NO!SPEC | To educate the public about speculative (spec) work

Welcome to the relaunch of the NO!SPEC site. And who do we have to thank for this revamp? My good friends David Airey (designer) and Jay Wickham (programmer).

From day one, Jay and David have been tireless contributors. Behind the scenes, and no matter what insane hour of the day or night, Jay is on hand to fix code and add what is needed. More in the public eye, David is a vocal advocate of an ethical design industry.

There is also a fourth teammate involved with the daily running of NO!SPEC: Steve Douglas.

So when all hades breaks loose in the spec arena, it’s usually David (in Ireland) , Steve (in Canada) and myself (in Thailand) throwing emails at each other, plotting our next move. And sometimes Jay (in Australia) listens to us all.

When needed, the original NO!SPEC committee come out fighting as well. Thanks all!

In order to celebrate new beginnings, I decided to share the main points of a fabulous post on spec penned by Steve Douglas, 28 talking points. To me, it’s one of those ‘I wish I’d written this’. And since I didn’t, here you go.

The 28 Talking Points (on working spec)

1. It’s all about freedom of choice
2. Designers know what they’re getting into
3. We’re all adults here
4. You’ll get lots of exposure
5. Participation is voluntary so design contests aren’t exploitative
6. Spec sites represent an ‘opportunity’ for designers
7. Crowdsourcing sites are a way to make a living
8. Contest sites are a way to pick up some ‘pocket change’
9. The best designer, or design, always wins
10. Client feedback helps you develop your skills
11. Contest holders appreciate your efforts
12. Stock logos and free vector art is forbidden
13. Designers copying each other are ‘isolated incidents’
14. Private and ‘blind’ contests protect designers’ work
15. Win a contest. Pick up your prize
16. Guaranteed contests also pay a designer
17. We guarantee that a designer will get picked. And paid
18. Spec sites ‘respect’ creatives
19. Critics of spec work are Luddites. Or snooty. Or…
20. Design orgs and critical designers are like the RIAA
21. Crowdsourcing puts you in charge of your career
22. The democratization of design?
23. You’ll get lots of practice
24. You’ll build a great portfolio
25. Crowdsourcing is ‘innovation at its best’
26. Crowdsourcing is simply The Free Markets at work
27. Crowdsourcing levels the playing field
28. Participants are from all over the world

Conclusion? Curious?

It’s quite an eye-twitcher to scan down those talking points. Yes? To get the full story, stop by Steve’s 28 talking points.

And don’t forget to drop by David’s post on the NO!SPEC redesign to tell him how fabulous it is. Dave and Jay did a bang up job, for sure.

The campaign to educate the public about spec work will be a long one. I’m grateful to have good friends like Jay, David, Steve and the rest of the gang along with me.

Enjoy…

There is no free lunch.