There are no excuses for spec work, period. I’m tired of hearing these excuses about how it’s a good way to build up work for your portfolio, it isn’t. Spec Work isn’t a good way to build experience, because it’s not a real world experience. When you deal with a client, you take in their needs and give them a result suited to them.
It’s like designing and making for them a finely tailored suit, you take their exact measurements, choose the fabrics that are appropriate and give them something that fits perfectly for them.
On most of these spec sites, you’re really working without that essential designer-client dialogue. You’re given a list of instructions which quite often is incomplete and then left to battle it out against other people who won’t hesitate to steal your ideas if they see a client show any kind of positive reaction.
What we’re left with is a mish-mash of free fonts, poor clip-art, irrelevant logos on non-sequitur branding where none of the elements tie together. And this is what hurts me.
It makes me sad that because of money, clients are willing to accept work that quite often sabotages whatever endeavour they are trying to pursue.
It saddens me that clients aren’t advised and guided and taught the process or working with a designer, what they should expect and how to develop the eye for quality work. To me, it just isn’t right that a client walks away happy with a piece of terrible work blissfully unaware that they’re making a fool of themselves.
Why does it bother me so much?
Simple. Because I CARE.
I CARE that a clients needs are taken care of fully. It’s important to me that the client understands and appreciates the thought that has gone into their branding and the reasons why it is of a BENEFIT to their activities.
I don’t mind talking with a client for hours explaining good typography vs. bad typography, helping them to see what a poor quality logo looks like in comparison to a professional logo.
It’s a real shame that for the sake of a few pennies, everybody loses out. Trained designers and designers who actually care about what they’re doing have to deal with the degradation of their artform.
This post is running on way longer than I meant it too and I’m rambling so I’ll leave it for now but guaranteed I have a lot more hot air on this subject. Watch out.
