Comments on: Designers, don’t give your work away for free

By: SHANMAC

SHANMAC — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:46:53 +0000

I probably would have stopped reading at the $2 million. Too good to be true.

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 08:21:13 +0000

Completely agree with you Derek, nice article. I always direct any potential clients to work that I have previously created for others. I’ve found that there are many individuals and companies that try to tap into or trick you into giving it up for free, and if you ask me, it sounds like a waste of time. You always have to keep a sharp eye out in the business world. Charging an hourly rate or fee for sample work (or Pitch) is completely logical to do, I do it and if they disagree I simply yell out “Next”.

By: Viking KARWUR

Viking KARWUR — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:00:45 +0000

Thanks for the articles.

By: Derek

Derek — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:17:02 +0000

Chanpory, a sick feeling in my gut as well. I can’t imagine how many people this email went out to and how many designs the perp received in return.

By: Chanpory

Chanpory — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:01:56 +0000

Unpaid speculative work including design “contests” always leave a bad taste in my mouth when I hear about them. No one asks a therapist for sample counseling sessions before hiring. Or a mechanic for a free trial repair. So, it’s frustrating to see companies who insist that designers show mock-ups and design explorations before getting “awarded” a project. In your case, Derek, this practice is taken to a new level by dangling a 2-million dollar carrot in a spam-like email. It might as well ask you to transfer money to a Nigerian bank account in promise of riches.

The AIGA’s website has some opinions at the matter, essentially calling it downright unethical:

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm?CategoryID=105

DesignObserver also has some heated debate about spec work with Michael Beirut chiming in on the contest for designing INside Innovation magazine:

http://www.designobserver.com/archives/014697.html

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:04:55 +0000

[quote comment="43334"]The guys from the fake lotteries have come to the designers now?[/quote]

They must have. WIth a budget of $2 million, it sounds like designers are the new high rollers.

By: Auke

Auke — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:18:02 +0000

The guys from the fake lotteries have come to the designers now?

By: Zach katkin

Zach katkin — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 02:33:35 +0000

Great points, couldn’t agree with you more that this is total bullshit. I also am not a fan of design awards, where companies get to choose from a host of designs for nothing, or next to nothing. I think too often, too many companies take advantage of freelance print and web designers, it has gotten so bad that the entire industry is in some respects marginalized and people have come to expect the world for nothing (or next to nothing).

By: Brent

Brent — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 01:12:04 +0000

Heck yeah! I completely agree. I hate it when I am asked to deliver free “comps” to win a design project. My product is my time, I don’t have a widget to sell, all I have is time. You wouldn’t walk into a restaurant and ask them to serve you three meals and you “might” pay for one if you like it enough. Same principal here. Right on, my friend!

Kudos!

Brent

By: Ben Bleikamp

Ben Bleikamp — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:00:09 +0000

Anytime I get an email like this I simply send them a list of projects that I’ve completed and say “If you can’t get a good idea of my capabilities from this list of projects then give me a call and we can discuss your project in more detail.” Most of the time I never hear back from them…go figure.