graphic design tender websites

mistermarketing

I remember once reading on boards.ie that there were websites where companies submitted graphic design and website requests for members to design and demonstrate their capabilities.

A winning design would then be chosen and the winning design would recieve payment.

Can anyone tell me the name of this website/s

Cheers

Mistermarketing:cool:

Sully

An interesting idea but pain for those who put time into the work and loose out!

Hank_Scorpio

That's called Spec Work - or working for free. There's a strong hatred towards sites like this and many graphic design forums I visit explicity ban these types of spec work and competitions.

You'll be surprised to find any decent designs amongst these people. And many real designers have reported that their designs are ripped off and resold via these websites and spec work.

So you could end up in trouble legally if you get a designer that rips off another design and you use it.

It would be better to use a graphic designer or service that you can talk to. Having a relationship with your designer and printers streamlines the whole process.

Anyway - spec work is not for a lot of professional designers.


All I'm saying is that you shouldn't hold your breath for a good design. I've seen "Spec" sites that the designer users templates from such like as www.stocklayout.com.


Good luck with whatever you're doing though. I'm not saying not to use Spec sites. But I'd be surprised if you found a professional designer this way.


I know that a lot of designers are boycotting Google Chrome because they contacted professional illustrators to provide skins for the Chrome browser in return for no commission and little promise of future paid work. Well the Spec work was posted on the internet and everyone got in a huff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/business/media/15illo.html


And that's the general concesus amongst designers regarding any free work or Spec Work or Competitions.

Baggio...

Hank_Scorpio wrote: »

That's called Spec Work - or working for free. There's a strong hatred towards sites like this and many graphic design forums I visit explicity ban these types of spec work and competitions.

Think I'll take a pass on it myself...

Hank_Scorpio

mistermarketing wrote: »

A winning design would then be chosen and the winning design would recieve payment.

This is the part that's not wanted. Professional designers will not do a weeks work in the hope of their design being choosen then getting paid.

By all means tender the job to design agencies and designers based on their portfolios. They will estimate the cost and you can with the one you like the best price wise.

But it's backwards to ask for many designs and pick the best design and then pay for it. That's not how it works.

Most design agencies will give you discounts, give you free revisions, get discounts from printers etc. saving you money in the long run.

Getting work through a Spec Site means the designer hands off a pdf that may or may not be print ready. Or a website that may or may not be coded correctly and never hear from them again.


Think about how you want your relationship with clients and printers and web designers and graphic designers.

Baggio...

Hank_Scorpio wrote: »

This is the part that's not wanted. Professional designers will not do a weeks work in the hope of their design being choosen then getting paid.

It seems pointless to take a chance on something like that... I don't know any professionals personally, that would engage in such an activity.

Calculate your time per hour, and then see if it's worth doing - especially for a paycheck that you probably wont even get. You'll see it's a complete scam...

And just in case you missed it: :P
http://www.no-spec.com/articles/just-say-no/

Hank_Scorpio

You will also see that when someone specs for work to be done - they can easily rip it off and you never hear from them again - and all the work you've done gets used but you don't get paid.

Pixelcraft

There are obvious points why spec work is not advantageous to designers, but few people comment on the fact that the client is getting a disservice also, for some of these reasons:

There is no face to face meeting.

There is a vague brief. (as clients are not designers themselves, they really don't know what we need to ask)

There is no consultancy, direction, no big picture or guidelines on which the client can be advised.

They are at a sever risk of paying for plagiarised work, and having to face the legal consequences later on.

Hank_Scorpio

Pixelcraft wrote: »

There are obvious points why spec work is not advantageous to designers, but few people comment on the fact that the client is getting a disservice also, for some of these reasons:

There is no face to face meeting.

There is a vague brief. (as clients are not designers themselves, they really don't know what we need to ask)

There is no consultancy, direction, no big picture or guidelines on which the client can be advised.

They are at a sever risk of paying for plagiarised work, and having to face the legal consequences later on.

I mentioned some of those already -

Pixelcraft

Sorry, only skimmed most of the thread

peejay1986

I think you're thinking of http://www.99designs.com but that is certainly not tendering. Tendering involved meeting the client and is more professional than this sort of work.

Most government work is done through a tendering process.

Deliverance

Hank_Scorpio wrote: »

That's called Spec Work - or working for free. There's a strong hatred towards sites like this and many graphic design forums I visit explicity ban these types of spec work and competitions.

You'll be surprised to find any decent designs amongst these people. And many real designers have reported that their designs are ripped off and resold via these websites and spec work.

So you could end up in trouble legally if you get a designer that rips off another design and you use it.

It would be better to use a graphic designer or service that you can talk to. Having a relationship with your designer and printers streamlines the whole process.

Anyway - spec work is not for a lot of professional designers.


All I'm saying is that you shouldn't hold your breath for a good design. I've seen "Spec" sites that the designer users templates from such like as www.stocklayout.com.


Good luck with whatever you're doing though. I'm not saying not to use Spec sites. But I'd be surprised if you found a professional designer this way.


I know that a lot of designers are boycotting Google Chrome because they contacted professional illustrators to provide skins for the Chrome browser in return for no commission and little promise of future paid work. Well the Spec work was posted on the internet and everyone got in a huff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/business/media/15illo.html


And that's the general concesus amongst designers regarding any free work or Spec Work or Competitions.

At the end of this report...

Google, though rebuffed by more than a dozen illustrators, said in its statement that it had plenty of takers. I.e. whether you like it or not we as a business are going to exploit designers because we have the money and status to do so. Good work Google, the most profitable marketing advertising company on the planet want work done for free.

Google is not the internet, the people are the internet, an exploitation of these people is not acceptable in my view.