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If you haven’t heard of crowdsourcing, you might want become familiar with it. It’s

a trend that’s taking shape in the creative design industries. Some manufacturers

are using it to sidestep conventional design processes by asking groups of people

at large to submit creative designs that can be considered for production.

The trend has its fans. Organizations looking for fresh ideas like that they can

spend very little to get many prospective designs as well as gage public reaction.

There are websites that let customers post specs for as little as $200 promised

for the winning design plus a percentage fee. Just post an open call through an

online community like CrowdSpring and start getting reactions from the public.

What better way to find out what appeals to your customers? Then the

company’s internal design team can tweek the crowdsourced design so it’s

marketable. In theory, crowdsourcing could save a manufacturer from costly

mistakes by producing goods that have mass appeal.

There also are naysayers. Some feel crowdsourcing brings in lots of ideas but not

necessarily the best ideas. Others warn designers that the work is speculative

and takes a big investment of time, talent and resources without being

compensated. Submitting an entry for interior design crowdsourced contests

requires time, AutoCAD plans and rendered drawings. Some may be afraid that

it’s changing industries and not for the best. However Jeff Howe says, “I don’t

think that crowdsourcing eradicates a business, it changes it dramatically. It

forces companies to approach us as potential partners and that’s much more

interesting and exciting. We do buy things but we participate meaningfully in the

process in which those products are created.”

Will Crowdsourcing Take Holdin Our Industry?by Susan Currie, Allied Member ASID, CAPS

Crowdsourcing: When a company takes a job thatwas once performed by employees and outsourcesit in the form of an open call to a large undefinedgroup of people generally using the Internet.

Defined by Jeff HoweContributor, Wired magazine,

The Rise of Crowdsourcing, 2006Author of Crowdsourcing

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Crowdsourcing isn’t a new concept to architecture

and design. In 1922 the Chicago Tribune building was

the result of a competition. Robert McCormick, the

publishing baron, offered $50,000 to the architect

who produced the best design to house the

newspaper. The contest garnered 263 entries.

Today crowdsourcing is happening within the interior

design industry. Life Edited has an open call on

www.jovoto.com for designs for Graham Hill's

apartment. After being crowdsourced, there are

several hundred designs posted. People also can sign

up to comment and rate the design. And the award

for the best design is nothing to sneeze at – a hefty

$70,000 in cash, products and contracts.

Another example of the trend taking hold in our

industry is Italian sports car maker Maserati’s joint

venture with Architectural Digest that asked the

public to design a dream garage fit for a Maserati.

Take a look at the crowdsourced designs along with

the winning entry posted at www.home-designing.com.

So will crowdsourcing become more prevalent in the

interior design industry? It’s possible. Ambitious

designers could use crowdsourcing to enhance their

careers and get ahead in a competitive market.

Commercial businesses with limited budgets may

decide that it’s an economical way to get design

submissions and gather customer reaction. Let’s face

it, businesses rely on customer feedback so this could

be important to a retailer, restaurant or a business

dependent on customer driven sales. There may be

some merit to crowdsourcing. It’s worth keeping an

eye on this emerging trend. Maybe you want to be a

part of the crowd?

CROWDSOURCING