Category: Spec Conversation

  • Miles on Free Pitching

    Miles’ Blog: That monster called Free Pitch No matter what you call it, Spec Work, Free Pitch, etc the concept is the same. I’ll get a handful of designers or studios to come up with a handful of concepts for my website, and the winner gets my business. Great concept? No! There are no winners […]

  • Open Letter to CL (Craigslist) Administration

    This letter was forwarded to NO!SPEC. (Please note: Discussions are open, but inflammatory comments will be deleted) Open Letter to CL Administration Reply to: gigs-412731766@craigslist.org Date: 2007-09-03, 8:34AM To all creative professionals; please read this, and if you agree, please forward it in an email to Craigslist administration by sending them a note at this […]

  • Dear Craigslist

    Another interesting anon posting from craigslist There are serious people looking for serious work here. For the most part, you can get very talented, highly skilled developers that can do just about anything, provided you are willing to pay for it or your compensation is reasonable. Furthermore, you will have a much higher success rate […]

  • I Wish I Had Written This

    To those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world Every day, there are more and more CL posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative […]

  • Roger C Parker on NO!SPEC

    Are you giving your designs away for free? … tens of thousands of designers invest hundreds of thousands of hours each year in speculative work that either fails to create a client, or–worse–discourages the designer when their work is appropriated by others without any compensation whatsoever. Do your fellow designers a favor by alerting them […]

  • Veerle says “Free of charge please!”

    Reading through the NO!SPEC stats, I noticed Veerle comes out with a word or three. The purpose of creative pitches are to give clients a better understanding of the creative capacity of the selected agencies. To me it is a lame excuse to not browse around in the portfolios and let someone else do the […]

  • CreativePro Speaks About Spec

    Designing or photographing “on spec” means to work without guarantee of payment. Some people think it’s an acceptable way to build a portfolio or snag a client who’ll pay for other jobs down the line. Other people say that accepting spec work is a disservice to yourself and all creative professionals. Have your say at […]

  • Painter Creativity – Top 10 Lies

    From Mark W. Lewis of Painter Creativity 1 “Do this one cheap (or free) and we’ll make it up on the next one.” 2 “We never pay a cent until we see the final product.” 3 “Do this for us and you’ll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!” 4 On looking at […]

  • The Microhierax Chronicles on NO!SPEC

    Understanding No!Spec Why say No to Speculative Work? 1. No Guarantee 2. Unprofessional 3. Lack of Professional Research 4. Needs of the client not met 5. Myopic 6. Undermines consultive benefits 7. Undervalues the profession 8. Pitches and design don’t mix 9. Red Flags 10. The lack of contract does not a professional make After […]

  • About.com on NO!SPEC

    What is Spec? by Mary Beth & Paul Trautwein About.com Guides to Graphic Design Speculative work historically has been practiced in Advertising and Architecture. In those professions the winning firm would be offered a long-term contract resulting in years of revenue. Graphic design differs from those fields in that most work is issued on a […]