. Even I can see few contest hoder's account of such contest has been deleted.

My fellow friends, it's my request, please browse through such LOCKED/ HELD contests you had participated & list here.

Previously, I submitted this IDEA but don't know why it's got DELETED. I think this FUNDS should not be a part of revenue.

If there was a preview page where possible contest holders could see the current work being done in active contests, they would see it is 90% quality and there is nothing to fear with their money. Too much time is wasted on a designers behalf and all the guaranteed contests become flooded. A contest holder can easily scam a designer by abandoning the contest and having the design for free. Either all contests need to be guaranteed, or a severe watermark should be put in place- but really, if they saw how much quality & quantity goes into each contest up front they wouldn't have to fear their money loss and be scared into a moneyback offer.