track down ray frenden. I'm sure he'll give you some juicy stuff.

I thought you meant "spectacles". Not enough people use that word.

I shall try... but the more answers, the merrier. I would like to have lots if I can :)

Hmmm. I suppose so, alvin.

That's my way of saying "I have no idea what 'spec work' is but I still think you're pretty".

I hate to agree with Mitch, so I won't.

Hehehe... thanks, alvin. I put in an unbiased link for unconfusion.

Hector and Mitch, are you going to answer it? I really am quite desperate. Otherwise I will have to make up answers from imaginary people and then I might get in trouble.

Yeah. I should stop changing the title of this blog.

i have experience with this only in editing

not in graphic design

That works for me, shirt :)

Lately, spec work seems to be getting more and more common in the realms of graphic design. Have you ever worked on spec?
(How did it go? Was it worth it? Have you turned it down?)

--I have worked on spec.Honestly, the project never ends. The client, often times, has the impression that I can work for free as long as it takes to get the project completed when really, I'm doing it to either A) help a friend out or B) gain some type of experience that will get me to the next level.
I've turned down more spec work than accepted.


Do you think that spec work affects the working relationship between the client and the designer at all?
(Communication? Future work? Trust?)

--Trust, from the desinger/editor standpoint is gained or lost ultimately in a spec situation. More people have been burned, that I know of, than have actually benefitted from their experience. For me personally, it's worked out OK because I've only done spec work for people I know. So far, I haven't lost any relationships from spec work.


Does spec work inspire more effort to win over the client than regular design work? And is it worth it if it does?
(Stress levels? What happens if you don't get paid?)

--With spec work, if money comes my way it's a bonus. I'm fully ready to do the project as well as I can, despite not getting paid monetarily. For me, it's worth it because with editing, it's a catch-22 to get from Assistant Editing to Editing; you need experience to make the leap but you can't get experience without taking the leap. that's where spec work can be very useful, to help bridge that gap.


What do you predict will become of spec work in the future? Will you be doing it?

-Hopefully, all fingers crossed, this is going to be the last year I have to do spec work. I've forged a decent career path thus far and hopefully my hardwork will be recognized either by companies i've worked for in the past or by friendships i've garned and nurtured through doing spec work.

hopefully that's helpful

I think a good question to ask might be how one defines spec work because it's kind of taken on a bad meaning and someone might say "well this is bad and it's spec work but this other thing is something I'm more ok with so I don't call it spec work"

how many definitions of spec work are there?

That is a good question, steve... I will add it in.

And yes, alan, that is really amazingly helpful, thankyou so much!

Okay, does that extra question make sense now?

http://www.no-spec.com/

I could use a few more opinions, if there are some more out there :)

As a rule I never work on spec. The only time I do is if the work is open ended enough that I could use it for something else. Otherwise I avoid it at all costs.

The only time I'd consider it is if I thought it was a worthwhile way to promote myself.

Ray Frenden blogged about it here.

There's plenty of links to his blog and Cameesa's blogs and he's been blogging about it on Emptees too. I think it really does devalue work.

Thanks Brian! And thanks SJ. I think I will work on tying this all together later on tonight. But still, if anyone else would like to answer whether they're a designer or not, that would be awesome.

isn't threadless a form of spec work?

Well, it depends who you talk to. It's mostly considered a grey area. If your design doesn't get printed you can it them elsewhere, as they aren't being designed for a specific purpose. Also, they are chosen by the community, as opposed to the staff only.

It's up to the individual, though. I would be comfortable submitting a design to threadless, others may not. It depends what you are doing it for.

I think Threadless is spared from being spec-work because they're not asking you to work to any kind of brief. Like the Cameesa contest Ray Frenden links to asks you to use characters from Ragnarok and the DBH contests for Kiss etc give you an option, you can enter the contest using a set of branded elements provided by the band or whoever running the contest, or you can also enter a contest that adheres to a general theme. The problem is if you're asked to create a design featuring trademarked characters, or someone asks you to design a logo for their company or something, it's unlikely that you'll be able to use that work again. So if your design doesn't win, all that effort is wasted. Whereas with Threadless, you retain the rights to your design and can print it yourself or enter it in another design contest if it doesn't win. But similarly, there are no guarantees you'll get paid.

I do agree. I think that with design contests you have to be aware of the line you are walking on. A lot of the designers here do it because they enjoy it, more than for the money, and I think that is a good way to look at it.

I find the line spec/no specbecoming more blurry.

If you get paid $250 for an assignment if client likes result and $0 if they don't, that sounds like spec.

but what if If you get paid $250 for an assignment if client likes result and $50 if they don't: Is that spec?

and what if If you get paid $250 for an assignment if client likes result and $1 if they don't: Is that spec?

But to answer your question:
In general, I turn down spec work requests.

To get around the 'friends asking for work for free/on spec' thing, I tell them that all personal things ( birth cards, a wall paintings for their home, marriage announcements ), I design for free. Anything else (a tee design for their company ) goes for the regular rates.
This works out very well.

I get it. That was clearly explained. Good luck with your research!

No worries, and thanks!

That is good to know, Esta. I have always wondered how I would manage those requests myself, because I always manage to get caught up in them

I'm not 100% sure that these images have much to do with spec work. I was trying, though.

all I know is that

spec work = bad :(
crowd sourcing = good :)

not entirley sure of the difference

Jeffrey wrote a couple of blog posts on this before leaving threadless.

the fine line between crowdsourcing and lazyness

Its ok to be grey

Dont get me wrong because I love threadless but I'm not 100% sure that it is crowdsourcing, it doesnt exactly follow the traditional definition which makes it a very, very fine line they have to walk across.

luckily, as tescoe points out
it's a black and white world
so choose your side wisely