Of all the fantastic panels and discussions I attended at SXSW here in Austin last week; there was one that stood out, and not in a good way. Spec work has long been a sore subject of the graphic design industry and a conversations on the topic have become more and more common with the help of awareness campaigns like http://www.no-spec.com/. If you’re scratching your head as to what spec work is, it’s simply work done in hopes of being paid later. The most common example would be a so-called design competition in which participants are asked to create a particular logo and the winner will be financially compensated. This may sound innocuous enough on the surface but think about the bigger picture.

You wouldn’t ask 2 attorneys, let along a hundred, to draw up a contract specific to your needs and then promise to pay whoever had the best verbage. How about your doctor or even the plumber? The idea quickly because laughable. But that’s exactly what people are asking designers to do when they post “contests” or matter of factly ask for design before agreeing to pay for it.  People assume designers are artsits and artist love to create art whether compensated or not.  That may not be a huge stretch but the fact remains that creating a logo or design for a company or individual based on their specific requirements is the furthest thing from art. So here’s where the panel discussion began.

The panel consisted of David Carson (davidcarsondesign.com), Lydia Mann (AIGA), Jeffrey Kalmikoff (skinnyCorp / Threadless), Jeremiah Owyang (Forrester Research) and  Mike Samson(Crowdspring). You might expect Mike Samson to get beat up on in this discussion since it seems obvious to most designers that spec work is indeed a bad thing, but in reality it was David Carson who took most of the audience heat.  In a nut shell David Carson was firm in his disdain for spec work and sites that promote it such as Crowdspring. Jeffrey Kalmikoff was also adamant about the ills of spec work. Jeremiah Owyang was essentially for it or at least for letting the market do its thing. Mike Samson was, of course, all for it, and Lydia Mann offered litle opinion at all.

All was to be expected except I didn’t realize how outspoken Jeffrey was on the no-spec issue.  He was getting quite angry, especially when Mike told him Crowdspring was based on Threadless.com.  I’ll attempt to sum up the arguments and give my own 2-cents for each. You’ll quickly see that I am against spec work!

Pros for Spec-work according advocating panel member(s).

Spec-work markets like Crowdspring allow budding designers to get work they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

That may be true, many of the participants on spec work sites wouldn’t have access to those clients otherwise. However only a small percentage are ever compensated for the work they are putting in and there are other, better ways for new designers to get business - most of which include pay!

Small businesses can’t afford to hire professional designers and must use sites like Crowdspring which attract amateurs.

The argument holds that maybe they can’t afford not to hire a professional designer. Owner, Mike Samson, admits that most of the work presented on the site is sub-par. I’d say the addage of “You get what you pay for applies here.”

Designers on spec sites get other work resulting from participation on the site.

I’m sure a few do but it’s the vast minority and if you’re good enough to capture work(ie. win) then you didn’t need a spec site in the first place.  It still says nothing for the countless designers who put in work and received nothing.

Cons of Spec work according to some panel memebers.

Only the designer who “win” are paid.

The work designers do on these spec sites can not be reused by the designer.

The designs rendered are based on a brief and is therefore specific to the needs of that client.

Spec work degrades the design profession.

It certainly does but I do believe good designer will always have work and be compensated according to their skill.

The clients who use spec sites are suffering as a result.

Un-doubtably the client is getting an inferior service.  Part of the design process is a two-way exchange between the client and designer.  This serves the purpose of conveying the company’s mission, attitude and market aspirations to the designer. And also provides education and advisement to the client from the designer.  A large part of what you are paying a designer for is their expertese not only in illustration but also what makes a logo function out in the world.

So, back to the panel.  As I mentioned Jeffrey became angered by the comparison of Threadless.com to spec sites like Crowdspring and here’s why.  Threadless is not just a t-shirt shop. It’s a design community full of designers creating illustrations that inspire them.  There are no deadlines or specifications. Designer create what they want to create and if it’s popular Threadless will print it on a shirt and split the money.  They also pay noticeably better than spec-sites.  I could go on but I’ll spare you.

If you want to waste more of your life you can watch the discussion for yourself.

SXSW 2009 Is Spec Work Evil?