(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

I propose to present my article that analyses an Internet task market, usually referred to as a crowdsourcing platform. My research focuses on the working system of crowdsourcing platforms that provide an unconventional way of connecting workers and jobs. While crowdsourcing platforms often involve collaborative brainstorming from a large group of workers, their corporations often misuse the efforts that online workers contribute. My writing elaborates on how human labor is undervalued in the Internet task market, and how this negatively affects the creative industries at large. In particular, I mainly investigate a creative crowdsourcing marketplace called Fiverr, to address artists and graphic designers degraded into the organs of capitalism. My objectives are to raise awareness of the overlooked phenomena of injustice in the digital space and suggest possible solutions for the creative industry. I will discuss Fiverr’s unethical systems of control imposed on designers’ creativity and authorship over their work. Its cheap pricing model is threatening the autonomy of the graphic design industry; its market system values quantity and speed over quality and originality. It undermines the ethos of numerous graphic designers who dedicate their time, knowledge, and passion for well-thought-out design. The digital transformation of the graphic design market is reshaping its infrastructure. As a rising number of graphic designers are going freelance following the pandemic, it is a crucial moment to evaluate the current working condition and implement changes to improve the welfare and the market system of new platforms. Furthermore, a partial backbone of Fiverr’s workforce is young novice designers who just stepped out of college. It causes devaluation of graphic design education and loss of motivation when they face the horrifying reality of competing with untrained practitioners and technicians for limited compensation. I expect my presentation to open up opportunities for a proper debate on the digital transformation of the graphic design market and suggest possible solutions to secure sustainable growth of the industry.