Designers now have the opportunity to enter open brief design contests for web design - but some designers seem unsure whether or not to enter them.  The question is: should you participate?  And the answer is: Yes!  Web design contests are easier than you think, winners have a very high likelihood of establishing a client relationship and getting further work and, regardless of the outcome, you will build a design asset!  This blog explains how web design contests work and highlights the benefits of web design contests for designers.

There are two types of web design contests:

1. Layout only design contests - for these projects all you need to submit is the 'look' of the website (i.e. just the front page).  You will typically have to design the menu, some graphics, some buttons, a footer and maybe some boxes for the client's copy (which you can just fill with 'lorem ipsum ...').  The best part is, you do not need to: 1) build a complete website 2) use HTML or 3) code anything!  It is pure design!  You should create these designs in a program like Photoshop and save the file as a psd (this is DesignBay's standard file type for web design). If your design is selected the client takes your submission and (possibly with the help of another designer) slices up the web design into separate image files and gets it designed.
2. HTML design contests - clients run these design contests when they want to walk away with a fully functioning website.  If you cannot do the HTML - that is okay, you can still enter. Initially, you only need to submit the layout (as with the layout only contest described above).  Your design can be selected the winner before you've done any HTML, and another designer on DesignBay will pick up your files and create the HTML (and, of course, take part of the project budget that would've been yours if you could have done the HTML).  However, designers should really only enter these contests if they know how to do HTML.  If you know how to do HTML and your design is selected to be the winner, you are required to create and provide the working HTML for the website to the client. 

So that's how they work, but why should you consider them?  There are many benefits to web design contests over traditional design work and some benefits over other types of design contests.  You might've seen we've just added an open brief for web design with a budget of US$1000 for MobileCiti.com.au.  We'll use this project as an example when pointing out why web design contests are good.

The benefits of entering web design contests for designers include:

1. They are easier than you think.  You save time and enjoy the process more because you get to leave the HTML to someone else!  All you do is focus on design.  You won't spend as much time on the project, as if you were working on a complete website (code + design).  Observe your work patterns over a number of web design contests and you'll notice you are spending more of your time designing and less time (or maybe no time!) doing HTML/code.  Example: MobileCiti don't require you to provide logo, HTML, code or customization for use with osCommerce (which they will eventually use the design with)- they just want the design.
2. They pay well. Web design contests typically have larger budgets than other forms of design.  Although web designs are often larger (in dimension) than other designs (like a logo) they might require simple buttons and menus and may end up being of equal or lesser difficulty.  So although your design effort is the same, your pay-off can be higher.  Example: MobileCiti is offering US$1000 for the web design but around US$225 for their logo design.  The website requirements are clear, you know what colors to use and there are plenty of free mobile phone images you can use as content.
3. Very high likelihood of further work.  Winning a design contest (whether it's for a logo design or a stationery design, gives you a chance of establishing a relationship with the client and getting further work).  But when you enter a web design contest - this is much more likely to happen.  Websites change a lot more than logos (or other designs that businesses use) and clients need help with this!  You can make these clients your own (if you want) and become the 'default' designer receiving further design work down the track.  Examples: MobileCiti also wants some flash designed for their website, the HTML behind the initial web design and a design for an eBay storefront.  These are not part of the design contest for the MobileCiti layout, but the winner of that project will probably get this work.  DesignBay designers have benefited from web design projects with other clients like LindGolf (who ran a project for a web design of a newsletter earlier this year).  The freelance designer who won that project (Anda Damien) ended up getting more work while Studio Q has been getting ongoing web design work fromRush Comic as a result of entering their web design contest.  
4. You build an asset.  Even more so with than with other categories of design contests, when you create a design for a web design contest (and you do not win) you are left with a design template which you can re-use, sell or modify for a similar client.  Example: If you don't win with the MobileCiti brief, you have a basic Photoshop layout for a product-focused (and not necessarily mobile oriented) website!

How can you say no?

Happy (web) designing!

Alec