Vistaprint launches design service
Web-to-print business Vistaprint is bringing a design service to its portfolio. It is acquiring 99designs to offer clients a low-cost bespoke design service.
Until now Vistaprint has provided standard artwork, images, typefaces, and layouts that its clients can use, or they could upload their own layouts and images. Now, with 99designs, the company will offer the services of its network of freelance designers.
“The driving force behind Vistaprint’s future with 99designs is our passion to help small businesses,” Robert Keane, founder and chief executive officer of both Cimpress and Vistaprint, said.
“We know how critical great design is for entrepreneurs on their journey. 99designs and Vistaprint have shared values and vision to be a trusted partner to business owners and creators which lay the foundation for something bigger and more valuable than either of our teams could create alone.”
The company says connecting 99designs’ network of talented freelance designers with its 20 million customers will create a global platform which will make it easy for small businesses to access both professional design services and great marketing products in one place.
Patrick Llewellyn, 99designs’ chief executive officer, said: “In a year when the whole world has had to work together online, 99designs’ mission of championing creativity to bring opportunities to people around the world has never been more relevant. We’ve been enabling remote creative connections for more than a decade and have seen firsthand how these fuel the success of small businesses and creators. Vistaprint’s belief and investment in both our team and technology is testament to the enormous potential in human-powered creativity, as well as the profound impact that great design has on a small business.”
Vistaprint is the world’s biggest web-to-print outfit, operating from sites in the US, Europe, and at Deer Park in Melbourne. It targets both the general public and what it calls micro-businesses, typically one- or two-person operations.