Good news: spec is not evil (part 1)

That’s right, I said it. 

Not only is speculative work (spec) not evil—it’s here to stay. And people in new media, advertising, or, for lack of a better term, the creative industry, better get used to it.

What the spec!

For those of you just joining us, spec work is when you submit your visuals or copy to a client—without signing a contract or agreeing a fee for your work in advance. While, sometimes, it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. Most of the time, though, (as you probably know) it’s not looking pretty at the end.

This is part of the reason why the community (designers, photographers and the lot) have spared no effort in promoting the idea that spec is pure evil. That it should be banned from existence. That no matter the intention, somebody always gets hurt. And that makes sense, if you look at it their way.

You wouldn’t take your car to the repair shop and tell them you only pay if you like their work, would you? Bet you wouldn’t. They’d laugh in your face, right? (Arguably, designers are not mechanics. In an earlier post, I also noted they’re not the kind of people you take home to your parents.)

In short, spec work just doesn’t apply to most professions. Why would it apply to the creative industry?

Middle-Earth

Now, I won’t go and argue that spec work is the Garden of Eden. That would be shameless.

But, basically, there are two sides to the story: there’s clients, and there’s creatives. So which one is the winning team?

Scenario A – The client

 Let’s say you’re looking for a fresh design for your logo. Or some fancy banner or, maybe, a web site clone. (Don’t worry if you don’t know what any of these mean. Depending on where you’re at, this is just stuff you may… need. Marketing people usually spawn some crazy idea, and you’re stuck with finding the people to do the job, doing project supervision and all sorts of creative direction tasks.) You may, or may not enjoy this type of stuff. But that’s a different post.

So what do you do?

Do you:

a)      contact a big agency, and just wait for their proposals;

b)      outsource everything to a cheap designer/copywriter/photographer

c)      organize a contest – where the winner get all the glory (and you get to keep your cost really, really low)

It’s a tough call. It mainly depends on the size of your company or project. If you’re a big-shot bank, then you know what to do. If, on the other hand, you’re a start-up company, you should grab anything you can get your hands on.

Let me put it this way: if you’re a small company, you shouldn’t waste your money on world-class ‘creatives’. What does that even mean, world-class creatives?

You should spend every cent you have on—that’s right—results.

OK, this sounds harsh. And I know some of you are thinking – ‘what about the poor chumps earning a living from this?’ But just think cold, hard cash, and you’ll be fine.

If you liked part one of ‘Good news: spec is not evil!’, you’ll love part two. Stay tuned!