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Designers who Blog: NO!SPEC campaign
Cat's fancy index
 Say NO! to Spec: In an effort to educate Visual Communication Designers and those who use their services on the damaging effects caused by spec work and spec-based design contests, a group of designers from all over the globe banned together, fueled by passion and a lot of caffeine, to bring NO!SPEC to the public …
For a quick intro, read the NO!SPEC press release.
Carmen von Richthofen, Executive Director of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RGD Ontario) shows persistence does pay off with the Advocacy Update - RGD Working Against Spec Work.
The bloggers mentioned below have been featured on 'Designers who blog' during the NO!SPEC crusade. |
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How the NO!SPEC crusade came about:
On February 24th Cat was over at the GDC/BG Blog when Peter pointed to a discusion led by Eric Karjaluoto about the Canadian Heritage and Design Exchange competition, a web design competition that proved to be not very popular with designers due to its spec attributes. Cat then posted the discussion in a rant, to which Betta chanted “... anti-spec work week ... "
A committee of 20 passionate designers was quickly formed to develop the NO!SPEC crusade. Some offered to research, others to write copy and submit articles, some got together to brainstorm the design angle. A little over two weeks later we had a web presence and started sharing thoughts around on forums, blogs and via emails.
Each of the designers (below) took up the cause by posting their opinions on personal blogs, which were then featured on 'Designers who blog'. Some are members of the NO!SPEC committee, some have recently joined the NO!SPEC cause. All are passionate about the Visual Communication Design industry.
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| It seems logical to begin with Eric Karjaluoto from ideasonideas, as it was his post that ignited the NO!SPEC adventure. |
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ideasonideas
Eric Karjaluoto speaks:
"Perhaps my whole perspective on spec work is simply backwards. Maybe I’m one of those designers who just can’t get past that peculiar notion of being paid for what I do. How silly and short-sighted of me." |
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| Followed by dear Betta who nudged it forward with “... anti-spec work week ... " |
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ThinkCreation
Elisabetta Bruno speaks:
"Your work has value, your time spent in learning your profession, your expertise, your design should get the exchange they deserve. Don’t do projects before the client pays you at least a deposit and use a contract spelling clearly your rights and the client’s on any of the artwork and files used in the project. Not doing so could potentially end up in a rip off of your work, as the client might give your artwork to someone else who will “finish it for free” leaving you with no compensation."
Betta Wrote: What is ‘working on speculation?’ and came up with 'Mind the Spec' used on the sidebar of the NO!SPEC site. |
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Then along came the NO!SPEC committee to pull it all together: Jeanette Wickham, Tamar Wallace, Elisabetta Bruno, Danita Reynolds, Piers Le Seuer, Erin Harris, Robert Wurth, Alina Hagen, Jeff Fisher, Von Glitschka, Conor, Dawn Burgess, Neil Tortorella, Tom Stephan, Mark Astrella, Bill Schuhle, Dagmar Jeffrey, Chris Tomlinson, Brian Rollins, Michael Miller, Rob Gough, Dana Chrysler, Calvin Lee and Catherine (cat) Morley.
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| Followed by the NO!SPEC logo designed by Piers ... |
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Stirrings from the Soul
NO!SPEC logo designer Piers Le Seure speaks:
“Spec work requests are one of the worst aspects haunting our industry. Visual Communication Design (also  known as Graphic Design) is one of the only industry where this sort of thing is allowed to happen and it has to stop. Some larger organisations have tried to use it to get cheap, or free, design work - even though they have advertising and marketing budgets in the thousands. It is so demeaning to our profession, So, lets spread the word. Lets work to make our profession a strong one with a foundation firmly rooted in professional ethics.”
T-shirts, mugs and other items sporting the NO!SPEC logo can be found at the NO!SPEC cafe press store. All proceeds go towards getting posters out to Visual Communication Design schools. |
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| The logo begat the NO!SPEC website ... |
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The website was a community effort. After the logo was designed, the NO!SPEC committee went off in all directions, researching, writing site copy and articles. While they were busy, Jeanette (Jay) Wickham and Catherine (cat) Morley from FastCoconut put the site together.
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| Baby faced Tamar Wallace, Cat's right hand lass, helped organise the troups while painstakingly putting together the NO!SPEC cafepress shop shown below ... |
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Tamar Wallace
Tamar Wallace speaks:
"After being duped not once, but twice, into providing design work on spec, I became very protective of my services. Just as any other professional expects to be paid, I decided that with my skills, experience and talent, that I, too, deserved to be paid for the services I provided. I don't just "make things look pretty," I research my clients' industry and their competition, find out what makes them unique, and develop personalized design solutions based on my findings and information provided to me by the client ... These things take time, experience and skill, and when done well, can make a campaign successful, a promotion a huge hit, and take a growing business to the next level. So it's only reasonable to expect that we, as designers, should get paid for our services."
Tamar wrote: Just say NO! to Spec Work (Why Spec is Bad and other stories…) |
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| Danita shot off page after page of copy from her sick bed so we could launch the NO!SPEC crusade on time ... |
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Danita Reynolds
Danita Reynolds speaks:
"When a buyer of design chooses spec work as an avenue to get as many submissions as possible, the buyer skips over important steps in the development of strategic design. Strategic design can enhance market position and provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Without strategic design the message is lost and so is the competitive advantage.
When a designer chooses to do spec work for experience the designer skips over important steps in the development of strategic design. Instead the designer in a rush to make the deadline submits designs that fail to meet real-world business and organization’s challenges. This type of experience is often unpaid or with very little real compensation to the designer who’s design was chosen and for those whose submissions that were rejected there is no compensation at all for their time and expense."
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| Von Glitschka then worked into the wee hours to create two posters for the NOW!SPEC launch ... |
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Art Backwash
 Illustrator Von Glitschka of www.glitschka.com designed the fantastic posters for the NO!SPEC crusade launch.
The posters have now been created into t-shirts sold at the NO!SPEC cafe press store.
In order to keep their clarity, the posters shown below have been cropped. |
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| After the NO!SPEC launch on 'Designers who blog', Debbie Millman started it off with the below ... |
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Debbie Millman
Debbie Millman speaks:
"Speculative work denigrates both the agencies and the designers that participate. If we give away our work for free, if we give away our talent and our expertise, we give away more than the work. We give away our hearts for free, and we give away our souls." |
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| Robert Wurth was ahead of us all with an early post on Freshly Squeezed droplets ... |
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Freshly Squeezed Design
Robert Wurth speaks:
"What it boils down to is a loss of control. By running a contest, the company gives up its power to choose a designer based on talent, skill, personality and all of the other factors that make it possible to conduct business with someone. This is no more a sound business model than playing the lottery in the hopes of making a profit."
Robert wrote: "Design Contests Are Dangerous For Your Business", "Why Speculation Hurts" and the "In Good Faith" protest letter. |
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| We were chuffed to see the education sector arrive in the form of Mister Alexander ... |
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Mister Alexander
William Alexander speaks:
"The launch of the No-Spec campaign reminded me of an experience I've had that points to the danger of speculative designing. In 1999, after moving to Roanoke from Radford to work as Art Director for Leisure Publishing Company, I decided it was time to dive head first into the freelance world as well. I was new to town and didn't know anyone, so I hit the street looking for freelance clients. In the end, my inexperience and eagerness caused the loss of my own creative control and product, and my only payment was the 150 or so hot dogs that my sympathetic friend slid across the counter every time I stopped in to look at the stolen work (Thanks Christian!) While some of the dangers of Spec work are a bit hard to visualize, this one is easy to see. Creating Spec work can render your work completely worthless, and give a dishonest businessperson a free ride." |
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| And what design industry crusade is complete without a word from Steve Douglas over at The Logo Factory? ... |
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Logopalooza
Steve Douglas speaks:
"Why spec projects and logo design contests suck … Well, in my humble opinion, logo design contests (and other types of ’spec’ - speculative - logo design ‘offerings’) are nothing more than visual Spam. With similar results and driven by similar motives. Here’s the usual pitch - somebody who wants a new logo created for their fledgling business offers a prize (I’ve seen everything between $50 to a few grand and some with nothing but the ‘glory’ of designing the job) as part of a contest (or spec project) during which designers will submit their work, without any contract, payment or agreement (other than the ‘winner’), in the hopes of having their work selected. It uses the ‘visual Spam’ theory - if enough designers, throw enough ideas (for free, natch) at a project, one of these entries ’should’ be a winner. It’s also a variant of the ’something for nothing’ approach ... And my mother has been lecturing me on that one since I was a wee lad…
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| Michael from the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) has been honing his spec fighting skills for years and weighed in with ... |
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design*notes
Michael Surtees speaks:
"I don't have any spec bogeyman stories involving myself. I probably owe it to luck for not getting involved with those type of schemes, but I also think it has something to do with my design education. I spent five years in design school, three in college and two in University. That investment of time, money and commitment gave me a foundation to believe that I had something valuable to contribute to industry. One of the reasons why I think the NO!SPEC site is such a big deal is because it is connecting with every conceivable designer background to value the work that they do.
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| Kevin, an employee at the ever informative Industrial Brand posted on broome ... |
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broome
Kevin Broome speaks:
"The Canadian design community was recently looking down just a barrel when the Design Exchange in collaboration with the Department of Canadian Heritage released a speculative national competition for the redesign of the Canadian Cultural Gateway Website. A number of the more vocal outlets (including our own over at Industrial Brand) immediately called foul. In fact, it was the commentary posted over at Slashdot's ideasonideas that served as the final straw for Cat and spurred her on to creating the NO!SPEC movement. It appears that this time around, the design community is not only circling our wagons, but we're also packing a hell of an arsenal. What it comes down to is that it is no longer acceptable for a company or organization to presume that it has the right to ask for a designer's time and talent without the guarantee of proper payment. Simple as that.
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| Jeff Fisher from Jeff Fisher LogoMotives came into the crusade with banners waving. He was offstation when we began, but after coming back and recovering from an illness he stepped in. (If you see us posted around the internet, it's a good chance it's Jeff spreading the love) ... |
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bLog-oMotives
Jeff Fisher speaks:
"I want to compliment Frederick Ost for engaging in a positive dialogue with Cat Morley, Project Manager of NO!SPEC, in regards to how their original call for participation constituted "spec" work. The Caravan Project members worked with NO!SPEC to revise their request into a much more ethical design project procedure. I applaud their willingness to take another look out how their project was being conducted and make alterations. I urge other designers to support The Caravan Project and their promotion of NO!SPEC. When you visit the TCP web site you will see their support in the form of the graphic posted below."
Jeff Fisher wrote: A Winning Strategy: Industry awards as a marketing tool |
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| Sweet words of thanks (below) from the chaps over at The Caravan Project ... |
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| Daniel only a few hours to pitch in with his comments on GraphicDefine after receiving the news ... |
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GraphicDefine
Daniel Schutzsmith speaks:
"By starting out doing spec work to “win” a project, you are automatically extending your resources beyond your means. I don’t care if you have a nice nest egg left over from that awesome project you finished up for XYZ Big Corporation. The problem is that if you assign your resources to take the time for spec work then they are using up your money on something that is definitely not guaranteed to pay you back in the long run. Plain and simple - you are losing money and there is no guarantee of making it back."
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| Lisa, with her usual fabulous way with words, gave us Simple Simon ... |
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Dot's Market
Lisa Duty speaks:
"Simple Simon: In his mind, making a decision to pass on the contest was not rocket science; it was just good business sense. The way he figured it, even if he wasn’t able to bill those hours, he’d use his efforts producing something to feed his own business so he could afford to eat with the lights on. Simon may be simple, but Simon is not a simpleton and this year he is not eating in the dark." |
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| After addressing the issues of spec and students, Mark has agreed to help the NO!SPEC crusade with the grey areas ... |
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Mark Bixby :: Graphic Design
Mark Bixby speaks:
"Without a formal agreement and working relationship with your client, you are designing based on impressions and guesses. The result will most likely not meet the clients needs, thus losing you the opportunity you were working to get in the first place. Also, it sends a bad message to the client. It says that all that leg work you did really doesn’t have any value." |
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| Energetic Samuel slickly combines the NO!SPEC crusade with our last adventure ... |
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The ZehnKatzen Times
Samuel John Klein speaks:
"Spec? What is this Spec then? “Spec” is short for “speculative”. While there are many types of speculation the one that designers should be watching out for is the prospect of doing hard work for the hope of getting paid. What sort of insane fool would do hard work for only maybe getting paid for it?" |
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Susan Kirkland
Susan Kirkland speaks:
"Spec work is a losing proposition for designers because few are competing for accounts worth that kind of profit. More often than not, we are selling our time and in this instance, time really does equal money. There are only so many hours in the day. Spend it solidifying relationships with current clients and cold calling new clients who understand that your portfolio is the basis to judge your skills." |
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There were many people involved who did not blog about the crusade, but donated their time along the way. Everyone donating time and effort were absolutely amazing and I sincerely hope that I have not inadvertently left anyone out. Thanks all, you were brilliant.
Below is the Creative Latitude NO!SPEC index, enjoy.
Articles:
On Contests, Contention and Creative process
By the NO!SPEC team
Say NO!LOGO to speculative “contests” and identity design requests
By Jeff Fisher, Engineer of Creative Identity, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Design Contests Are Dangerous For Your Business
By Robert Wurth, Creative Director, Freshly Squeezed Design
It's time to check spec at the door
By Neil Tortorella
A Winning Strategy: Industry awards as a marketing tool
By Jeff Fisher, Engineer of Creative Identity, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
United Way and Speculative Work
By Art Javid
Why We Don't Make Speculative Presentations
By Creative Business
Why Speculative Work is Unethical
By Habib Bajrami
In their own words, why these designers are against Speculative Design Competitions
By Catherine (cat) Morley
Member News
NO!SPEC crusade launches
Art & Soul Graphic Design creates identity design
FastCoconut designs NO!SPEC website
Von's NO!SPEC launch posters
Hands-on Web Hosting sponsors bandwidth for the NO!SPEC crusade
Rob Gough's NO!SPEC posters
NO!SPEC web page designs by Danita Reynolds and Cat
Again, thanks to everyone who helped out in the beginning. And here's to the next stage of the NO!SPEC crusade ... |
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© Copyright 2006 Catherine (cat) Morley
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