[thelist] Spec Work...?

[Robert Goodyear]

You know, there is no hard and fast rule that your portfolio must only be stocked with
paid client work. There is absolutely nothing wrong with student work and your own
concept work. Go find a site on the 'net that you think you could improve, and do a
before and after for your book. Be sure to be clear that this is "exploratory" work and
you do not insinuate that you've been contracted to do these redesigns. But basically
this is that same as spec work inasmuch as it shows the client what you're capable of,
yet it doesn't give away your intellectual property that they could easily rip off and
take down the street to the $6.00 an hour designer and say "do it like this."

Here's an analogy: fine artists aren't often judged on the merits of commissioned work
vs. their own expressions, are they? You look at the work for what it is, don't you?

/rg

--- Michael Pemberton <mpember at phreaker.net> wrote:
> As an out of work recent graduate has no long term industry background,
> I have no "portfolio" on which to sell my skills.
> 
> There is always room for compromise.
> 
> I recently did a project where I knocked up a set of templates / sample
> pages and informed then that I would require payment for my time during
> this initial design phase.
> 
> It was only a few hours and I got my cash.  As it turned out, they liked
> my work and we took it from there.
> 
> It is possible to do the initial prototyping without the same level of
> time / commitment that you would require for the full project.  As such,
> it is possible to request (read: "demand") payment for thew time taken
> to do this prototype work.  They don't have to commit to the complete
> project and you can test out if they know what they really want and
> everyone can be happy.
> 
> Just my $AU 0.02 (only worth $US 0.01)
> 
> Robert Goodyear wrote:
> > 
> > I absolutely do *not* do work on spec. OK, maybe I did 12 years ago when I was doing
> > letterheads to pay tuition. But it's degrading of our trade. You go to any other
> > professional and you judge their worthiness on their solutions to others' problems,
> > right? So why not design? I'd say stick to your guns, show how you used design to
> solve
> > other communication problems (read: before and after) and at most, deliver a written
> > proposal as to how you'd approach their needs.
> > 
> > My $.02
> > 
> > /rg
> > 
> > --- bull3t <initium at barrysworld.com> wrote:
> > > you don't know what i'd give to be in a situation like that... i don't get
> > > to do what i enjoy for a living, because i can't find any firms that will
> > > hire anyone under 18. life is a bitch.
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Eric Langlitz" <feed at chicken3.com>
> > > To: "The List" <thelist at lists.evolt.org>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 12:59 AM
> > > Subject: [thelist] Spec Work...?
> > >
> > >
> > > > Hi all.  Time for a healthy philosophical discussion in design, as there
> > > has
> > > > been a ton of tech talk today.
> > > >
> > > > The Situation
> > > >
> > > > Prospect Client A comes to you and wants to have a web site designed
> > > built.
> > > > But they have been burned in the past by "paying designers tons of money,
> > > > and still not getting what they want."  So, they say to you "I want to see
> > > > two or three designs before I will pay anything.  I am sure you are a
> > > great
> > > > designer, and your work shows it, but I am not sure you can grasp what I
> > > > want.  And I have already paid too much for other qualified designers who
> > > > couldn't do it either."
> > > >
> > > > Now, if you have not had a meal in three days, and the rent is two months
> > > > over-due, this may be very tempting.  But, how many diners can you go to
> > > and
> > > > ask to try two or three different plates before you will pay for "one"
> > > meal?
> > > > True, this is not a clear example of the work a designer does, but you get
> > > > the point.
> > > >
> > > > The worst part of this whole miserable e-mail, is that this happens
> > > > everyday, and designers engage in this activity every day.  I don't know
> > > > about you, but I don't like to spend my time doing free work.  If this
> > > were
> > > > my prospect client, the first words out of my mouth would be "I have the
> > > > number of a developer that I think would be great for you, let me pull it
> > > > from my file here and......."
> > > >
> > > > Any thoughts/comments/experiences?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Eric Langlitz
> > > > Principal
> > > > Chicken3
> > > > 3409 NE 62nd Ave #164
> > > > Vancouver, WA 98661
> > > > 360.906.7195
> > > > feed at chicken3.com
> > > >


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