From the hell has officially frozen over department. The AIGA – American Institute of Graphic Arts – has had a long-standing position on spec work and design contests. That position can be boiled down to ‘thou shalt not’. As in designers shouldn’t engage in spec (or speculative) work or design contests, the theory being that it devalues the overall graphic design industry in the long term. An official version of a ‘Tragedy Of The Commons‘ scenario that we discussed a few days ago.
Looks like the AIGA is having a change of heart. Or at least willing to entertain having a change of heart. According to their website, the organization has realized that spec work, ‘crowdsourcing’ and design contests aren’t going away and are willing to debate being ‘more lenient’ in their acceptance of new realities -
Spec work is a perennial issue for designers, at any stage in their careers. In 2008, however, the issue sparked a new dialogue among AIGA chapter presidents and national board members, whose positions ranged from “absolutely no spec work, ever” to a more lenient approach recognizing today’s open-source attitudes. In light of this debate, AIGA President Sean Adams has appointed board member Debbie Millman and Presidents Council Chair Mike Joosse to co-chair a Spec Work Task Force, to gather facts and perspectives from chapter and community leaders and members. The task force’s findings and recommendations will be presented for action at the next AIGA board meeting, in April 2009.
Wow. Not exactly a position that an organization for professional graphic designers would be expected to take. Oh sure, design contests and other spec work platforms are a reality of today’s global marketplace and rather than going away, I expect contest sites and other thinly disguised crowdsourcing platforms will continue to pop up over the internets. The whys and wherefores of design contests are always open to debate, but shouldn’t an organization like the AIGA take a ‘line in the sand position’ officially? While graphic designers can choose, on a personal level, whether or not to market themselves through spec and contest work? I’d have thought so. Amazingly, the discussion on the AIGA spec position page talks about reversing years worth of policy for the benefit of one company – Crowdspring (who we talked about a few months ago)
I have had lengthy discussions with the founders of Crowdspring about their site and ways in which they can change their model to further protect designers and enhance education for both their designers and their customers. In contrast to what you would expect, both gentlemen are very willing to work with AIGA and the professional community in order to make the site the best experience for both designers and buyers. They are actively pursuing a number of community based code of conducts for various aspects of the site as well as discussing various aspects of ethics in their forums on a daily basis. In short, they are not the evil empire looking to devalue design and make a quick buck off the backs of the uninformed.
Talking about throwing over years of principled stand to benefit one commercial enterprise is startling, and seems to be wandering close to AIGA sanctioned nepotism. Crowdspring may be the coolest venture ever (even won a Wired 2008 Small Biz award) but once we’ve removed the fancy ‘design crowdsourcing‘ paint job, it’s still a design contest site at heart. Which means that in every job posted on the platform, only one designer manages to get paid. On a related note, Brandon Muth works the numbers for Crowdspring and finds they leave something to be desired. Andrew Hyde tells us why spec work is evil & why he hates Crowdspring.
Other designers are more pragmatic, realizing that spec work is not going away. Others in the debate want the AIGA to stand firm -
I can’t believe that the AIGA is even entertaining this issue. Stand your ground. The AIGA is the “Professional” association for design. Professionals get paid for their work.
One of the comments makes a grim, but valid point, the irony of which shouldn’t be lost on anyone…
There are 11,957 creatives on Crowdspring right now. Didn’t we say we wanted to increase our professional membership to 20,000? That’s a lot of people to expose to AIGA.
Anyhoo, if you want to join the official debate, you can toss in your two cents here. Oh yeah, hat tip to Jeff Fisher, who sent us a heads up on this via our Twitter thingamajig.
Related posts:
- Again with the design contests
- Defending crowdsourcing & design contests. The platitudes of spec work.
- SXSW ‘09 – Is spec work evil?
- SXSW “Is Spec Work Evil?” panel transcript
- More on those fabulous logo design contests…
Tags: advocacy, crowdsourcing, industry, spec, spec work
I’ve asked Debbie, Mike, and the rest of the Task Force to look at this issue and provide the board with findings and recommendations. My initial reaction was to be intransigent and maintain a hard line position. But my personal feelings are not as relevant and the needs of the profession, and it’s important that we listen and truly engage every issue. AIGA has succeeded for almost 100 years by evolving with the industry. I have a terrible picture in my head of pulling up the drawbridge and hiding in the fort, while the world outside changes. We can’t do that. In the end, AIGA’s position may not change, or it may evolve. This is a complex issue with multiple viewpoints, and deserves serious thinking and answers.
[...] Wow. Guess Forbes ain’t looking to rustle up too many subscribers among the designer set, at least if their The Creativity of Crowds article is any indication. Subtitled CrowdSpring aims to slash the cost of graphic design work–and democratize a snooty business [...]