Design Contests, Devaluing Design, and Is It Ever OK?
Collis Ta'eedYesterday here on FreelanceSwitch we put up a post about Jonathan Field’s Book Cover Competition. Lots of comments ensued and since then Jonathan has cancelled the contest. This morning when I woke up to read about the design contest, I thought I’d chime in with my own opinion, as a designer. While Jonathan’s competition is no longer running, the issue is an interesting one to discuss.
But first allow me to clarify one thing. FreelanceSwitch has always been a multi-author and multi-opinion blog. We’re proud to publish many different voices on many different topics. We welcome discussion and have even posted follow up posts presenting opposing cases in the past. We don’t censor any of our writers and we see everyone’s opinion as worthwhile. And that’s why I’m about to give you mine 
Personally I think that most often Design Contests are bad news. And in this post I’m going to tell you why…
First though, let me state, that Jonathan Fields is a great guy, and though I don’t generally like the idea of design competitions, I’d very much like Jonathan to have a great book cover to go with his great book, and I know that everyone here on the site wishes him well. As I wrote to him this morning, I’m sorry he wound up in the middle taking some heat.
What’s a Designer’s Time Worth Anyway?
The main argument against design contests is that it trivialises the time, effort and client-designer interaction, needed to go into a design. By asking for designer submissions, the client is effectively saying that people should work for the hope of getting paid, that a designer’s time is only worthwhile if their work is actually used.
A few times I’ve had clients say things like "If I don’t like the design, do I have to pay for it?" This sort of question makes me run for the hills, and a design contest is essentially answering that question with a big ‘no’.
Like all things however, there is no real black and white here. However I do think that one can make a general case that the "design contest" paradigm devalues design. It encourages lots of people to practice their profession on the hope that they might get a job. On the worst end of the scale are places like Sitepoint’s Design Contests where I’ve seen clients even ask for changes from the entrants before choosing a winner, and the fees/prizes paid are usually miniscule compared to what most freelancers, let alone firms, would charge.
On a related note, a couple of days ago a new company called CrowdSpring launched that operates in a similar way to Sitepoint’s Contests department - people sign up and compete for contracts. Thinking to apply their own paradigm to their site, they are offering $5,000 for a homepage design for themselves to launch the site. Now you might be thinking, $5000, that’s not too bad - and it isn’t. Except when you hear that they actually paid just $200 for their own logo. All of a sudden it makes you realise it’s not design they value, it’s publicity.
"Prizes" and Prizes
Competitions are nothing new, and in most, competitors have to work pretty hard to win. Consider a competition to win a sporting cup, or a book competition. But in almost all instances of non-design competitions you think of, it’s the honor of winning that’s a major part of the prize. It’s so you can say "we won the so and so football competition" or "I won the 2006 Booker prize". Will anyone be competiting for the honour of designing the Crowdspring logo? I doubt it, and that’s what makes the $200 prize offensive.
In this instance people are perverting the idea of competitions into a way to get cheap labour. It’s using the promise of potential compensation to entice lots of entrants to do work. And what’s more lot’s of designers participate, giving clients the idea that design is cheap. Giving the idea that you can pay $200, and actually get a logo. And the truth is, you can. Will it be a good logo? Well that’s debatable. Though I should say that I have seen some good work done before in these contests, much to my disgruntlement.
Now in some instances a prize is worth competing for. It’s actually something that would be worth the large risk of getting nothing for your time. Recently I entered a competition myself to redesign a logo for the open standards, Data Portability group. There are a bunch of prizes, but the only one I really care about is that the winner gets free advertising on TechCrunch. Because this is a site where it’s very expensive to advertise, hard to get placement, and I think winning might be a good way to get to network with the owner, so I entered.
To me this prize is something that I value high enough to break my own rules on design competitions. And for most designers I think there is always some price where it is worth entering. That’s because it’s about risk/reward. If I said to the FSw community that I was offering $100,000 for a new FreelanceSwitch logo but doing it through a contest. I guarantee in that situation there would be markedly less outcry. And that’s because for any designer, that sum of money is worth competing for.
But on the whole, most design contests place trivial prizes up in return for work that would in many instances cost much more to be done properly. In past times I have done work for free, in the hope to get a client, or early on as practice. In almost all cases, it was a thankless and unrewarding endeavour. After learning more about why you shouldn’t free pitch or work on spec, I’ve come to think that it’s almost always a bad idea.
For Profit
The other issue I have with design contests is that the product that comes out of them is to be used by the organiser to make money. These aren’t contests for the sake of the art, they’re contests to produce a product that a company like Crowdspring will go on to make money with. And if that’s the case, then why not select single designer, pay them a proper and assured amount and get the work done properly?
By running a design contest it can feel a little like exploiting a financial loophole for one’s own ends. I’m sure that in most cases this happens not from a desire to be exploitative, but simply from thoughtlessness.
Are They Going Away?
Unfortunately design contests are not going anywhere. It’s a basic issue of supply and demand. There is a demand for them, and like it or not, there are plenty of people who will do the work. Where there is both supply and demand, you can be sure that the design contest paradigm will stick around no matter what I or you or anyone else in the design community might want.
But there’s good news too. There are different markets for these things. Just as there will always be a market for cheap design, there will also always be a market for professional, thorough work done by commission. I promise you, those jobs are not all going to wind up becoming competitions. Companies and businesses that understand how important design is will always exist.
It’s a little like when cheap stock photography first became popular. You could say it devalued the photography industry - and indeed to a certain extent it has. But like it or lump it, that’s what happened. However the people who buy cheap stock photography are almost never the same people who would commission a photography shoot or even buy more traditional stock photography.
Industries adapt and change to things like design contests and stock photography. I think as designers it’s our job to help our profession by not participating in contests which are demeaning. And I think it’s our job to educate clients as to why our time is worth paying for.
Philip Arthur Moore
March 10th, 2008
Brilliant post Collis. Re: the book contest, I do applaud the author for canceling the competition, but still find it disheartening that the nature of design and, by extension, freelancing in general, is stricken with this problem. The author happened to stumble into a heated issue at a time when a lot of freelancers are voicing our deep concern over spec work - had it been any one else, I’m sure the reaction would have been exactly the same. Thanks for writing this and restoring some of my faith in Freelance Switch.
Ben Griffiths
March 10th, 2008
(Copied from my forum post, apologies if you have read this already!)
Personally I don’t think that contests like this are all bad. Most people are smart enough to say “I don’t want to spend time doind this if there is only a minimal chance I’ll get paid.” It’s a contest, plain and simple. Things like this can actually prove beneficial to some people - those who have just started freelancing and don’t have a client base yet. It’s most likely they have quite a bit of time to do the work in, it’s an extra piece to put in a portfolio (Even if the contest isnt won), and if they do win, it’s a fantastic piece of exposure.
At the end of the day your mind is your own, and you can decide to take part or not.
The only thing that I would disagree with is if they became the norm, the only way to get work (Like these bid for work websites - I detest them) - but the odd contest here or there can’t really do that much damage to the industry can it?
(I might be way off here, but it’s just my personal opinion).
Collis
March 10th, 2008
I tend to think you’re quite right Ben. Certainly when I see design contests I don’t immediately think ‘oh goodness i better enter’. As you say most people are smart enough to know when it’s not worthwhile
Ian
March 10th, 2008
This is a fantastic post. Very few people seem to dare to talk of devaluation in case of being accused of ripping people off. Such an accusation could only really happen in a culture where the biblical phrase “a fool knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing” is not understood, this is the something for nothing culture that abounds.
I believe such contents are worth the organisers time because professional designers with bills to pay have to compete with school kids who learn to use design software in school for free and then use pirated copies of that software to take work away from professional designers. One solution maybe a licence or industry membership accreditation that is beyond the reach of teens with pirated software and which assures of a good standard and service.
Philip Arthur Moore
March 10th, 2008
@Collis: You write that most people are smart enough to know when something is worthwhile, but the reason I find little relevance in that statement to the issue at hand is that a great deal of potential clients gauge their expectations based on the lowest common denominator. To be sure, most freelancers know when it’s not a good idea to enter a contest or do spec work, but the few who do perpetuate the belief among clients that this sort of thing is okay. And it is in most cases most certainly not okay.
Skellie
March 10th, 2008
Great post, Collis. I’ve been guilty of some naivety in this. As a freelancer writer, I’m not overtly familiar with the kind of debates, issues and sensitivities in the design community, and this has been eye opening for me. A learning experience for sure, one I’m glad to have had, and something that is definitely going to influence my decisions in future.
Having the opportunity to constantly learn about fields other than my own and their unique challenges is one of the most exciting things about this job and one of the things I like most about it.
Stever
March 10th, 2008
My take on design contests. I’ll state my bias up front. I’m pro design contests.
I hold design contests to get logo’s made for my clients. I like it and my clients love it. The biggest benefit is the variety of creative input. Working with a single designer is limiting while the contests are extremely efficient at producing something I, or my clients, like. I use them because they are available.
I’m all over the map with the prizes I offer. Depends on what I need. When I need average I post an average prize. When I need kick ass I post a heftier prize to pull in more talent.
After holding many design contests here is what I’ve noticed from discussions with the winners. Many of the designers who enter these contests do it on the side to fill in gaps between clients. Those that enter regularly have a certain win ratio they can count on. It also gives them exposure as others browse these contests to find designers who produce work along the lines of what they like and thus contact the designer directly. Winners also have an opportunity to up-sell other services such as creating layouts for business cards and letterhead and stuff. I’ve been sold a few times on that. And at other times its meant more work directly with a designer I now have a relationship with and know his/her style.
I started out holding contests at Digital Point but that turned into a gong show. With no minimum prize requirements it drove the average price for logo’s down to $25 to $50. That in turn made the talented designers pack up and leave. Holding a contest there is not worth it even if you offer a decent prize because there is nobody of decent caliber entering them anymore.
SitePoint maintains a minimum prize requirement and average logo prizes have been going up. Seems the market see’s value here and is pushing prices up. The minimum prize level helps to keep the talented designers around. Without them prices plummet, as seen over at DP.
Given the sheer number of designers entering these contests there is obviously interest there from the designers perspective. Last logo contest I held received 77 entries.
No, its not for every one and not every designer needs to bother with them. Those that do enter them tend to be selective on the ones they do enter. Either from a prize point level or if the project is something that interests them and they know they can produce something easily thats along the lines of what the contest holder wants. Collis, you do this yourself.
Am I exploiting designers? Maybe. But I do understand their perspective and value what they do. So I tend to offer good prizes, never the minimum.
Adam Fuller
March 10th, 2008
I agree with Collis’s post to the fullest. I think there is something to be said about the value of the design and how in many cases I sometimes feel it is decreasing. Why? There are several factors but contests are definitely one of them.
Anytime I have a client tell me they chose to work with another company or developer because the price was cheaper, I always say in a very polite manner that they will, in return, get what they pay for - always.
Quality has a price, not everyone is always willing to pay. However, some people are just hungry enough for the money that it does not always matter.
Hansson
March 10th, 2008
Seems to me like you avoid taking a clear stand on the behalf of Freelanceswitch on this issue. You talk a lot around it but you never address your editorial policy or the gaffe directly. You say you mostly don’t like it but you never conclude. You should have called it by it’s name and apologised for the mistake.
I think Skellie’s replies to the commenters of the original post too clearly shows she’s not a designer or someone who has had to deal with spec issues before. Her attitude was surprising to say the least. It’s that of a person from another industry and she’s is putting you at risk by not grasping one of the top five challenges of today’s graphic arts business.
Hansson
March 10th, 2008
Skellie just posted while I wrote - her comment makes sense and I’m glad she has gained some insight.
MikeMcD
March 10th, 2008
@ Stever: 77 entries? And can I ask what the prize was?
Just hypothetically, you do realize that even if you offered $1,000 (which I highly doubt), you paid a rate of about $13 per design? Assuming that someone spend more than an hour on a design (maybe 2 hours, for the sake of argument here), that’s $6.50 per hour of work.
You really feel ok about that?
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
March 10th, 2008
I will not participate in design contests and always encourage others to not submit designs as well ( http://tinyurl.com/2tkssc ). I feel that designers should be hired for projects based on their portfolio of past work, and that in conducting contests a disservice is being done to the client (AND designer!) who is not getting the full-service treatment in personal interaction with a design professional to create the most suitable solution to their very specific design requirements.
However, I have been involved in past situations where a firm or organization has approached me with an offer of XXXX amount of dollars to cover my time, energy and efforts in creating a design concept and presentation as a possible solution to their design needs. Several other firms may get the same invitation at the same time. In the end the firm/organization selects one design entity to produce the final project. Such situations immediately tell me that the potential “client” values my efforts as a designer and is treating me as a professional. The mutual respect initiated will go a long ways in establishing a successful business relationship.
It basically comes down to me not doing ANY work for free for a for-profit venture of any kind.
Adam Fuller
March 10th, 2008
@MikeMcD
Great point! I definitely could not feel good about that. Especially with the way our economy is.
mave
March 10th, 2008
Great post, Collis. I agree that you could have been more accountable for the editorial policy, though. This simply shouldn’t be happening in a forum such as this, regardless of the multi-contributor format. Do you not have a bottom line, here? Stated standards? If not, it may well be time to develop some.
Thanks, Skellie, for being willing to understand and grow from this. None of us are trying to hang you - we’re just trying to address a very real and constant concern that we as designers face every day. I’m hoping that more care will be taken in the future on this type of issue, because I don’t think I’m alone in saying that this community has a lot of potential to be great, but it has equal potential to turn sour if professionals from some disciplines are alienated by this type of content.
Jeff - you’re exactly right. There is a legitimate and fair way to get a variety of approaches to choose from through a variety of designers. I’ve done concepts for clients in this type of scenario, and I respect a client who wants to pull from a pool for ideas - and who is willing to PAY everyone who provides those options. Contests, on the other hand, are just purely exploitative, and any fair analysis will show that to be true.
Stever - you admit to exploiting people. It is what it is, regardless of the prizes you offer.
Collis
March 10th, 2008
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback
Although we could be more accountable, I do prefer the idea that the site has different points of view. Issues like design contests aren’t black and white. People DO enter these contests, as Stever a few comments evidences, so there is certainly going to be lots of people who think the other way. I have my opinion, but I wouldn’t impose it on the rest of our writers. And in turn, I trust that our readers will be able to make up their own when reading posts here.
Devin
March 10th, 2008
Ughh, I didn’t even know about those contest sites. I suddenly feel very sad for us freelancers who try to make a difference through actual work and concept creation. I must be living under a rock, but I wish I hadn’t seen that 99 de$igns site. I’m not even going to give them the chance to pull additional page rank by mentioning their actual name here.
Poop on contest sites.
scotty
March 10th, 2008
I think Harlan Ellison puts the point quite well.
Hansson
March 10th, 2008
Collis, I guess you as an editor-in-chief would have to have a clear editorial policy about , say, racism, fascism and such. What if one of your writers wrote that Holocaust never happened? Or that gay designers shouldn’t be hired? Would you just let them have their opinions and write something “cottony” around the topic in an attempt to calm your readers?
Nothing can make me think that a website who’s on the freelancer’s side should NOT take a clear stand against spec work.
mave
March 10th, 2008
I’m with you, Hansson, in feeling there is no place for spec in any community that wants to be taken seriously as a venue and resource for freelancers. It is one thing to allow readers to discuss and comment in favor of such things, but from an editorial perspective I think any appearance of promoting or supporting spec is unconscionable. The fact that people take part in spec is completely irrelevant. People take part in a lot of things that shouldn’t be given airtime in a professional forum.
There is a reason that professional organizations such as AIGA and GAG have clearly stated positions against spec. I would hope that those writing about the business of freelancing would familiarize themselves with the professional standards of the industries they are discussing, and that controversial issues such as this would be approached delicately and with a great deal of respect for the prevailing attitudes of professionals within those industries. Anything else just really lowers the credibility of the forum and the trust of the readership.
Timothy Diokno
March 10th, 2008
Cheers! That’s why I like FreelanceSwitch even though I have nothing to do - ever - with freelancing! Keep up the good work guys!
Timothy Diokno
March 10th, 2008
To tell you, I was watching the subscriber count. I guess I over reacted. LOL!
Hyder
March 10th, 2008
Collis you just saved me from un-subscribing.
Our time is definitely worth paying for and some people just can’t understand that, or rather don’t want to. I’m sure Jonathan had the best intent, unfortunately it didn’t turn out as expected.
I do wish him the best of luck with his ebook.
Love the latest Freelance Freedom by the way.
Greg Gunther
March 10th, 2008
Since I’ve been in on the coversation from yesterday, here’s my take on the topic:
Design contests themselves are not a bad thing. As long as its focus is on judging/ rewarding good design or improving art. Its when the winning pieces are then used in some commercial endevour that it begins to feel like spec work.
I’m sure Jonathan’s intentions for his contest were completely above-board, but boy did he and FS step on a sensitive ‘landmine’ topic.
I agree with Collis that there doesn’t have to been a strict editorial policy about posting, discussing or mentioning spec work on FS. This website is about freelancing, but not limited to only professional designers. Visiters also include students and beginning designers. Free designs and some spec work HAVE to be done by them as the develop their skills, as they are not good enough yet to charge current going rates. I would much prefer them doing free projects than lowering the prices for all of us. But that may be another topic.
Personally, I think it was good for FS as this has been such a lively and passionate discussion. Debate and discussion is always good. Just my two cents.
Mike McD
March 10th, 2008
@ Greg
How is doing work for free less damaging than doing work for a lower rate?
Why do young designers have to work for free, when new workers in most other job industries just starting out at least get a minimum wage?
If you’re talking about internships, that is a whole other story. These companies can get free labor via interns but need to go about it properly. These contests call for design work to be used in commercial projects for profit (or potential profit). The designers should be paid for their work, no matter their status or level of expertise in the business.
Andy
March 10th, 2008
We’re having a conversation about this over in the FSw forums now. Come join us if you’ve never looked at the forums.
BTW, both forum moderators are ok with competitions :-).
designdesignsdesigner
March 10th, 2008
Quote
“If I said to the FSw community that I was offering $100,000 for a new FreelanceSwitch logo but doing it through a contest. I guarantee in that situation there would be markedly less outcry… ”
End Quote
@ Collis - Very true !!! Im sure they would all swallow their pride and do it !!!
The ones contradicting the fact would truly unveil their hypocrisy to turn down 100 grand !!!!
fc
March 10th, 2008
when I saw all those comments yesterday, I thought Ok. Collis has a tough job at his hand now and it truly is an inspiring post not just for the clarity with which you made your points clear but also for facilitating the discussion that many commentators started here.. rather than just trying to douse the fire..
and all said and done, contests helps those people find experience who have none.. it is just another way of leveraging the power of the Internet.. maybe it does devalue the designing community in general but it is just another facet of of the community..
a scar teaches you something, you can’t ignore it or remove it completely
Scott
March 10th, 2008
It seems to me you all jumped over this poor guy and had yourselves a lynching. His follow up post was sad, as if someone kicked him in the gut when he honestly thought he had done everything right.
Contests are good for people who are not professional designers. For someone in a different field, who has some skills in Photoshop for instance, it allows them to flex their creative muscles without the need to getting a client, or the obligation of having to satisfy one.
“Hey I have a cool idea. I have this picture i took last summer that would make a good book cover. I’ll just crop it like this, put a few words on it there, and submit it. There, that was fun!”
This is not “spec work”. This is not a client demanding to see the finished product before agreeing to pay it. This person is not your client, you don’t have to submit anything. Go on about your day satisfying your clients and ignore these contests. And just because you don’t like something doesn’t make it wrong.
sean steezy
March 10th, 2008
I agree with your perspective, as usual, and would like to chime in with my 2 cents.
A design contest/competition, for those who lack experience, may be the gateway to better clients, more work, perhaps a better portfolio by winning one or two. You can then say, I won this and that even with this little experience. Designing a logo, if only for $200 (Nike’s was $50 and though not a competition, just goes to show what can happen) could have meant bragging rights or a real accomplishment of having the best design for someone who may be just starting out. Pat yourself on the back.
For experienced designers and the like, education & understanding about the cyclical nature of the industry is really what we need. Understanding the principles behind being “socially responsible” in design and the design community are important. We’re all in it together, and our survival depends on the industry and the well-being of the people in it. I feel the same about job bidding sites that only further perpetuate the idea that there is always someone who will do it cheaper. I want to get paid $50 an hour, and if every client I had went to a crappy contest or job bidding site and found out that someone will do it for $10 an hour, chances are it will happen to you, even if you want $15/hr.
So lesson today is: Don’t sell yourself short. Design is an art form and a lifestyle and a meal ticket, but don’t go sitting at the entrance to the metro holding out a cup that says “Will design for free”.
40 –– Now What?
March 10th, 2008
I come a bit late to this discussion, having missed the previous day’s broo-ha-ha (sp?), but I believe every profession confronts the same issues about devaluing the work and how much to give away before the time-clock starts ticking. I wrote a column about how much to give away in a public relations proposal before they start paying you to plan their campaign : http://www.princanada.com/proposals-how-much-detail-is-too-much.
A contest by the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee to design their logo got a huge debate going in the Canadian design community a few years ago (http://2010.dailyvancouver.com/blog/2005/04/23/the-2010-winter-olympics-logo-controversy) and the association took a big stand on it, but it seems now they’ve all made nice and are working with the organizing committee (http://bc.gdc.net/blog/2006/09/29/vanoc-2010-mascot-rfp/).
http://40-nowwhat.blogspot.com/
no.e
March 10th, 2008
If “winning” ACTUAL design awards (i.e. being featured in HOW, Print, CommArts, etc.) barely has any impact on the amount of work a designer or firm gets, how can you think that some random unknown “contest” to design a piece is going to result in more work for a beginning designer? It won’t.
Don’t waste your time with contests. You don’t need a contest entry to design a piece with no direction and input from a “client.” You can do that any time you like and put THAT in your portfolio and not feed the exploitation.
Why don’t designers that are putting their hearts and souls into these contests realize that they’re effectively working AGAINST themselves and for the benefit of someone else?
Chris
March 10th, 2008
I had a lead contact our firm just yesterday asking us to participate in a contest of sorts. I replied with an edited and more civil version of a reply posted on http://www.no-spec.com .
I found it humorous that the lead then replied informing me that ‘rule number 1 in business is to not make assumptions’, that they had been in business for 23 years in Sydney Australia and for 11 years in NYC New York. He also thought he should inform me that i had wasted his time. There was quite a bit of caps lock used in his reply email.
I replied again of course, because I’m stubborn, with 1 link and no other text. It read simply ‘www.no-spec.com’. There was not another reply.
Arthus Erea
March 10th, 2008
While I almost entirely agree with you, what about contests are done simply for the joy of design or for educational purposes? That is, contests where contestants aren’t competing for a monetary prize but are rather competing to educate each other or to be able to say “I won this contest.” In most cases, these contests aren’t actually for the organizer to use but are simply focused upon contestants… which means you are free to submit work done for other clients. In fact, I think you undervalue the artistic nature if you say design contests are bad - other creative professions have contests.
extralush
March 10th, 2008
Why not enter contest?! If you have the time to enter… enter. Don’t do it for prizes or glory. Everyone has valid points when it comes to people saying i’ll pay 200 for a logo. If you’re a professional designer, you won’t waste your time.
What about threadless? Cool site, you get to post your artwork, and if you win they can use your shirt and you get some dough. That makes up the majority of the tshirt design industry. Sometimes you get people to say hey ill pay you $XXXX to make me XX tshirt designs. Others (big big ones) will say, design out some shirts and we’ll buy what we want from you. Thats how it goes. Why should you get paid if you can’t design. That is a hoop you may have to jump through when you are transitioning from “freshly schooled” to a “seasoned designer”. I understand the argument of well you should get something… no not all the time… If i hire someone to come to my house and paint and they just pull out a couple cans of spray paint and tag my walls… i’m not paying them sh*t… You may not see it as black and white because design is subjective but lets take it into the interactive world. Someone outsources you work and your flash site you deliver doesn’t work. You are going to have to fix it or expect to be not paid or sued (depending on your contract).
I think contests are great for two things. 1. Getting some recognition if you are good and you haven’t had a shot yet. 2. The prize is awesome and for a legit company (Cut&Paste). And as for the comment about don’t enter a contest because you won’t get anything out of it… thats a load!! The student entries for Print (used in the example of what not to enter) made cover designs for the student portfolio edition of Print (or was the computer arts… either way same thing). The best ones were featured and the winner has their design on the cover of print for the world to see. Who gets print? Every design agency. If they don’t get it delivered to the studio someone in the office has seen it that month. Imagine walking into an interview and oh btw thats my design on the cover of print you have on your desk there… Don’t enter a design contest for CREATE magazine for it is lame…
Heres a scenario for all these logo design topics. “Design my logo - prize $600″. You spend 2-8 hours on a logo (if you spend more you are either slow and not worth it or going overboard for the most-likely mediocre prize). At $100/hour thats under going to end up under $1000 (Being really generous for a design hourly). If you’re confident that you have a good chance of winning and have nothing better to do (paying client work, playing with your favorite animal, guitar hero), do it. Otherwise don’t bother entering….
Imagine if it were the ideal way… Everyone, I want a logo send me your portfolios and i’ll pick the best company / designer to go with… Talented student, “I don’t have a brand portfolio but i swear i will rock your socks off with this logo. Give me a chance… Please…” “Nope i want experience sorry go intern somewhere…”
On a completely related note, it seems like its usually the mediocre developers / designers (that are barely above the level of the following amateur/student example) that say, “Stupid students! They are graduating, don’t know the worth of design, and lower the value of our industry.” Yeah.. they are students; give them a break. If you are going to hire a student / amateur to do a design for you be my guest. Expect a student / amateur result. If you want a fully functioning web standardized site, if you want a brand that has been created by someone with 5 - 10+ years of brand experience, if you want print piece that will not run into issues at the printer, if you want motion graphics that actually look good… then hire “fill in your experienced name here”. Expect the same with low prize value design contests.
I totally sympathize with all those people out there that feel undercut by clients. It happens to all of us in every genre of freelance. But people that don’t want to pay for design, most likely don’t appreciate good design, and will never pay a going rate for a logo. Whether its a contest or they go to you / your company and say how much for a logo…
Leave contests alone. Don’t enter if you don’t want to. Sometimes they can be fun. No one i forcing you to do anything… (sorry for grammar / spelling errors / inconsistencies… this was a rant)
Mike McD
March 10th, 2008
If there weren’t enough reasons to avoind contests already, here’s another good one. From the CrowdSpring terms:
“When you submit content to the Site, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform the content in connection with the Site, in any media known now or in the future.”
So if it wasn’t bad enough that you probably won’t get paid for your work, CrowdSpring goes ahead and twists that knife just a bit deeper, granting themselves a license to use that work for their own promotion and profit. You’re not just giving work away to the person running the contest. You are now also giving your work away to the host site under a perpetual RF license.
B More Creative
March 10th, 2008
Against Spec Work - not Contests.
SPEC WORK is part of the reason some designers will never be viewed a professionals - especially when they are disguised as “contests.” You don’t see attorney’s or physicians doing spec work do you?
At our firm we enter several competitions every year. We’ve been published in almost every major design rag as well a several globally distributed design books. Every time we are published we send out press releases to potential clients as well as our current client list. This does a couple of things. It reminds/reinforces our current clients why they chose us and choose to stay with us. This makes them looks smart to their boss as well. It also provides a legitimate “touch point” for new prospects because if you don’t know by now - cold calls are never successful. One of our press releases garnered a call from the recipient to say “I didn’t know about you guys, I’m glad I now have an alternative to my current agency when I need one.” That company is now a client.
Contests do work as long as their purpose is defined in the beginning. We usually have two criteria before entering. 1) Is it a legitimate contest? In other words, who are the judges and who is the competition. This is a great way to measure your work against your peers. 2) Will a press release be impressive if we make it in. If the answer is positive to both of those we will enter.
This is a little off the subject, but if you are interested in others opinions about spec work and presenting lots of ideas for the same fee check out this blog entry ONE SHOT, ONE OPPORTUNITY, ONE MOMENT (http://blog.widgetsandstone.com/archives/062237.html)
Last word from a guy that owns a design studio and that has been in the industry 20 years….DON’T EVER, EVER DO SPEC WORK….BUT IF YOU DO AND YOU’RE OUT AT A BAR AND MEET SOMEONE NEW…TELL THEM YOU’RE A DOCTOR.
J.Y.
March 11th, 2008
Another no-spec link that specifically addresses contests: http://www.no-spec.com/articles/design-contests/
mucca
March 11th, 2008
I’ve been designing for a few years now and nobody’s been able to convince me design contests are bad. As with everything, it’s a risk vs. reward proposition. If you spend 100 hours on a design that has only the slimmest chance of winning, that’s taking a big risk and the reward better be worth it (otherwise you have poor judgement and you deserve to loose those hours). If you don’t have the smarts to make those types of calls, you probably won’t make it in this industry anyways.
I’m also not convinced spec work drives down the rates in the industry. If you’re good at what you do, people will pay your rates and they’ll agree to your terms whether everyone else in the industry does or not. Guess what happens to those people who create great logos for 50 bucks a pop? Either a) they figure out they can charge more and the rate goes up, b) they get snagged by some agency that will pay them better and charge a lot more for their work, or c) they work 90 hours a week and burnout in six months. The bottom line is it isn’t sustainable.
Drake
March 11th, 2008
You guys censored me.
When i commented on the post with the freelancer survey. I was just wondering how come you guys sell a survey that has been done with freelancers for free. This would have brought you guys unfair profit.
Chad | ProFreelancing
March 11th, 2008
Drake…the survey takes effort to put together, organize, write, design, and sell. It’s not unfair profit.
Todd
March 11th, 2008
I could not agree more Contest do nothing for Designers nor the Design world. Unless your a student . that’s the only place I feel design should be a competition .
Cal
March 11th, 2008
Aimed at the post question “…is it ever ok?”. The answer has got to be a simple ‘yes’. But in this ‘yes’ there has to be personal restrictions and personal benefit for the designer. The personal restriction has got to be - never spec your day to day work, but do allow time for some freebies here and there, as some freebie work can lead to great potential marketing investment. So never, ever, dismiss work simply due to the fact it’s a competition. If you do so, you are hindering your potential and closing a door that could lead to something quite special.
—SPAMMER/FLAMER WARNING—
General day-to-day spec and pitch work is bad for the creative industry as a whole. But there is a place in the creative industry for creating opportunity and adapting into a new sector by donating spec work. There is a major difference. Don’t compare the two - they are very different. Here’s a key fundamental aspect to help identify the two. General every day work, clients usually come to you, or you go to the client and explain your terms & conditions. Design contests for example, are often advertised. They offer an alternative method, not a direct one.
—GOOD-&-BAD-’COMPETITIONS—
A good freelancer knows how to spot openings and how to take advantage of such. Never dismiss a competition purely on this factor. Analyse each competition with care and consideration. Look for the key benefits of entering the competition and look for the key benefits of winning it. For example, entering a charity organised competition for a local school chain poster would be foolish for any freelancer to dismiss it and pass it by. Even if you fail to win, you have entered and thereby supported the venture and aided them, which can be used to boost your reputation and community status. If you win - great stuff! Another potential factor to note is ‘who is connected to the project…who are the partners of the project…who are the distributors…who are the key members of the project, etc’. If you discover that a competition is hosted by a big name publisher, or retail chain, or bluechip company, etc, you can use the fact that you are taking part in their/or their partners future design work, then you can pitch yourself to each individual company in connection with the competition, create a lead and a possible future client. If you win that type of competition, it all adds to your portfolio and this can be used to your advantage moreso than working for a standard client, with limited marketing appeal.
If you enter and win, you NEED to market this. You simply have to exploit the fact that you have won such a competition and you were nominated better than the competition. A survey was issued stating that the creative sector greatly lacked in the ability to market themselves. As oddly as that may sound, it is true. So it is important that each freelancer understand and respects all aspects of advanced marketing in order to make their service shine above the market. A design competition is a huge opportunity.
In reference to the downside of such competitions, there are some situations where your work can be abused - but this is a very rare case in comparison to the amount of honest opportunities out there. It is the designers responsibility to research the source, mostly if it’s internet based - that alone should raise some red flags - so think and research with care beforehand. As like all aspects of life, there will always be someone trying to exploit the system, so be alert and on your toes as all times when contemplating opportunities such as design competitions.
But to cover ths pros and cons and my personal stance on ’spec’ work, here’s a post I made on the original thread to go over in more detail why design contests shouldn’t be banished by the deisgner simply due to it being a pitch. Freelancing goes much deeper than the cash factor.
—ORIGINAL-POST—
I hardly post on this site, but I’ve been a reader of the blog for a long time now.
There’s pros and cons to this type of thread.
Pros:
* If you win you can market yourself and use the fact that you competed against 100s or 1000s of other designers. Money can’t buy that kind of publicity and accredentials. The fact of it being $1,000 or $10,000 is meaningless - money is not everything - remember this!
Cons
* You invest your time that could resort to failure.
Conclusion…
If you want a shot at ‘being better than x=designers’ do it for fun. If you don’t want to do it, simply do not do it.
My ethics on this are as follows, to avoid confusion…
I charge my clients 50% desposit before I even ‘put pen to paper’ and they don’t even receive their finished product before I get the total sat nicely in my business bank account. If anyone came to ME asking ME to pitch I would slam my door in their face.
However, and this is important. If you want to become a better freelancer don’t let money guide you forward. There are some opportunities out there that lead to bigger horizons and open more doors. Some of the best ways to market yourself is to enter design competitions and if you win one you can use this fact when marketing yourself to those bigger companies who are harder to impress with just flashy graphics. The big boys like to see some dedication, they like to see awards and they like to see that you love what you’re doing and that you can generate winning results.
Example…I enter design competitions for fun. If I’m busy with work, I let them slide, as clients are your focal point - they are your bread and butter. But if you do not have any work on, or you have some free time, instead of spending it spamming forums and blogs *gasp* enter a design competition. You can even use the occasion to practise new skills and techniques and if you win you win and if you lose you lose nothing.
I’ve entered and won various design competitions, ranging from local industrial health & safety awards storyboards, to HMV record label distributed album cover and shop promos. I didn’t enter them for money, simply due to the fact that if I won them, I could use the fact I beat other designers and my work got displayed in places it wouldn’t if I didn’t enter them. From about a few hours on each competition, I was able to bring in 10x more cash from the clients I won over by my competiton work, after they found out about the fact that I won such competitions with them. Companies like winners and they like to see dedication.
If you are struggling for clients, have a lot of free time, or want to broaden your horizons, increase your profile and your portfolio, entering a competition like this isn’t the end of the world.
I hope this gives people something to consider. Just remember, money isn’t everything. Time is key. If you have the time, consider other ways to boost your marketing appeal and design contests have been very good to me and have helped me win a lot of clients I couldn’t of won without the ‘fame factor’, a lot of clients like.
Dave Conrey
March 12th, 2008
I’ve been a designer for over a decade now and every time this subject comes up, its always hotly debated. This time is obviously no exception. At least Collis is able to put this more eloquently than I ever could.
Raj
March 12th, 2008
Completely agree with Scott. At what point do we accept and allow-without-public-chastising for grown people to accept accountability and responsibility for signing up and submitting to contests of their own free will, for a reward they deem to be appropriate for the time and effort they expend?
For the comments of whether someone “feels right” about paying less than top dollar for a project, if I had a world-reknowned designer offer me a killer design because we were talking and I was stuck for an idea, and I couldn’t possibly afford his rates, but he saw it as a cool project with a good cause and comp’d me some ideas anyway because none of his own clients would let him try what he had in mind, and he expected nothing other than to just let people know I didn’t come up with it myself, and all I did was buy him a lousy dinner and a beer as a show of gratitude, should I feel “okay” with that? Well, he felt okay with it, as did I. So, transaction completed. True story, by the way.
The only “bad” contest is when the true reward is disguised, or received work is misrepresented in the public space. Deceptive practices are never kosher. Yet there are several prominent people now who have presented these contests without any ulterior motives than the ones they expressed, and made their rewards very clear, and STILL they get raked over internet coals. Ridiculous.
Arwen Taylor
March 13th, 2008
There are no words to express just how extremely disappointed I am at the way that author was treated. I am a writer and I also do web design. I don’t think contests are bad. In the writing world, it is one way that you can get your foot in the door and have something nice to put on your resume when you win. I don’t understand why if you didn’t like the contest why you could simply have not entered. Instead a huge ruckus was raised which ended up taking away an opportunity for others.
blue2x
March 13th, 2008
I also agree, contests are not bad , just be careful on what contests you enter, there’s a particular contest site I wish you could stay away from =)
mave
March 14th, 2008
Arwen - When I read your comment I was concerned that maybe people were hard on Jonathan, and I agree - that would not be cool. But I re-read the comments on the previous post, and I see no mistreatment or abuse in what people said. There’s a really big difference between speaking out against an issue and speaking out against a person. The people here were doing the former, not the latter. I think everyone here realizes that Jonathan’s intentions were good, and have only the highest respect for him given his excellent handling of things.
Sparky
March 14th, 2008
Stever:
“I hold design contests to get logo’s made for my clients. I like it and my clients love it.”
Of course you love it. You don’t have to:
A. Consult with your client on what they truly need (it’s called “branding”).
B. Thinking of a concept yourself that embodies the marketing vision of the company (branding).
No that’s too hard. That’s work. Hey, why work too hard trying to think when you can get a hundred hungry design students to do it for you? Then all you have to do is pick from the pile for the “coolest” logo. Really, who cares about sitting down with a client and being consultative?
It’s much easier to throw up a contest on a web site, sit back, and collect the desperate attempts to hit a blurry target.
For that matter, what kind of client doesn’t have a well-enough established vision of their business that they don’t know how to articulate what the logo should look like more than to say something vague like, “Not too many colors, we want it like web 2.0?”
My point here is that creating a logo isn’t only about drawing vectors and selecting a font. The reason you pay top dollar for good design is because the good designers want to ask questions and learn about the business they’re designing for before sketching a concept. That’s what we get paid for, not just the execution. That’s what all the learnin’ was for.
I’m disgusted with the job posts on a certain “guru” site right now. Posts like this:
“We want a series of book illustrations, 40-50. They should be professional quality. It’s a book about dogs. You decide the style. We’ll pick from the best drawings sent in and the winner will get the job. I’m sorry, but we can’t pay more than $250 for all of them. There will be more work in the future if you do this well.”
This is disgusting, and the “artists” who take on these types of jobs do us all a disservice. That’s why a $200 logo design contest should be ignored. On some level I agree that you have to decide for yourself if the value of the contest is worth it, and some contests have a publicity factor that make them a good marketing opp. However, those are few and far between.