10 Crowdsource Design Venues
Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 05:31PM 
The concept of crowdsourcing has been gaining momentum with a fairly direct correlation to the growth of the internet. The following are some great outlets that give designers in a variety of mediums the chance to monetize, be discovered, and/or share their work.
What do you get when you take the power of social powered design and add a tangible industrial infrastructure? That would be Project Splitwheel. With the help of British motor sport company Caterham, an actual vehicle will ultimately be produced and sold.
If you think Madison Avenue isn’t the only place that good ads can be created, Genius Rocket is for you. Companies list their creative assignments for users to contribute to. Awards are given to the winners based on what idea the client chooses.
Similar in product to Genius Rocket, BootB takes the service offering a step further and lets the community contribute not only creative, but ideas for branding, media planning, décor, and even packaging. The companies participating seem to skew more towards European brands.
There is not shortage of online T-Shirt stores, but arguably no one uses the passion t-shirt designers quite like Threadless. Based in Chicago, this company which started in 2000 has grown tremendously and now even has a physical store on the north side of the city. Unlike some of the other crowdsource sites which focus on a sole party investing in an idea, the Threadless community is tasked with voting on designs, being the customer, and promoting designs via the “street team.”
CrowdSPRING was started to help people from around the world access creative talent, and to help creatives from across the globe find new customers.
With backgrounds in both the creative industry and law, crowdSPRING believes strongly in the creative process and the protection of intellectual property. Utilizing free, binding legal contract generation for every transaction and advanced digital watermarking to a built-in, secure escrow service and a feedback rating system – this company has strived to make a safe environment for both Buyers and Creatives alike.
When it comes to variety, shoes are probably the most sought after piece of clothing. But what if you just can’t find a pair that really is different from everyone else is wearing this season? Then Fluevog will give you the opportunity to create your own design.
Vancouver-based social media company that connects thousands of creators, producers and fans of comics in a collaborative and creative environment. Leading a movement to revolutionize how comics are created and how they reach a mainstream audience, Zeros 2 Heroes members are given the latest web 2.0 tools to showcase their own work or rate, debate and approve the content of others.
Essentially a “Hot or Not” for inventions. While Kancept is more of a place to post ideas vs. actually submit for any kind of monetary compensation, it’s an interesting destination for people looking to get discovered and/or see if their idea already exists.
Studio Wikitecture is an open group, composed of a diverse range of individuals from varying disciplines, interested in exploring the application of an open-source paradigm to the design and production of both real and virtual architecture and urban planning.
Sick of buying your home décor or artwork at places like Walmart or Hobby Lobby? Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Obviously the prices are going to be higher with the lack of 3rd world production sites, but the uniqueness of pieces will make this service worth it for many.
An added bonus to this service is that users are able to search locally to find the craftsmen near their area if they want to support their hometown artists. This helps local sellers establish relationships offline as well as online.
bootb, crowdsource, crowdspring, design, etsy, splitwheel, threadless in Crowdsource