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Spec Work, Specially Heinous

September 9th, 2010

No spec logo

 

Today's market is unfriendly for designers. So unfriendly indeed that many of them cannot even find normal work... "Professional designer" is a species on the brink of extinction. But what cataclysm, what catastrophe is responsible for this? The answer to this riddle is simple: the ever-increasing popularity of spec companies.


The owners of those companies grant their clients an immense variety of logos, at the lowest prices anywhere! The secret to their success? Merciless exploitation. Really, one might as well call them slavemasters, as they summon hundreds of designers and pseudo-designers too in order to conjure up a myriad of logos for a company... yet most of those designers shall not receive a penny for their work. This is shameless devaluation of creativity. Sadly, clients, anxious to receive a vast panoply of logos for almost free, bite straight for the lure, forcing logo designers to play the same game and accept offers for spec work out of desperation... Alas! In their avidity, clients cannot realize they are ensnaring themselves in a trap, as very soon, there will be no true professional designers remaining at all. With logo design companies dying out from lack of clients, could it be that the profession "logo designer" may soon be labeled "EXTINCT"?




But what is this? A ray of sunlight shining through those swirling storm clouds? Feeble, flickering, but there! It's NO!Spec and the message they spread around, for logo design and business communities alike! One could say this organization has been founded by designers, for designers. NO!Spec's message is quite clear:


"With legitimate design opportunities turning into calls for spec work at an alarming rate, it is our goal to arm designers with the tools they need to take a stand against this trend, as well as provide businesses with resources and information on why spec work harms our industry, and alternative solutions to their design needs that do not involve working on spec."


Just like environmental companies rush to the aid of species on the brink of extinction, so does No!Spec set forth to save the logo design profession - and in fact, to save the clients of the spec design providers from their own greed. Can this ray of sunlight pierce the stormclouds for good? Only time shall tell. In the meanwhile, why not help out by checking out No!Spec's site?

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