Graphic design - not snooty and not free
Category: Blog - February 12, 2009
A few days ago, a tweet came through my Twitter account pointing me to an article scheduled to be published in the February 16 issue of Forbes Magazine. The title - "The Creativity of Crowds" - isn't what grabbed my attention, it was the sub-head: "CrowdSpring aims to slash the cost of graphic design work - and democratize a snooty business."
Yep, that's right. Forbes is calling those of us in the graphic design industry "snooty." Thanks. But getting past middle school name-calling, let us move on to the debate this article is causing.CrowdSpring.com allows buyers to run competitions for company logos, Web sites, T-shirts and the like. For buyers of designs, that means more choice at a fraction of the cost; for aspiring designers, it means a shot at stealing work from entrenched design firms, says CrowdSpring.
At first glance this might seem like a good deal. Spend some time creating a logo, and maybe get a little cash. In reality it's spec work, which with CrowdSpring.com, is comparable to playing the lottery. You buy a ticket and hope you win. Sadly, when you play the CrowdSpring.com lottery, you invest more than $1 and two minutes of your time. You invest your skill and talent as a graphic designer.
The creators of CrowdSpring.com give the impression that ANYONE can be a designer - for example, they say, grandma's with Adobe Illustrator or someone who can buy a computer and sophisticated software for a little bit of money can compete with big agencies. So, I go buy a pair of scrubs, watch a few episodes of ER and Grey's Anatomy and I can be a doctor? Not so much.
There are other design contest sites out there like CrowdSpring.com, and in reaction the design community has started speaking out through a campaign called NO!SPEC. The campaign, NO!SPEC says, "Serves as a vehicle to unite those who support the notion that spec work devalues the potential of design and ultimately does a disservice to the client." I think one of the comments (by reader atlaswoof) in regards to the Forbes article says it best, "What a perfect plan for sabotaging well thought design and cheapening hard work, research and creative intelligence."
I'm proud to bear the title of graphic designer, and I've worked hard for it. Helping communicate a concept and message in a clear, conscious, visual manner takes skill, experience and passion. Your business doesn't deserve less.
Amy Clark
Graphic Designer
Javascript is required to add comments.