BLACK ANCHOR DESIGN BLOG

I want to first start by saying.

STOP WORKING FOR FREE!

There are only two things guaranteed in life, that is taxes and death. Everything else has to be earned, and rent is due every day. There no such thing as a free lunch.

You need to ask yourself: 

Can I afford to work for free? 

Do I have responsibilities like children that I need to provide? 

Do I have utilities I need to pay? 

Do I have a mortgage or rent due?

Speculative work or known as free work before terms agreed upon– is still prevalent in many industries, especially the design industry.

Spec work is a controversial concept that keeps appearing with multiple heads that pop up over and over within our community.

Sadly, you may have been subjected to speculative work if any of these applies to you or all.

– You have done unpaid work to prove an agency's quality to a prospective client. 

– Competitions wherein one prize awarded among multiple applicants (which is so lame). 

– Volunteer or pro-Bono work done for public benefit.

– Internships or other educational roles.

The most problematic type of spec projects is mainly unpaid work in the hopes of winning a client over that probably will never hire you! For some reason, this has been an acceptable business practice for decades in the design industry. 

Are spec projects beneficial to the clients receiving them?

I argue no — which is precisely why we at Black Anchor Design we don't do spec work.

Spec Is a Flawed Concept

On paper, it sounds great for clients, but its an old idea that doesn't hold up to logical scrutiny. 

Imagine contacting an electrician and sayings, "Look, I see you 'you're skilled at fixing electrical sockets, but our sockets are different. Come on over, fix one, and if we like it, we'll talk about a contract." You'd probably get a fist to the face for even suggesting it! 

Nobody in skilled trades works on spec, so why are creative professionals held to a different standard? 



Real business owners are familiar with outsourcing work will attest that collaboration is necessary for business for a high-quality outcome. 

The creative process takes time, with plenty of work between client and designer. Those are many hours of pre-design research and fine-tuning to produce something that rides for the brand. 

Agencies are forced to sweat out their creative talents for free, often with nothing more than a minimal design brief to guide them along the way. 

So, where's the trust?

One of the more sinister aspects of spec work is the lack of trust inherent to its use.

Look, this just advice, but at the end of the day, it hurts both parties involved. The old saying "you get out what you put in" applies to the creative process both from a designer and from a client perspective

Thanks for listening,

Bobby Robinson