Writings on Spec Work

I’m so sad to see today that a company I admire  is using the website 99designs.com to refresh their logo & brand. I am strongly against spec work, be it in the form of a contest, crowd-sourcing, or “auditions”. I feel like a broken record every time I tweet about/against it, but there is nothing that makes me, on behalf of the entire design field, feel less respected or valued than a “design contest”.

here are a handful of my favorite links on the subject, should you be interested in reading about why spec work is bad for design, designers, and clients:

Why Design Contest Are Bad – Core77

AIGA Position on Spec Work – AIGA

Spec Work Arithmetic – Speak Up

Debbie Millman on Spec Work (great links within this post)

Why Spec Creative Doesn’t Pay – Adage

 Still unsure? Jessica Hische can help:

Should I work for Free? – Jessica Hische