Before I joined up with Prolifik I ran my own design firm called Difted. This is an old post (slightly edited) from the Difted blog, my thoughts on spec work, design contests and client relationships.

This week a client that I had worked closely with for 4 years chose to redesign their web presence and logo using one of those design contest websites. The contest was offering $1,000 to redesign a website, not a one off design to pitch an idea to a board or a t-shirt design to sell at an event but a .com, founded as a .com, known as a .com with hundreds of thousands of users monthly. 

When you throw a third world price to an audience of “designers” you’ve never met, who don’t know you or your audience and who definitely don’t understand the evolution of your brand, nor your history… you’re gambling at best. You are shot gun blasting your way for a new “design” hoping that something sticks. The beautiful process of design is lost in a game of designer roulette and who wins?

If my clients choice had been to go with a different design firm, this would have been a non issue. It would have made sense, after all, four years of working together on the same project is grounds enough in my book to explore new options and healthy for everyone involved. I would have been more than helpful in passing along guidelines, resources, etc. to help this new firm take the baton and run with it. But the chance never presented itself and I found out about this design contest from a friend through twitter.

I feel as if all the work I’ve done over the past four years is being used to take advantage of hungry designers in exchange for a cheaply priced new look. Perhaps unintentionally, but I seriously doubt it.

I’m not writing all of this to pose as an elitist designer looking down upon anyone that takes part in these design contests. I do, however, suggest to designers using sites like this to stop selling yourself short, you owe it to yourself and to the profession of which you call yourself a member of - an ever evolving design community that it still very much trying to find itself.

Read up on why spec work hurts or read AIGA’s position on spec work and take a moment to Support the AntiSpec campaign.

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I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or feel free to email me directly: clint@prolifik.co