I've used 99designs three different times to create a logo and brand guide for my businesses. The process starts out by selecting your package. That may be for a logo, website, brand guide, or all of the above. There are many other services from which to choose. And depending on the price point, you're given an idea of how many designs you can expect to get back. I love that I don't have to commit to one artist up front and risk being stuck with one who doesn't quiet align with me and my business. And even if that happens, there is little risk because you choose when to release payment to the artist you've chosen.

After choosing a package, the system walks you through a series of questions to understand your tastes and vision. You're asked about colors and styles. You can input examples of things you like and describe what you're going for. This is all compiled into a breif and put out to the freelance community on 99designs in a contest format. Within the contest, you can create your own private polls to share and determine what designs people prefer. Once you select one design, you can further work with the artist to finalize the design and draft additional variations of the logo, such as black and white, favicon, landscape vs. square, etc.

Once you're satisfied with what your artist has provided, you can release funds and receive all the files designed for your business. And if you need more work done, you can always come back to the same artist so that you can maintain consistency in your branding.