Info for clients / FAQ
Desall from A to Z
Account
What should I choose between User and Client account?What are the Facebook and Twitter connects options?
What should I use for my username?
I did not receive the activation e-mail. What should I do?
Why on earth has the Activation e-mail been flagged as SPAM?
I forgot my password and/or username.
What are the mandatory fields for the Signup?
Can I have more than one account?
How can I delete my account?
Profile
What is the profile page for?What are the mandatory fields to launch a contest on Desall.com?
How can I change my password?
How can I change my notifications/newsletter settings?
What is my “Contests” tab?
What is my “Favorites” tab?
What is my “Badge” tab?
What is my “Invoice” tab?
Contest
How can I launch a contest?Which are the contest typologies?
What is the difference between single phase and sequential contests?
What is a contest with NDA?
What is a private contest?
Can I launch a by-invitation contest?
What is the “Brief”?
Is it possible to upload a brief in more than one language?
How long does a contest last?
What is the Coming soon phase?
What is the Upload phase?
What is the Community vote phase?
What is the difference between Desall votes and Facebook likes?
What is the Client vote phase?
What are the Material Files?
What is the License fee?
What legal contract rules the organisation and management of the contest?
What is the Contest Agreement?
Are there any restrictions for the participants?
What is the time zone of reference for the contests?
Awards
Who decides the total amount of the awards?How can I award the selected projects?
Where are the awards of a contest displayed?
How shall I pay the winning designers?
How does Desall pay the winning designers?
Does any tax apply on the award?
Is it possible to get a revision on the selected projects?
What about the intellectual property of the projects?
Winners
Who chooses the winners?Can I choose more than one winner?
When are the winners announced?
Where are the winners of a contest published?
Website
What browser should I use?Any doubt about the icons or functionalities?
Want to leave a feedback or a comment for the website?
Want to leave a comment on a design?
What languages are allowed on the Desall.com?
How can I follow a user, client or contest?
How do private messages work?
Why should I follow a user, client or contest?
What if a user keeps bothering me with private messages?
How can I block all private messages?
General
What is Desall?Why should I use Desall for my creativity needs?
What is crowdsourcing?
How much does it cost to launch a contest on Desall.com?
How can I contact you?
ACCOUNT
What should I choose between User and Client account?"User" account should be chosen by those who are planning to join a contest and submit a project. This type of account allows voting.
Note well, User accounts are not allowed to launch contests.
"Client" account is for those (either Individual or Companies), who want to launch a contest themselves. This type of account allows voting.
Note well, Client accounts are not allowed to join contests.
Individual Client accounts are conceived for privates, without a company, who want to launch a contest.
Company Client accounts are conceived for companies that want to launch a contest.
If you like, you can signup in Desall by connecting to your Facebook or Twitter accounts. However, Facebook connect is advised only for Individual Clients, not for Company Clients because the account will be connected to a Facebook profile and not to a Company page. On the other hand, Twitter connect is suitable for all types of users.After granting Desall access to Facebook or Twitter, you will be able to choose your preferred username. Note well that you cannot edit the e-mail address. In case of the Twitter connect option you will also have to confirm your account by clicking on the link provided in the Activation e-mail. (Check also your SPAM folder).
What should I use for my username?Clients are invited to use their company or individual name without spaces. In case the username is already taken, you will be prompted an error message. We suggest you NOT to use your full e-mail address as username, in order to preserve your privacy.
I did not receive the activation e-mail. What should I do?Before contacting us, check your SPAM folder inside your inbox and look for our e-mail. If our e-mail has been flagged as SPAM, please unflag it and add noreply[at]desall[dot]com and info[at]desall[dot]com to your contact list to make sure you will receive further communications. If you still cannot see it, write us to hello[at]desall[dot]com and we will be glad to assist you.
Why on earth has the Activation e-mail been flagged as SPAM?Sometimes e-mail providers flag as SPAM messages coming from unknown recipients. If this is your case, please unflag it and add noreply[at]desall[dot]com and info[at]desall[dot]com to your contact list.
I forgot my password and/or username.No need to worry. Go to the login page and write your e-mail in the "Forgot username or password?" field.
What are the mandatory fields for the Signup?The mandatory fields for Signup are: Username, Email, Password, Repeat Password. You must tick the checkbox “I'm over 18 and agree to the Privacy Policy & User Agreement”.
Can I have more than one account?No, users can have one account all life long. If there are troubles with your account, please contact us to hello[at]desall[dot]com.
How can I delete my account?Simply get in contact with us writing a request email clicking on the following link. A member of our staff will get in contact with you as soon as possible.
PROFILE
What is the Client profile page for?The profile page is a section that shows your avatar, public information, including description, sector, tags, your website and social networks. You can also upload a customised banner (940x200px) to catch the attention of the public.
What are the mandatory fields to launch a contest on Desall.com?In case you want to launch a contest, you need to insert the individual or the company name, the TAX number, the address line, city, state, zip code and the country of your business.
How can I change my password?If you want to change your password, go to the “Password” tab in your profile page.
How can I change my notifications/newsletter settings?If you want to change your notifications/newsletter settings, go to the “Notifications” tab in your profile page.
What is my “Contests” tab?The “Contests” tab is a section of your profile page where you can see all the contests launched on Desall.com.
What is my “Favorites” tab?The “Favorites” tab is a section of your profile page where you can see all users/clients, designs and contests that you have picked as favourite, as well as the users/clients that have favourited you.
What is my “Badge” tab?The “Badge” tab is a section of your profile page where you can see your achievements. The most active you are, the most badges you get!
What is my “Invoice” tab?The “Invoice” tab is a section of your profile page that recaps all expenses for each contest.
CONTEST
How can I launch a contest?Launching a contest is quite simple. Desall Team is available to give all the support you need. Feel free to contact us at hello[at]desall[dot]com.
Which are the contest typologies?The contest typologies are: “Industrial design”, “Craft design” and “Interior design”.
“Industrial design” focuses on projects expected to enter mass production, “Craft design” regards artisan products and small series, while “Interior design” is related to the development of interior design projects, space planning, furniture design etc.
Single phase contests focus only on one aspect of product development, either related to “Industrial design” (New idea, Product design, Naming, Packaging), “Craft design” or “Interior design".
Sequential contests are related only to the “Industrial design” contest typology and include two or more phases (New idea + Product design + Naming + Packaging).
NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to or by third parties. It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement.
A contest licensed under NDA requires users to accept it in order to read the brief, make an upload and browse the gallery.
During the community Vote phase people are invited to vote the uploaded projects. To cast their vote, they need to signup in Desall.com and accept the NDA too.
A NDA contest is indicated by a crossed-mouth icon on the thumbnail. Once you are logged in and have accepted the NDA, the icon will not be visible.
A private contest allows only the Client to view the submitted proposals.
Everyone can read the brief and join the contest.
For this type of contest, the Community Vote phase is not present.
A private contest is indicated by a locker icon on the thumbnail.
Certainly. Upon request, the Desall Team can activate a special feature that allows you to launch a by-invitation contest, that generates an ad-hoc access code to read the brief and join the contest. This allows you to share the access code with a target group of your choice (students from a university/school, your contact list, etc.).
What is the “Brief”?The “Brief” is the contest assignment, a description of what you need from the Desall Community. In order to help designers find solutions that best match your needs, you should provide all the necessary details in the most descriptive and clear manner.
The Desall Team will help you in the process, providing a specific set of questions that let you create the most effective brief.
Certainly. For some languages an additional cost might be applied. Please contact us for further details to hello[at]desall[dot]com.
How long does a contest last?There is no fixed timing for a contest. Generally, a contest lasts between 6 and 12 weeks but the timing is customisable according to the Client needs.
Every contest has a specific calendar which is available inside the brief document attached as PDF in the contest page. In addition, for every phase you can check the duration from the coloured upper bar inside the contest page. For the Upload phase there is also a countdown showing exactly how much time is left for submissions which is visible under the brief.
The Coming soon phase is a period during which the brief of the contest is published but the Upload phase has not been opened yet. This phase should help everyone read carefully the brief and analyse all aspects before uploading the projects.
What is the Upload phase?The Upload phase is the period during which a contest is open for submissions.
Only in this phase can designers submit their proposals.
Note well that every contest has a specific Upload phase time.
The Community vote phase is the period during which a contest opens for the votes of the Community. Everyone can join this phase to vote for their preferred designs, as long as he or she signs up on Desall.com.
The Community vote is an important phase for the Clients that can use it also as a market research and as an unconventional tool for their brand awareness.
Only the Desall votes are counted during the Community Vote phase, however also the likes on Facebook might be considered by the Client as further feedback for the market research.
What is the Client vote phase?The Client vote phase is the period during which the Client selects the winners of a contest.
The winners are always chosen by the Client, regardless of the Community vote, if not stated otherwise in the brief.
The “Material Files” are extra materials attached to the contest page, that may include further images, texts, videos etc. to give participants more information for the better creation of their proposals.
Not all contests have “Material files”. In case there are, the “Material files” icon will be active (light blue colour). The “Material files” icon is available under the text of the brief in the contest page.
The License fee is an option that allows the Client to preset a price or a range of price for the purchase of the exclusive license for the economic use of those projects not acknowledged as the winning projects. This possibility is valid within 12 months after the end of the contest.
What legal contract rules the organisation and management of the contest?Upon request, Clients can get a customised version of the agreement tailored to their specific needs. For more info, please contact hello[at]desall[dot]com
What is the Contest Agreement?The “Contest Agreement” is the document that contains all terms and conditions related to every contest.
This document is addressed to all participants of a specific contest and is written in compliance with the terms and conditions already contained and subscribed in the Client Agreement between Desall and the Client. All participants need to read it and accept it before submitting any project for the contest.
Participation is free of charge and is open to designers and creative talents of any nationality. The only restriction for joining a contest is the minimum legal age according to the Italian legislation, viz. 18 years old. Exceptions for school students or similar can be made in special circumstances - please contact us directly on the topic.
What is the time zone of reference for the contests?All date and time references are calculated using the UTC/GMT time zone.
AWARDS
Who decides the total amount of the awards?The total amount of the awards is always decided by the Client which launches the contest. Desall is not involved in the decision.
How can I award the selected projects?For the awarding of the winning users, the Client can choose between three possibilities: a cash award, a royalties contract or a comprehensive option including both cash award and royalties contract. Through the payment of the awards, the Client gets the right for the economic exploitation of the winning projects.
Where are the awards of a contest displayed?The awards of a contest are written in the “Awards” tab inside the contest page. In addition, they are also reported in the PDF brief attached to the contest page.
How shall I pay the winning designers?Once you have selected the winners, the Desall Team will get in contact with them asking for the necessary billing information. The payment can be performed either by Desall (upon advance payment of the full due amount) or by the Client itself, that will directly get in contact with the winners.
Accordingly, the time for the payment depends on the single Client and is usually no longer than 3 months.
Desall pays the winning designers via bank transfer.
Does any tax apply on the award?Yes, the Italian legislation applies taxes on the final sum of the award depending on Age and Residence of the participant.
Is it possible to get a revision on the selected projects?By default a revision is already included in the Contest Agreement. If a revision is required, Desall will give support contacting the author/s of the project/s to help meet the Client requirements. For more info, contact us to hello[at]desall[dot]com.
What about the intellectual property of the projects?Every author has the intellectual property on his/her own projects.
However the Client is entitled to exert, within 12 (twelve) months since the conclusion of the Contest, a pre-emption right to obtain an exclusive license of the Project; after 12 months from the closing of the Contest, the right of pre-emption on the exclusiveness of the Project shall be transferred to Desall for another 6 (six) months.
WINNERS
Who chooses the winners?The winners are always chosen by the Client, unless otherwise stated in the brief.
Can I choose more than one winner?Certainly. You can award more than one project provided you offer an award for each of them.
Note well, you might also consider to set a License fee.
The winners are announced after the Community Vote phase, once the Client has made the choice. Time may vary according to the Client. Usually it takes no longer than 1 month.
Where are the winners of a contest published?The winners are always published in the “Awards” tab of the contest page, once the contest has been closed. In addition, you will find a brief article on our blog (blog.desall.com presenting the winning projects and on our social networks.
Note well that in case of a NDA contest (NDA contest), you will first have to accept the NDA to view the winning proposals and authors; in case of a private contest, only the author of the winning proposals will be visible.
WEBSITE
What browser should I use?We suggest you to use the latest version available of your preferred browser.
Desall is compatible with all latest browsers.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 or earlier is not supported.
If you don’t know what browser to use, we suggest you Google Chrome (download the latest version).
Check our “Instruction booklet”.
Want to leave a feedback or a comment for the website?You can leave a feedback or a comment from all pages of our website clicking on the blue tab on the right side of your window named “feedback”.
Note well that this feature is not meant for voting or commenting a design.
You can leave a comment on a design from the design page, once you’ve logged in Desall.com.
What languages are allowed on the Desall.com?Only English is allowed on Desall.com because our Clients, regardless of their location, often have international personnel.
In addition, Desall is an international community of creatives and to help everyone understand and join the discussions English must be preferred.
In case you see comments written in other languages, please report them to us clicking on the “gear” icon next to the comment and on the “flag” button which pops up.
In order to follow a user, client or contest you should click on the “plus” icon on the top-right corner of the thumbnail.
How do private messages work?If you want to send a message to a user, go to his/her profile page and click on “Send a message” button on the left side. When you send a message an automated mail by noreply[at]desall[dot]com will be sent to his/her e-mail address with the content of your text. If you want to reply, you just need to click on the “Reply” button inside the e-mail which will redirect you to the profile page of the user you want to contact and click on the “Send a message” button.
Note well that this system has been conceived to preserve your privacy by concealing your email address.
You would want to follow a user, client or contest if you are planning to be updated about the related activities, such as new uploads, contests or announcements.
Note well that you need to activate your notifications from the “Notifications” tab in your profile page.
Go the user “Profile” page and click on the red button on the left side called “Block this user”.
Please contact us in this regard writing to hello[at]desall[dot]com.
Go to the “Notifications” tab inside your “Profile” page and uncheck the “I want to send and receive private messages” box.
GENERAL
What is Desall?Desall is a crowdsourcing web platform for participatory design that connects companies and private clients to an international Community of creative talents, through the organization of design contests open to all.
Why should I use Desall for my creativity needs?Desall is a digital design firm dedicated to products conception and development. Thanks to its Team and its worldwide Community of designers, Desall grants access to a high number of different valuable design solutions through a cost and time effective process. In addition, Clients can pursue a dual purpose by means of a single service: obtain design solutions that address specific needs and exploit an alternative marketing tool for the international promotion of the brand.
What is crowdsourcing?“Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers” (Cit. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing).
Desall has opened the project development to an international Community of creatives that contribute to the process joining our contests.
Costs are calculated according to the services requested and to the typology of contest required, be it single phase or sequential, the duration and promotion. Additional services can also be requested. For more info, please contact us to hello[at]desall[dot]com.
How can I contact you?If you want to contact us in regard to a specific contest, please go to the respective “Contest” page and click on the blue button on the left side of the page called “Have a question?”.
For general enquiries, please write to hello[at]desall[dot]com.
If you did not find what you were looking for, please contact us using our form.
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