This paper examines how design training and adherence to design norms influence within-contest design distinctiveness. Based on an online banner ad design competition in a crowdsourcing platform, I found that there is a joint effect of design training and adherence to design norms on within-contest design distinctiveness, which is negative. However, this negative effect holds for designers with design training in a way that deviation from design norms makes their designs more distinctive, whereas it is not hold for designers without design training. Rather, their adherence to design norms makes their work more distinctive. This may because of the adherence to design norms guarantee their design work to be appropriate and with good quality. This paper emphasizes the importance of...[ Read more ]

This paper examines how design training and adherence to design norms influence within-contest design distinctiveness. Based on an online banner ad design competition in a crowdsourcing platform, I found that there is a joint effect of design training and adherence to design norms on within-contest design distinctiveness, which is negative. However, this negative effect holds for designers with design training in a way that deviation from design norms makes their designs more distinctive, whereas it is not hold for designers without design training. Rather, their adherence to design norms makes their work more distinctive. This may because of the adherence to design norms guarantee their design work to be appropriate and with good quality. This paper emphasizes the importance of "no training" designers in design competition with regard to distinctive design, which contributes to the theory of crowdsourcing that highlights the advantages of collective wisdom, as well as the importance of design norms in adjusting the design quality. Managerial implications for online banner ad clients and designers are provided in the crowd-based design contest, and future research is discussed.

Keywords: design distinctiveness, crowdsourcing, banner ad, design training, design norm, design competition