http://www.mographwiki.net/Speculative_Work defines speculative work as

“any requested work for which a fair and reasonable fee has not been agreed upon, preferably in writing”

So essentially you are working for absolutely nothing in hopes that John Q Public will buy your idea.

Before I get into politics and ethics I want to share a story with you. Earlier today I was walking down the street and there was a brick laying competition. There was a lot of people crowded around to compete in the contest. Whoever won would get $1000. The thing was though, they each had to build a brick fire pit so eventually for every contestant there would be a brick fireplace. They could use their own style to make their fire pit most attractive to the buyer. I entered and made this fairly good looking fire pit with the bricks provided. 12 other guys did the same, some were good and could tell they were veterans in brick laying. Others I asked myself what in the world told them they could compete at all? Others copied each other even! Well, after we were done I was sweating and I was even late for a prior engagement with a friend. The tallied up the results and somebody won. Needless to say there were some unhappy contestants about. I asked myself, “So I just did all that work for nothing?”. The answer is, “Yes, you did.” Well I wanted to take my brick pit down and use the bricks for a future project. But the competition committee wouldn’t allow me. They said that everyone’s brick pits were going to stay there forever for everyone to see. I was a little pissed because I happen to run a brick laying company and we specialize in fire pits! I essentially unleashed my trademark for some other asshole to not only copy, but also it’s become someone else’s property. Lord knows that they’ll do with all of MY blood, sweat, and tears. Needless to say I walked away in a fit, missed my meeting with my friend, and accomplished absolutely nothing today.

Grr! I'm about to have a brick!

That didn’t happen as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now. I am no entrepreneur or fine brick fire pits. I told that fictitious story to prepare you for todays discussion, Speculative Work. In my anecdote I came across a competition where a bunch of tradesmen both novice and veteran were competing for a cash prize. This happens every day on graphic design competition sites like 99designs.com or crowdspring.com. I lost and basically realized all that work was for nothing and my hard work was left up for display to whomever wants to copy it. MAJOR BUMMER.

This article is not attacking the companies themselves, I believe everyone has a right to pursue a business. This article is targeting the graphic designers who currently do, or haven’t even heard of, Speculative Work. I was told by a peer of mine to check out 99designs.com out about a year ago. I’ve entered into contests for the past year hoping to get a bite. Alas, nothing. Either I received the comment excellent design, but this isn’t what we’re going for or I was led to believe the contest holder loved it and would get back to me about alterations. Now you could say, “Brett, you’re just not that good of a designer. That’s why no one tapped one of your bids.” Well aside from being a subjective comment, I believe this: Not one wanted my bids because my entries were not generic enough, they were, actually, not what the CH was looking for, and because I had a severed connection with the CH. Let me elaborate: 1.) Mediocrity seems to flourish on these sites. This is because (oh boy, I’m going to get slapped for this) most business owners know where to go to for good design and are willing to pay good money for it. You are dealing with a lot of amateur or up-and-coming companies who want stellar work for nothing. I’ve never heard of a logo design for $250 dollars in the field. That logo will make you 10 times more than that amount in two years, so its worth more than $250. Most companies either get knowledge from their peers on where to get their graphic design, or they look up legitimate businesses online. I am digressing though, back to the mediocrity. Most businesses on these sites will pay mid to low ball for designs because they themselves are content in buying trite designs. It’s safe for them to look like everyone else. If I see one more logo with 3 humanoid figures in Blue, Green, and Orange incorporated into it I am going to scream! Design something new and memorable folks. YOU are the designer, they are paying you for your artistic talents. This brings me to my second point 2.) My designs weren’t what they were looking for. Normally, with my clients I have an extensive phone call or meeting with them. They tell me what they want, I ask them questions, and they ask my questions. We go over the usual: adjectives describing their presence in their trade, what do they want the project to accomplish for them, their budget, what I can do for said budget, when they want the project accomplished, and when I can deliver it. Now just about any decent graphic designer could deliver something desirable by the client under those circumstances. With these contest sites you don’t get that client to designer relationship. Sure you get a comment that is one or two sentences sometimes, but that almost never helpful. 3.) Having a severed connection with the contest holder. This poses a problem because you are not exclusive to them to have their phone number, schedule a meeting, and sometimes you can’t e-mail contest holders. You are crafting a product FOR them. They need to hold your hand just as much as you need to hold theirs in order for everyone to come out happy when the assignment is over. With contest sites its like that girl who is looking for Prince Charming. That girl looking is the contest holder and Prince Charming is that magic design they’ve wanted for essentially nothing. Prince Charmings (or great, healthy relationships) can exist, but thats after knowing your partner, accepting them for who they are, and providing first and foremost love and loyalty (just to name a few). Great things are earned in his life like Prince Charming. They don’t fall out of the sky or the anonymity of the world wide web, contest holders.

CHARLETAN! HYPOCRITE! You might be asking yourself why I gave a nod to contest sites in a previous blog entitled “5 Things I Wish My College Taught Me”. At the time I wrote it I felt that hey I needed a couple of bucks and its good practice if I don’t win. Well I still stand on the fact that I need a couple of bucks and it’s good practice I don’t win, however do it maybe once a month just to give yourself a challenge. Doing it a lot really sells your soul for nothing. Also your contest entries are dotted all over the internet landscape. Who knows, your idea could be John Doe’s winning design 3 months from now. It’s like laying brick without any contract or payment. Do you really want to do it?

I now leave you with a video that pretty much sums up my feelings on Speculative Work and Intellectual Property.

Check out this handy blog post by Steve MacKley for more links on the issue of Speculative Work

http://stevemackley.com/2009/08/no-spec-work/

Also, thanks to Jin at http://www.8164.org for inspiration and the video link

http://www.8164.org/pay-the-designer/