Logo design contest integration: how to run a documented logo contest
Running a logo design contest integration with documented platform steps follows five moves: write a brief, choose a category and package, launch, review concepts, and give feedback. ZillionDesigns documents account creation with email verification first, and 99designs documents the brief and package steps that come before launch.
Prepared by ContestsOnline editorial desk — Revised
The documented workflow from brief to launch
Two vendors document the workflow in compatible stages, and that overlap is what makes logo design contest integration workable for an organiser. On 99designs the client writes a design brief before starting a contest, selects a contest package, and then starts the contest, in that order. ZillionDesigns lists the same skeleton with more granularity: register as a client and verify the email, choose the type of design needed, pick a contest package, set the duration, launch, then review the concepts that arrive. Neither vendor hides a step inside a settings menu; the sequence is published in their own support material.
The order matters more than it first appears. A brief written before the package choice tells the organiser which package tier actually fits the number of concepts wanted, and ZillionDesigns states this explicitly when it tells organisers to create a design brief with all details before anything else. A brief written after launch produces scattered feedback and designers working in the wrong direction. Both vendors place the brief at the front for that reason, and an organiser who follows the documented sequence inherits that discipline without inventing it.
- Write the brief before touching package options, as both vendors document.
- Verify the email at registration on ZillionDesigns before any contest setup.
- Keep the category choice tied to the brief so concepts arrive on subject.
Accounts, packages and the pay gate
Account setup is documented as free on 99designs: the support material says the whole registration process takes less than a minute and is free of charge, whether the person registering is a designer or a client. The charge for a design contest arrives later, at a specific, documented moment. 99designs states that the client is charged the price of the contest immediately upon clicking the pay and launch control, once card or PayPal details are entered. Nothing is documented as charged at brief-writing, at package browsing, or at concept review.
ZillionDesigns structures the same gate as a package choice: select a pricing tier based on your budget, then choose the duration and any additional features. The vendor documents the tier choice as part of setup, before launch, which means an organiser can assemble the whole contest shape, brief included, and see what it requires before anything is confirmed.
For a first run, that sequencing is the safety net. Set up everything, confirm nothing, and the launch click stays an informed decision.
- Registration on 99designs is documented as free of charge.
- The charge on 99designs lands at the pay and launch step, not before.
- ZillionDesigns ties the pricing tier to the budget during setup.
Review, feedback and files
After launch the documented workflow turns from setup to judgement. ZillionDesigns names two stages in one instruction: review the multiple concepts, then send feedback and download files. The two are a pair, not alternatives; feedback given without reviewing every concept skews the pool toward the earliest entries, and files downloaded before feedback is settled invite an organiser to commit to a design the round has not actually chosen.
In practice the review stage is where a contest decided by votes or by client judgement gets its record. Concepts arrive during the run, the organiser responds inside the window, and both vendors treat the feedback step as part of the contest rather than a follow-up. An organiser planning public voting should decide, before launch, whether votes choose a shortlist and the client chooses the winner, because neither vendor's documented steps settle that split on their own.
- Review every concept before sending any feedback.
- Download files only after the winner is settled.
- Decide the vote-versus-client split before launch, since the documented steps leave it open.
Duration, features and the launch window
ZillionDesigns documents contest duration as typically three to seven days, chosen together with additional features at setup. That window is short enough to keep designers engaged and long enough for a full concept round, and it is the number an organiser should plan public voting around. A vote window longer than the contest runs past the concepts; a vote window shorter than it truncates participation. Three to seven days is therefore the spine of the whole schedule.
The additional features field is documented but not itemised in the material behind the facts here, so an organiser should read the vendor's current setup screen rather than assume. The rules do not say how features interact with the duration choice; that is a gap to check at setup, not a detail to guess at.
- Three to seven days is the documented duration on ZillionDesigns.
- Additional features are chosen at the same setup moment.
- Where one vendor does not document a step, the other vendor's documented step fills the gap, since the workflows share a spine.
Shirts, stickers and the same template
The same template carries a tshirt design contest with one substitution: the category and the brief. ZillionDesigns documents choosing the type of design needed, and names logo among the types, with packaging and website alongside. A shirt design brief replaces the logo brief's brand-identity questions with print constraints, garment colours and placement, but the account, package, launch, review and feedback steps are the same documented sequence.
A voting sticker design contest works the same way and for the same reason. The brief carries the sticker's die-cut shape and print limits; the workflow stays untouched. Organisers who run a logo round first often reuse the template for the sticker round, changing only the category and the brief text, and nothing in either vendor's documented steps prevents it.
- A tshirt design contest template only changes the brief and the category.
- Sticker rounds inherit the same three-to-seven-day window.
- Reusing a template free of charge across rounds is an organiser choice, not a documented vendor feature.
What organisers cannot decide
The documented steps settle process, not outcome. Neither vendor's documentation guarantees a number of concepts, a winning design, or how public voting will behave; an organiser who needs guaranteed participation is reading the wrong page. The vendors document what the client controls, which is the brief, the package, the duration and the feedback; everything the designers do stays with the designers.
There is also a boundary the documentation does not cross. It says nothing about local rules for prize promotions, and nothing about moderation of public votes beyond what an organiser sets up. Those are the organiser's own risk checks, done before the brief is written, and the documented workflow stops there.
- The brief, the package, the duration and the feedback sit with the client.
- Concept quality, concept count and designer conduct stay with the designers.
- Local promotion rules sit outside the vendors' documented steps entirely.
| Step | 99designs | ZillionDesigns |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Free of charge, under a minute | Account plus email verification |
| Brief | Written before the contest starts | Created with all details, first |
| Design type | Set in the brief | Chosen from logo, website, packaging and more |
| Package | Selected before launch | Pricing tier matched to budget |
| Duration | Not documented by the vendor | Typically three to seven days |
| Charge moment | At the pay and launch click | Not documented by the vendor |
| Close-out | Not documented by the vendor | Send feedback and download files |
Procedure
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Create the account
Register as a client and verify your email on ZillionDesigns; on 99designs registration is documented as free of charge and takes less than a minute.
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Write the design brief
Both vendors put the brief first. On 99designs the client writes a design brief before starting a contest; ZillionDesigns says to create a design brief with all details.
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Choose the design type
ZillionDesigns says to choose the type of design you need, naming logo, website and packaging as options. The category sets which designers see the project.
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Select a package and duration
Select a pricing tier based on your budget, then choose the duration, typically three to seven days, and any additional features you want.
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Launch the contest
On 99designs the contest starts after the package is selected, and the client is charged on clicking the pay and launch control.
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Review concepts and close out
Review the multiple concepts, send feedback, and download files, in the order ZillionDesigns documents. Feedback during the run shapes the remaining concept rounds.
Readers ask
How do you run a logo contest?
Running a logo contest follows a documented five-stage sequence: account, brief, design type, package and launch. ZillionDesigns documents the account, category and duration steps; 99designs documents the brief, the package and the launch, with the charge taken only at the pay and launch click on a design contest.
How do you run a logo design contest?
Running a logo design contest starts with the brief. On 99designs the client writes a design brief before starting a contest and selects a contest package before the contest starts; on ZillionDesigns the account is created and the email verified first, then the design type and pricing tier are chosen. Both vendors end setup at launch, after which concept review and feedback close the round.
How do you run a tshirt design contest?
A tshirt design contest uses the same documented workflow with a different brief and category. ZillionDesigns documents choosing the type of design needed, and a shirt round simply selects that type while the brief carries print constraints, garment colours and placement. Account, package, duration, launch, review and feedback steps are unchanged from the logo sequence.
When is a design contest paid for?
On 99designs the charge falls at one documented moment: the client is charged the price of the design contest immediately upon clicking the pay and launch control. ZillionDesigns instead documents a pricing tier selected against the budget during setup. Registration on 99designs is documented as free of charge, so the free stage ends where launch begins.
How long does a design contest run?
ZillionDesigns documents contest duration as typically three to seven days, chosen at setup together with any additional features. That window frames everything: a public vote needs a slot inside it, and feedback rounds need room before it closes. Plan the schedule around the documented window rather than around an invented one.
Can a voting sticker design contest run on the same steps?
Yes. A voting sticker design contest changes only the brief and the category; the documented account, package, launch, review and feedback steps are identical. Plan the sticker's die-cut shape and print limits into the brief, keep the three-to-seven-day window, and reuse the feedback habit from the logo round.
Notes and sources
- support.99designs.com. support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204761045-What-is-a-design-contest.
- support.99designs.com. support.99designs.com/hc/en-us/articles/204761375-How-do-I-sign-up-for-an-account.
- zilliondesigns.com. zilliondesigns.com/blog/logo-guide/.
- zilliondesigns.com. zilliondesigns.com/faqs.
- zilliondesigns.com. zilliondesigns.com/faqs.
ContestsOnline does not run contests, cannot promise any contest outcome, and publishes no prices, fees or currency amounts. The page is not legal advice and offers no legal advice; where local promotion law applies, a lawyer should review the contest rules before launch. It never teaches vote manipulation and never names a vote seller.
Woobox's user terms require entrants to agree to the organiser's official rules, so any limit on bought or incentivised votes depends on the particular contest. Walmart's Associate Talent Search rules prohibit paying for votes and let Walmart void fraudulent votes or disqualify the entrant. The platform's terms and the organiser's rules are two documents, and a disqualification is decided under the second.
Woobox lists three warning signs of bought votes: many votes from one IP address, votes from people in different countries and regular voting intervals. Award Force says its platform detects and blocks automated or scripted voting and rate-limits rapid voting. Ordinary participation is uneven in time and independent in origin, so it shows none of those patterns; this describes how checks read a count and is not a method for passing one.
In the United States, the FTC says a sweepstakes cannot require a purchase to enter, and California says a sweepstakes must offer a way to enter without cost. Those rules concern sweepstakes entry, not votes: whether a contest allows paid votes is written in its own rules, and ViralSweep even lets organisers configure Pay to Vote. Contests whose rules bar outside votes are refused, and so are political ballots.
Once voting closes, a refund applies where votes ordered for a contest never appear in the count the contest itself displays. ViralSweep says its protections may silently flag and block a vote, and Woobox says votes from IP addresses it has flagged as fraudulent do not count even when the voter appears to have succeeded, so the displayed count is the test. An organiser's ruling or a disqualification is never refunded, and neither is an account ban such as the permanent one Gleam says a breach of its terms may bring.