Whilst the idea is great, the website layout is very user friendly and there are a lot of contests available to choose from, the team at 99Designs treats you unfairly and rudely. I have been a member for years, but had my account suspended because in ONE contest I received a poor rating. I wrote an email in response to my account suspension and received no kind of politeness or empathy. Apparently it doesn't matter to them whether your designs are appreciated by most people on the platform. As soon as you upload a design that is not liked by one client, you get suspended, without a chance to find out out why. They then take the responsibility of allowing you back on the platform only AFTER 3 months from the date of suspension. Not sure if they think 3 months is the perfect time for someone to 'improve' or what. They will also force you to submit a portfolio with 4 to 5 designs based on contests available, which means you have to design 4 ideas in maximum 4 days (before a contest is closed) and submit it to THEM, not to the contest holder (who should really be the only one judging). Apparently their judgement is the most important out there, so make sure you only create designs that 99designs likes, or you might be suspended!!Very rude and emotionless staff, who thinks they know better about design than anyone out there. And after telling me they think my skills are not high enough for their platform, they do not offer any help in improving! They might as well request an interview and portfolio when you join the platform, as apparently this is a full-time job with performance reviews and such (but of course no bonuses or benefits)! I'm utterly disappointed in their behaviour.
