What is spec work?

Basically, its any kind of creative work rendered and submitted, either partial or completed, by a designer to a prospective client/employer before taking steps to secure both their work and an equitable fee. Under these conditions, a designer will often be requested to submit work under the guise of either a contest or an entry exam on actual, existing jobs as a “test” of their skill. In addition, the designer normally unwittingly loses all rights to their creative work because they failed to protect themselves by means of a signed binding contract or agreement. The client/employer often uses this freely gained work as they see fit without fear of legal repercussion.

In August of this year, NO!SPEC, a design community campaign, interviewed Debbie Millman, President of National AIGA (America Institute of Graphic Arts), concerning her stance on spec work. Below is a portion of that interview:

What are the AIGA’s plans for educating its members on the issues of working spec?

…as you know, I am personally vigorously, passionately and fundamentally AGAINST designers being asked to do work on spec and neither I nor my firm will ever participate in speculative work. I have said it before and I will say it again: 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 souls.

Way before I got involved with AIGA, they had a strong stance against speculative work, and that has not changed. Given all of the technological advancements impacting the design world, we believed that is was time to re-examine our position. I was part of this task force prior to becoming AIGA President. When we updated our position, we reiterated and recommitted to our original stance against designers participating in speculative work. This is the introduction to the renewed position:

AIGA, the professional association for design, believes that professional designers should be compensated fairly for the value of their work and should negotiate the ownership or use rights of their intellectual and creative property through an engagement with clients.

AIGA acknowledges that speculative work—that is, work done prior to engagement with a client in anticipation of being paid—occurs among clients and designers. Instead of working speculatively, AIGA strongly encourages designers to enter into projects with full engagement to continue to show the value of their creative endeavor. Designers and clients should be aware of all potential risks before entering into speculative work.

AIGA is 100% committed to informing designers, students, educators, clients and the general public on the risks of compromising the design process though information, materials and services that can help in forging a healthy working relationship between designers and their clients.

We then outline and answer all of the many, many questions we received from members prior to publishing our position. We have provided clear definitions of what we believe is and isn’t speculative work, as well as address competitions, volunteer work, internships and pro-bono work. We also outline the many risks involved in participating in speculative work (both for clients AND for designers), and provide a history of our restrictions and policy. It is extremely thorough and highly enlightening…

Now, I realize some people may ask why spec work is a bad thing for designer and client. In response to this question, we point to the top ten list provided by Neil Tortorella of Tortorella Design:

1. No guarantee – In essence, Visual Communication designers (graphic, web, illustration, etc) sell two things – ideas and time. Speculative presentations, by definition, require a designer to invest both their ideas and time without a guarantee of compensation.
2. Unprofessional – Most professional-level designers won’t participate in speculative presentations since they take away time, a non-renewal asset, and resources away from bona fide projects with guaranteed revenue. The result is designers who participate in spec presentations are typically less experienced.
3. Lack of professional research – Successful design requires an investment in time to appropriately research the client company, its competitive landscape and the audience for the project. Since many speculative projects are run on a compressed schedule, adequate research cannot be done, resulting in designs that are more “pretty pictures,” rather than strategic design backed up with facts.
4. Needs of the client not met – Speculative requests are often a result of “I’ll know it when I see it,” thinking on the part of the client. The problem here is that it’s self-centered point-of-view rather than a position serving the needs and wants of the audience.
5. Myopic – Spec projects are often myopic. They tend to be “one-off” pieces that don’t fit and may erode a company’s overall branding efforts.
6. Reduces value – Speculative projects reduce the value of the client/designer relationship. In point of fact, there is no relationship. The process becomes a competitive environment that often hinders a designer from doing his or her best.
7. Undermines consultative benefits – Spec requests tend to reduce the potential of design down to a commodity. Professional Communication Designers provide highly specific services which typically build upon each other to solidify a brand. Spec requests undermine the consultive benefits of the client/designer relationship.
8. Undervalues the profession – Designers who participate in speculative work are undervaluing their profession and encouraging the behavior. These are often neophytes who are lured in by the “dangling carrot” of more work down the road or payment if the client likes what they’ve done. Often that additional work never materializes and payment is well below industry averages.
9. Pitches and design don’t mix – Historically, it’s been a common practice for advertising agencies to create “pitches” that are typically punctuated with fully developed creative. However, the potential return on winning the business is significantly more than the return on investment a designer would receive from a single brochure or even a logo. Ad agencies, particularly larger agencies, generate much of their revenue from media commissions. In the past, commissions were their only source of revenue. The creative was “built-in.” A designer working on spec does not have the benefit, in most cases, to reap the financial rewards of a multimillion dollar campaign.
10. Red flags – Designers approached for spec work should ask themselves why a client is making the request. Is it due to a lack of understanding of the industry? Perhaps there isn’t enough money in the budget? Is the client fuzzy about their goals and objectives? Any of these should throw up a red flag.

The asset of our studio is our artistry — the creative solutions to the communications problems and opportunities facing our clients. And innovative originality can be tough to define, or agree upon. One person’s passion is often another’s poison. So it’s no wonder that potential clients often ask us to take a project on speculation. That is, to try out our creative product in much the same way they may try out a car before purchasing. Unfortunately, we must turn down such projects. We hope you’ll give us the opportunity to prove just how good we really are. In the meantime, look carefully at our portfolio. The work we have done for others speaks volumes about our abilities.

Other articles on spec work and crowdsourcing:

Crowdsourcing…the root of all evils!

It turns talented people into prostitutes. Imagine… under-employed creative’s lined up six-a-penny, hustling drive by corporates, waving dollar bills out their car windows.

Spec Work Is Evil / Why I Hate CrowdSpring

Design, unlike other industries is unique in that the intellectual property is put into your deliverable, and when the client asks for you everything you have to put into the project to think about purchasing. I am a designer and this is by far the easiest way to end a friendship with me (asking me or someone else).

Updates:

8/18/2010  – added article links

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