All the best.

I’m glad you’ve highlighted this, because I myself have (unintentionally? TRICKED!) Into done spec work before. Sadly, I was new in the industry, out to expand my skills and quite (very) naive. All that was achieved from doing spec work was wasted time, no money gained and bittersweet memories, to say the most. That was the first and last time it’s happened and I’m very grateful that you’ve brought this subject up to educate people.

Yes, people think spec work’s valid because there’s more competition in this world, but when was there none? People should not feel intimidated by their peers/superiors and steel themselves to do better. In the end, if people wanna be good so bad (oh my), they’ll do what it takes!

Thank you again, David! :D

I’m never one to stereotype, or place a large group of people under the one proverbial umbrella. Whilst you might find some excellent designers taking part in contests, I don’t believe it’s the best use of their time.

James,

Nice to see you on this side of the fence.

James Kurtz III’s last blog post…Brand Tags

I’ve seen a lot of work/designs from designers who are so enthusiastic about ‘no spec’ ideology. Mostly their portfolios are of such poor quality they should be embarrassed and they really should stop bragging about their expertise and education. A five year old child could make it better.

I’ve seen some of your portfolios too… No wonder you’re concerned about those at Sitepoint.

On the other hand, I totaly agree with you about clients… low morality clients are the ones who makes this designer’s world hard.

The reason they have this leverage is two fold.

1) They are not that concerned what the artwork looks like. They just come from the “ITS GOOD ENOUGH” position.

2) They are fully aware that every service you provide is custom. Which means you cannot resell it somewhere else.

My advice is to NEVER DO SPEC WORK. If you are a great graphic designer, artist web developer etc… LEARN HOW TO DO SALES AND BUSINESS IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER. People will respect you and value you. Here are some perspectives to keep in mind when you are wearing the business hat in front of your client.

1) Your work is worth your time whether they like the product or not. (you wouldn’t hire a painter to paint your house blue and then say, “I don’t like blue anymore, repaint my house yellow and I don’t charge me any extra!” It is absurd!!!!!!

2) Your work is labor, you are not just having fun on the computer

3) You have made a substantial investment into your career, (school, computer, software) you are entitled to make a profit. That was the whole point for getting into this.

4) You have the professional opinion, stick to your guns when when justifying your graphic decisions.

5) MOST IMPORTANT!!!!! YOU ARE THE LINK BETWEEN YOUR CLIENT AND THE PUBLIC. YOUR WORK WILL DIRECTLY AFFECT HOW PEOPLE WILL VIEW HIS BUSINESS. NEVER STOP REMINDING HIM ABOUT THIS FACT. IT WILL HELP YOU DETECT AND WEED OUT PEOPLE WHO WILL ONLY WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!!

On a general note. Spec work is usually done out of fear by the designer because, they are concerned that work opportunities are limited. People have become aware of this infection in our industry. Every single time a designer does spec work, he or she degrades our industry. It makes it three times as hard for legitimate agencies and media houses to do business because you have a bunch of freelancers out there running around working for free or for pennies. I PROMISE ALL OF YOU, IF YOU ARE GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO, YOU WILL PREVAIL. BE CONFIDENT, NOT AFRAID!!!!!!! YOU ARE WORTH IT

Thanks for your detailed response, and it was good to read your stance on spec work. It’s great that you managed to gain repeat business from your experience, especially considering how rare this is. That says a lot about how you work.

Thankfully, that was several years ago, and I have since instituted a “No Spec” policy. Sure, I have lost a potential client or two in the process. But I would much rather have a client who understands that both my time and creativity are valuable than one who would join the crowd at a logo giveaway just to avoid spending the money it takes to get something really great. By doing this, I have managed to weed out many of those clients who want something for nothing. There will always be the occasional customer who will try to squeeze everything they can out of a penny, but I have learned to stand firm in telling them what I will and will not do. I have a questionnaire for every type of project I take on (logo design, web design, advertising, etc.). That questionnaire alone, because it is so detailed, tends to show the client why it is not in either of our interest for me to so spec work.

I explain it like this: When you go the grocery store, you don’t fill up your cart and walk out without paying, telling the cashier that you want to make sure the food tastes good before you way. You pay first, then get to take the food home.

I have done spec work exactly one time since I quit the contests. I had done a logo for a client a few years before who subsequently came to me for a lot of her other design work (business cards, website, flyers, and more.) I hadn’t worked with her in a while and I was revisiting the work I did for her. My design skills had improved quite a bit since then, and I really hated the first logo I did for her. I offered to provide specs of a new, better identity. I did this only because of my previous experience with her. She paid on time, gave great feedback, and deferred to my experience 9 times out of 10. I knew the type of client I was dealing with, and I really, really wanted to improve her logo, both for the benefit of my portfolio and the benefit of her business. And she did exactly what I expected. She bought both the new logo I had designed (and I only provided 1 spec design), as well as a bunch of other new items to match it. And I’m still working with her to this day.

That said, would I do it again? Not likely unless both the existing client and circumstances were perfect. For new clients who I have never worked with before, I have a firm no spec policy. They can either take it or leave it. I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for.

You ask a good question. There’s no real resource available where you can find designers prepared to work on non-profit pro-bono jobs. A close friend is working on one, however, and it promises to be excellent.

In the meantime, I suggest asking designers you admire if they have any time available to work on non-profit projects for a discounted rate. I work on a continuous basis with a cancer charity, and don’t charge as much as I could because I firmly believe in their cause.

Best of luck.