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In the design world Spec Work is short for Speculative Work and that means
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it's kinda like when you uh...
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it basically means working for free.
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It usually comes into forms.
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One: A client asks several designers or design firms to complete part of a new
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project.
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The client picks one winner, gives them the job and the others go home with nothing
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for their hard work.
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Two: A client starts a contest and gathers submissions from hundreds if not
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thousands of designers. They pick one winner, pay a modest fee and the rest go home
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with nothing for their hard work.
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So what's wrong with this?
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If you are a client the best design work should come out of a healthy
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relationship with a designer, where your needs and wants are understood and
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ideas are developed with you from the ground up.
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Just because you get lots of free designs doesn't mean any of them are
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good and in fact many maybe blatant ripoffs.
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Spec contests have actually created an underground system whereby some
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unscrupulous designers will quickly enter as many as possible as they copy
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work from the web and present it as their own.
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So that new logo of yours may actually already be someone else's.
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If you're a designer you just shouldn't work for established companies for free,
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period.
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If you need to build up your portfolio there are other ways. Design for a
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local charity or your friends new business or just spend the time creating
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your own projects.
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Spec Work would seem absurd in most other professional industries...
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Could you ask several chefs to prepare your next meal for free and then only pay
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for the best one?
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Could you hold a contest in get hundreds of lawyers to write your will and then
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only pick and reward one? Didn't think so.
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Perhaps it's time we started to treat designers... you know,
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just like everyone else?
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Think about it.
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Video by Topic Simple.
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www.topicsimple.com