Graphics prices driven down by online "crowdsourcing"

The impact of the proliferation of inexpensive online stock photos and design may be good news for some, but have professionals looking over their shoulders, according to a story in Business Week. A recent deal between Getty Images to partner with photo-sharing site Flickr brings select Flickr users into the Getty collection. Getty already owns iStockphoto, which distributes royalty-free photos uploaded by users, what is called "crowdsourcing".

What were once sources of wholly and amateuric generic images (with the advent of good, inexpensive digital cameras) have now morphed into sites that allow users to bid on image and design jobs with the inevitable impact on prices.

Getty Chief Operating Officer Nick Evans-Lombe says: "The great thing that we see in the emergence of microstock is that it's significantly expanding the pool of people paying for imagery."

Martin Trailer, president of the Advertising Photographers of America, a trade group, says these sites reduce photos to low-cost commodities: "People gravitate toward the lowest common denominator, and a lot of the time that has to do with price."

Similarly, with design, there has been a growth of sites such as like 99designs, crowdSPRING, and Pixish where buyers on these sites put out graphics jobs for bids at prices that appeal only to hobbyists.

Richard Grefé, director of design association AIGA, says such services miss the point that professional design encompasses more than crafting visuals. "What you're getting is a superficial mark," he says.