blog 3.0 spec workx

The idea of spec work is not new to the designing industry, nor is it something only a few people are familiar with. The idea of spec work is when a client, company, agency ask a designer to do some work without pay, and that the company can keep after the work has been completed. Now that being said, is it evil? Is it bad for a designer to subject themselves to a lack of pay for the work they do? Is it bad for a designer to get their work out even with the the lack of a payment, but a flip-side gain in experience? Ah, there we go, something that doesn't seem quite so negative. Yes I do see, and for the most part agree, with the idea of spec work being a bad thing, that there is a negative impact on the designing community as a whole. The idea of having 500 random designers, or those that consider themselves designers, all work on a logo for a company, and the top one picked, doesn't get paid for that. Sure the one chosen feels better about himself, but that company got free work, 500 logos to choose from, and MAYBE a good logo. The idea of them having a mediocre logo as apposed to paying a professional to design a great logo, the company gets what they pay for... or in some cases didn't pay for. And there we have it, the idea of bad design being out in the world, and the company sporting that bad logo is none the wiser, and the people that are the clientele see from day to day have no idea that it is bad design. So through all of my ramblings I've covered some good and bad points of the spec work side. For the most part, I think everyone should be compensated for their work, good or bad, and I feel every designer should demand compensation for their work, never giving in to the demands of a company wanting a free logo. For the betterment of all our lives and incomes, do this for design community as a whole.