I just received an e-mail promoting yet another design contest. Contest are great when they allow designers to show off work they are already creating, or create work that serves the public good. The AIGA Blue Ridge’s Flux 08 competition is a good example of the former, and the Get Out the Vote Campaign is an example of the latter. But this contest by Massify invites students to design a film poster for actual use, which is bad for our industry.
“Why?” You might ask, “What’s wrong with inviting students to design something nifty and offering a prize to the winner?”
Because it’s “spec work” done without pay in the hopes of winning a contract, or in this case, a Wacom tablet. And because spec work takes a job away from a professional. We work hard in design and design education to support an industry that offers a valuable service to paying clients, and occasionally does pro bono work for selected non-profits. As an educator I send my students out into a job market, and I owe it to them not to help support fair compensation instead of a race to the bottom.
Hopefully the producers of Perkins 14 will discontinue this contest and hire a professional to design their poster instead. AIGA’s policy about spec work is here.
