DesignCrowd Launches 100% Australian Crowdsourcing Service

International crowdsourcing marketplace DesignCrowd – who previously specialised in helping businesses outsource or ‘crowdsource’ to designers around the world – has launched a new Australian-only specific crowdsourcing service. The new website – DesignCrowd.com.au – will allow Australian businesses to crowdsource designs exclusively from Aussie designers.

This innovation is unique among existing creative crowdsourcing services and offers Australian businesses the opportunity to only engage local design talent, supporting the local industry and combining the benefits of crowdsourcing with the benefits of local designers. The new website which was launched in response to customer demand to limit projects to their favourite Australian designers will also offer Australian currency, local customer service and favourite a directory of top Australian designers – important features for small business owners who are heavy users o the platform.

It’s estimated that the local design industry is worth at least $4B annually. Australian design agencies employ 11,000 designers full-time while DesignCrowd already has 60,000 designers registered on its site. The company hopes to recruit more local design talent to its ranks and is offering local design agencies a white-labelled crowdsourcing platform.

DesignCrowd CEO Alec Lynch said, “Australians have been early adopters and heavy users of crowdsourcing but they also like to support local industry. Our new service will let Aussie businesses combine the benefit of crowdsourcing with the talent of the Australian design community. Clients in Sydney will be able to post a project on DesignCrowd and get 50-plus designs from designers in Melbourne to Mackay.If they want to they can also get designs from designers in places like Mumbai and Miami."

DesignCrowd’s new Australian-focused service further enhances Australia’s reputation as a leader in crowdsourcing. Ross Dawson, author of Getting Results From Crowds said, “Crowdsourcing will be central to Australia’s future. The growth of Australian as a global crowdsourcing hub demonstrates that we see the opportunity and are actively engaged in the reality of a world of connected work. It is exciting to see innovations such as DesignCrowd’s expand opportunities for Australian businesses and put Australia on the forefront of the global crowdsourcing landscape.”

The launch of the Australian service coincides with the appointment of Anthony Glenning, pioneer of Google Drawings (part of the Google Docs suite) to the DesignCrowd board and follows a busy 3-month period, which has included $3M investment from Starfish Ventures, the acquisition of US business Brandstack and the launch of BrandCrowd.com.