A Passion for Creativity ~ Design Blog: NO!SPEC

Speculative work hurts designers, clients and the business of graphic design!

Recently, a group of Graphic Designers got together to create the NO!SPEC initiative. This group and its supporters are trying to educate both the creative and business communities about speculative work and contests and how it can hurt not only designers but the clients themselves. The NO!SPEC web site can be found at www.no-spec.com.

"An idea that is developed and put into action

is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea." ~ Buddha

Dedicated Desktop Creative Services is in the business of coming up with ideas and putting them into action. Clients come to us needing a logo, stationery or a brochure or a web site, but when it comes down to it, they come to us for ideas. Sure, we provide graphic design skills and technical expertise, and we have a passion for what we do, but ideas is where it all begins. Now, when a client comes to us and asks us to come up with a few ideas for a new logo, or a new web site and if they see anything they like they'll pay for it, that's asking us to do what we do for free! If an idea were a tangible product, and the client didn't like it, we could turn around and sell it to someone else. But, ideas don't come out of a drawer, we don't have a bunch on the shelf or on backorder, if it were that easy the truly creative people wouldn't even be in this business. An idea is something that is born from the investment of time and hard work, it's through research, input from the client, a great deal of creative thinking and experimenting with different ideas, that one idea comes to full fruition. Doing design work 'on spec', as a proposal, or as part of a contest, is asking a great deal of a business that survives on doing design work!

Dedicated Desktop has been in the business of coming up with ideas for over 20 years. Design is subjective, it can be difficult to satisfy all clients all the time, but by establishing a professional relationship with a client we are better equipped to do so. Take a moment to peruse our portfolio and you'll see we have come up with many great ideas and designs over the years for a very diversified clientele.

The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada has this to say about speculative work:

The practice of asking for free design concepts in order to choose the ‘right designer’ or the 'best design' or the ‘best logo’ undermines and devalues the professional designer's education, experience, hard work and the entire design industry. GDC Members do not engage in contests or other speculative, commercial projects.

And here's what the American Institute of Graphic Arts has to say about speculative work in their code of ethics:

A professional designer does not undertake speculative work or proposals (spec work) in which a client requests work without compensation and without developing a professional relationship that permits the designer sufficient access to the client to provide a responsible recommendation and without compensation.

Dedicated Desktop Creative Services follows, and encourages others to follow, professional standards of practice.