Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Following on the unethical roundly-lauded success of Threadless.com, there's a new entrant into the crowd-sourced design market: CrowdSPRING.com. Business owners take note: if you need some design done, it's simple. Create an account, give your vague brief, and set a price for the winner that you pick.

Sounds good? Sure does. Read on.

In their FAQs , crowdSPRING states:

"When working with traditional creatives, the buyer takes all the risk - they pay up front and hope their project turns out well. When working on many other sites, creatives take all the risk - they do the work up front and hope to get paid in the end.

We've tried to find a balance that works for everyone. Here, the buyer pays up front and the creatives get to work right away. We promise buyers that if they don't get at least 25 entries to their project then they can walk with a full refund. In return, we promise creatives that their projects won't go cancelled or abandoned for no good reason."

What these FAQs don't reflect is the utter imbalance in who's assuming risk. The buyer sets a price and waits to pick the one he likes. Off in the cloud, 25+ designers work obediently for only the possibility of reward.

Let's illustrate this with a scenario. Let's pretend I want to spend $250 for a logo. 25 "creatives" jump at the chance and get to work right away. They spend an hour apiece, 'cause that's how long good logos take. 

A few days later, I pick one design and the designer gets paid from the crowdSPRING escrow. Not a bad deal: $250/hr to the lucky designer.

Not such a good deal to the other 24 folks. They didn't even get their share of the $250, or $10/hr. And, oh by the way, they just paid an opportunity cost for not doing funded work. In fact, the only value proposition that crowdSPRING offers them is this: the lucky designer will get paid, since the funds are held in escrow.

But hey, they got a portfolio piece and some experience out of it, right? 

I find this site to be particularly disrespectful, unethical and extortionist. Sure, it's the designer's decision whether to accept work on such glaringly unbalanced terms. But to any designers considering this arrangement, I'd encourage them to read AIGA's position on spec work.

 

PS. Let's not mention the fact that, if you submit only one design, you have no better than a 4% (or 1 in 25) chance of getting paid. So, make more designs you say? Well, that reduces your hourly rate --it's a fixed price racket, mind you--which makes any reward you receive bittersweet.

There is a point at work and especially being a Web producer when you reach the ultimate stress level, the apex of the vortex of stress. Many things can cause this and most days you are hovering at some level of stress. It isn't a bad thing, most days it's the adrenaline that gets your job done right, gives the perfect creative spark to a meeting or the urge to buy the whole office cupcakes.

But moments do exist when you could snap just if someone asks you what time it is. We all get to that point, it's okay. It's not about how stressful a project was or how crazy the timeline was, it's about the team that helps you get the finished project out. As crazy as it all seems at the time I always look back at those moments and am thankful because it made us all work better and harder together.

I salute you stress vortex, you make my job interesting and you make me realize how lucky I am to have a team that works like a well oiled machine.

 

Design education is a good thing. When my time came to fly the university nest, I remember thinking how I would set the world on fire. My naïveté initially worked to my advantage. I was cut some slack due to in experience. But I quickly learned that experience in inexperience would not build a career. Over the years of interviewing, teaching and mentoring young, eager talent I picked up a few simple, disputable truths that I sincerely hope can help you, a new graduate.

1. Write.

No one’s expecting you to be Tennyson or Tennessee Williams. Heck, not even Tennessee Ernie Ford! Simply be able to convert a complete thought to a well-written sentence. Writing is as much of a design process as creating a logo. It’s designing an emotional connection with words. This one skill has life-long benefits. We receive lots of resumes. It’s unbelievable how many have spelling and grammar errors. Even to the point of spelling our company’s name incorrectly. C’mon, you gotta get that right.

2. Soak up life.

Eat, drink, bathe in, touch, hear, squish between your toes and feel everything you can. This provides a repository for inspiration. I firmly believe original ideas come from original inspiration. Use your experiences to influence your work. It’ll have more heart, you’ll have more fun and be far more pleasant to be around.

3. Make everything and everyone better than you found them.

That goes for the planet, your colleagues, younger talent and most importantly, you. I believe that we should push others to do their best work, yet push ourselves even more. I also believe you should work with people better than you. You’ll do your best work and likely get rewarded with more good work. However, if you find yourself working for someone (or something) you don’t respect, leave. Your soul will thank you.

4. Concept always wins.

Good design is a memorable, smart solution. You get there with a bulletproof concept. If concept and “pretty” are in a cage match, concept will always win. Concept is the sticky part of an idea. It is NOT a Photoshop filter. Seek to strengthen the concept in everything you do. I promise you, no one will hand you an award-winning project. It’s up to you to really excel.

5. Focus on the right thing — achieving your client’s mission.

While we often forget, we wouldn’t be here without clients. Thank them often by always doing your best work. You’ll be repaid with the opportunity to do even more good work while earning their trust and partnership. It’s only with those qualities that your true brilliance shines. Live by this and I promise your reputation will thank you.