In Brief BY Armin

Design the 25th Identity of space150

Space150 Contest

As a standard rule I do not post logo contests on Brand New and, believe me, I get asked a lot. But I am happy to make an exception in this case. Space150 is a design firm with offices in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York City and every 150 days they redesign their identity. Everything: Business cards, letterhead, logo, web site, promotional materials, the whole package. Over the last ten years space150 has reinvented itself 24 times, done either in-house or by commissioning an outside firm. For their 25th reinvention they have decided to make it an open contest, with the winner getting his or her idea produced 100% as envisioned, from start to finish.

Space150 Contest

Versions 16 (opening image) and 17 (above) by Studio on Fire.

So why make an exception? I believe space150 has no problem in doing yet another version without a hitch — although the pessimistic view could be that they are burned out, but I’m a believer! — and could keep on doing another hundred versions that look as good as the previous ones, so I really doubt they are taking advantage of anyone. This isn’t a global corporation or mass consumer product that you have to get in the client’s and audience’s head to get it right, this is pure unbridled design for designers, which has its own set of challenges but does not impede the proper context that most contests do of shooting blindly into an off-kilter target. It’s also a great opportunity to get some juicy print materials produced. And lastly, you get to put your money where your mouth is! Yes, I guess you could call that a challenge to our Brand New readers.

When space150 sent me the contest info I asked them if we could feature the winner on Brand New and do a formal critique, so you can take that as an additional challenge. And if all goes well we will also feature the printed materials on FPO.

If anyone is offended by Brand New posting a contest, well, that’s the way it goes.

Deadline is January 18, 2010 / Winner announced February, 1.

If you have some free time over the holidays or a slow start to the year, seriously, go for it. Have fun, let your wild ideas out, exercise that type, put Wolff Olins to shame, whatever, just let it ride!

Update / Dec. 16: I heard what you have to say and, for the most part, you are not happy. And if you are not happy I’m not happy. We retract our support for this contest and extend an apology to those that were let down by our endorsement of it.

DATE: Dec.15.2009POSTED BY: ArminCATEGORY: In Brief COMMENTS: 138

TAGS:

Comments › Jump to Most Recent

Speclicious’s comment is:

Er… Crowsourcing? Er… and all the hipe about spec work and so on…. be consistent Armin.

Discalimer. according the free speech act this comment is solely the free expresion of the poster, if removed, the holder of the blog must violate his rights, even if he say that reserve the right to remove any comment that he consider inappropiate or unnecessary.

Disclaimer2. The poster of the comment have not received any free sample, meal, money or sleep with anyone related to the comment above posted.

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:43 AM

Alexanda’s comment is:

More importantly than issues of watering down your brand etc, isn’t this a total waste for the environment by getting all new stuff printed every 150 days?

Even if you do recycle the old (the original post doesn’t state this?) letterheads, and ‘promo materials’ what about the ink used or the additonal emissions generated for printing and transport… I thought as designers we were intelligent enough to realise alot of what is produced by us becomes waste and we need to become more responsible about what we produce?

Sorry but this doesn’t make sense to me.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:03 AM

Joseph ’s comment is:

I am not sure how I feel about this Armin, this studio is offering the reward of publicity, and being flown to Minneapolis to visit their launch party… This is work, if they can’t settle on their brand hire an expert, crowd-sourcing an identity for a design studio sounds just like a bad-idea.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:03 AM

Joseph ’s comment is:

Actually I know how I feel about this. Space150 should hire someone. And flat out to junior designers in the field, if you’re looking to make a name build artwork for yourself, be selfish. Aiming to win awards is just vanity.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:05 AM

Carl’s comment is:

What the heck is “Out of many, digital” supposed to mean?

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:11 AM

John Instruct’s comment is:

I see ‘Crowdsourcing’ is the buzz word of 2009 then and has replaced open competition! Loads of companies offer open competitions for brands, record sleeves and loads of other items and have done since I can remember.

You don’t have to enter remember?! No one is forcing anyone to enter or holding a gun to your head saying ‘WORK FOR FREE’!

If you win, you get some nice work and coverage so ideal for a junior to enter, plus you do not have the restraints of a client brief and can do what you want.

BUT that aside

That aside what kind of irresponsible agency wastes so much energy and resources every 150 days?! This sort of behaviour needs to be stopped and glad this has been posted for everyone to see what a bunch of idiots they are for doing it.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:13 AM

Ashleigh’s comment is:

Why should anyone waste their own time makeing yet another identity for this firm? And if someone’s design is chosen, they get what?…Notoriety? Why doesn’t this firm just post this crap on Crowdspring.com?

http://www.no-spec.com/articles/ten-reasons/

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:17 AM

Carl’s comment is:

Seriously, you morons, “E Pluribus” means something and it’s not just “hey guys this is the beginning of a motto”

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:18 AM

TFHackett’s comment is:

Clownsourcing.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:21 AM

Chris’s comment is:

Most design contests are a joke but god the posts above are cynical. Give me a break, can we not just take this at face value? They obviously have had success branding themselves in the past. They are not trying to get a freebie or save money. They are just looking to mix things up a bit. Sounds like a great opportunity for the designers that have the free time or students out there.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:35 AM

Joseph ’s comment is:

“Sounds like a great opportunity for the designers that have the free time or students out there.”

Chris if you asked a jr. mechanic to fix a car for free do you think he would say “hey that sounds like a great opportunity.” We’re in a recession, 130,000+ jobs were lost in it and you have a ton of kids coming out of colleges into a tough job market and you are saying hey it sounds like a great opportunity to work for nothing? Chris people gotta eat. That’s just reality. And for a design studio to promote itself by getting free-work it just seems really in poor taste. Sorry if my comments seem cross but I don’t support speculative work, and I hope others in this community don’t either.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:46 AM

Brandon Oxendine’s comment is:

I agree with most of the comments here. Irresponsible environmentally, and just weird as far as the “every 150 days a new identity”.

However, I do think that having a new identity done every 150 days is a sort of identity. After all, they “Reinvent” brands all the time, according to their website, so it does seem to be a fitting idea. The use of free work is okay with me, especially as a limited experience designer. Seems like at least one way to get your name “out there”. Of course, hard work helps too.

But it’s incredibly wasteful. Maybe if Space150’s identity, and somehow all their materials, existed purely online. Then there’d not be as much environmental concern.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:48 AM

Chris’s comment is:

Re: Joseph

1. If Mechanics loved what they do as much as some designers love what they do then yes, I would expect them to occasionally do things for free.

2. I understand that people need to get paid, but this is not a job that they would outsource. Like I said they can and have been successfully branding themselves.

Sorry, I just don’t see the harm… what I do see is a bunch of bitter designers. Maybe I’m just too young and haven’t been in the game long enough.

On Dec.15.2009 at 10:53 AM

John Instruct ’s comment is:

My mate is a mechanic and many a time as he helped me out and sorted my car out for free.

As above this isn’t a job that would get outsourced as they are perfectly capable of doing it themselves but thought they would ask if anyone would like a crack at it.. nothing wrong with that!

Bunch in the UK did a similar thing asking loads of collaborators to create new identities for them and were all used instead of just one, so every letterhead was different and so on.

You didn’t see collaborators knocking on the doors moaning for money.. why?

Because it was a nice project to work on and got some great exposure, people need to realise not everything creative revolves around money as sometimes people actually create things just for the fun of it!

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:16 AM

Impossibly Stupid’s comment is:

I’ve seen space150 spam too many crap ads on craigslist for me to say anything positive about this. Please don’t let them crap up Brand New as well.

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:27 AM

Ricky Salsberry’s comment is:

I’m very against Spec Work and the like, and this doesn’t bug me. If they want to rebrand every 150 days it’s their right. If you want to attack them for being wasteful, go after bigger fish. Go after large corporations where a 1% reduction in resources would do far more good than this firm not printing new stationary.

This seems pretty harmless.

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:29 AM

Kevin Zwirble’s comment is:

I have to agree with Chris and Armin on this one. I, for one, hate seeing these types of posts on craigslist asking for spec work. But that’s usually for scumbags looking for free work. I honestly see doing this as a launching pad for a designer.

Space150 has been featured in HOW and CommArts a number of times, so there is more to this than free work . It’s designers getting together to help one another out and, I don’t know, act like a design community. Sure, you’re doing free work for a well-established company, but in return I think you will really get alot of press written up about you and probably be put on alot of radars, and as a result get more work.

I am going to contribute, because if for nothing it will be a cool piece in my portfolio and perhaps put me in touch with other folks to help contribute with and collaborate.
So while some of you are complaining about not doing free work, I will get some enjoyment out of it, and probably more experience than you.

That is all.

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:30 AM

Antoine Nonnom’s comment is:

- I read every single Brand New article. I love this blog.

- I have never, ever posted a comment here. Don’t feel comfortable doing it since English is not my native language.

- But, I feel I have to say something. Sometimes I agree with Brand New. Sometimes I don’t But I have always respected this blog. Until today. And I honestly don’t understand what’s going on.

I mean… do you know how many times clients told me “Sounds like a great opportunity for the designers that have the free time or students out there.”

Why would it be okay, coming from a renowned studio ?

Bullshit.

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:33 AM

Joseph’s comment is:

Chris & John, you both have a point a mechanic will help out friends and family from time to time, if designer’s look at this agency in a similar fashion than great. But my sticking point was that their promoting this, editorially as a competition and not internally but externally and it’s ultimately spec work done for their agency in essence to help promote their own brand, and if you read their brief it outlined that the past designers won awards… as their reward.. I wonder who paid for those entries.. & what agency was listed next to those awards? What brand was viewed in the awards listing.. I’ll leave it at that, back to work…

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:37 AM

Andrew’s comment is:

Anybody heard of the LeMons 24 hour race? It’s a race where people enter cars that can’t cost more than $500 to purchase and make. What this means is people end up spending hundreds of hours making the cars as awesome as they can without going over the line. Hundreds enter, many of them highly skilled mechanics. The winner gets a thousand dollars in nickels.

That’s what this feels like to me - it’s for *fun*, for a lark. I’m sure Space 150 knows that it’s ludicrous to rebrand itself every 150 days, but it’s a fun gimmick (environmental considerations aside…).

Ultimately those poo pooing this contest should quit complaining and get back to the work they do for *money*, and anybody who wants to put in long hours, with few resources and little hope of any kind of compensation, purely for the love of the art, should take a crack at a logo for these guys. Or find some friends and enter in LeMons 24 hours, I’ve heard it’s a blast…

On Dec.15.2009 at 11:40 AM

Jennifer’s comment is:

Have any of you thought maybe that IS their brand? That re-branding themselves every 150 days is apart of who they are, that they are the most forward thinking and innovative agency? You all are too quick to assume its wasteful arrogance. I see the need for constant creativity - exactly what real designers strive for.

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:17 PM

Antoine Nonnom’s comment is:

What I think, in short :

- It’s okay for a designer to work for free. It’s their decision.
- It’s NOT okay to ask one (or many !) designer(s) to work for free.
- It’s NOT cool for Brand New to promote this.

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:34 PM

tetra’s comment is:

So.. the company rebrands all the time. Now they’re crowdsourcing and instead of just paying someone legitimately — they’re willing to waste money on plane tickets and other transportation/hotel costs?

Regardless of whether this is right or wrong, a bunch of poor shmucks are going to end up spending a lot of time and effort on this just to get ousted, especially in the first round. Time and effort they could and should have been spending with their families over the holidays (I mean seriously — what awful timing), or finding real clients, or heaven forbid, working on paid projects they already have instead of wishfully thinking this will get them a part- or even full-time gig.

You’ll end up with a designer we’ve all already heard of that submitted work that one of their big-name clients turned down after making a few stealthy edits.

When space150 sent me the contest info.. and deposited a large sum into my bank account.

This is sad.

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:35 PM

Rico’s comment is:

Rebranding every 150 days = gimmick.

Crowdsourcing for your next redesign = another gimmick.

IMO, both of these are designed for maximum publicity.

It’s bad enough that potential clients are going the route of crowdsourcing in order to save a few duckets. Now we have a design firm sponsoring spec work. I see this as a dangerous trend. If designers want their jobs to stay around into the next century (or decade for that matter), you won’t participate in such speculative work, no matter how cool the payoff might be.

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:39 PM

Violet’s comment is:

I think it is pathetic that a design firm can’t even design their own brand… Come ON! When are their clients going to wake up? Who wants to pay someone to design your brand when they can’t even settle on their own?? Let alone DO it themselves?

Who are you paying? Designers or outsourcing? That’s P A T H E T I C.

What an insult. It baffles me how companies like this are even around… let alone getting clients.

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:51 PM

Kevin Tucker’s comment is:

At the risk of being redundant, this is a terrible move, especially coming from a design company. And Armin, much respect as always, but… I don’t see why this has any redeeming quality outside of the fact that this company rebrands themselves so often, which is interesting on its own, but probably would have made a good article the last time they did so, without the context of the competition, which would allow for that to get the focus rather than all the feedback about competitions/crowdsourcing/spec work.

For those few commenters who don’t understand why this kind of thing is bad for the industry, consider the larger implications, and the long-term cumulative effects. Also, read this, if you haven’t:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/what-is-aigas-position-on-spec-work-and-ethical-standards

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:52 PM

Michael’s comment is:

On Dec.15.2009 at 12:59 PM

Ian’s comment is:

First off: 1.) I love Brand New, and 2.) I’m really (*really*) against spec. work. That said, I think there’s a bit too much overreacting happening. Granted the timing is a little poor. Maybe Space150 should’ve waited a few more 150 day cycles before opening up a contest. But really, are we never going to do contests again? Maybe it’s just me, but I still think a good contest is fun.

One thing is for sure, it’s clear just how much of an impact scummy “logo design competitions” have had on the talent in this field. I definitely share that sentiment.

On Dec.15.2009 at 01:04 PM

Alphonse’s comment is:

I was considering this until I saw they wanted their website redone too. Wtf!?

On Dec.15.2009 at 01:05 PM

Daniel Kent’s comment is:

Simmer down, you people are bumming me out. Sounds like a fun exercise. I do not submit my work to contests or magazines because of the cost. Getting recognition of this kind for doing something I love would be great. I hate spec work as well but it is not all black and white. This is an opportunity for anyone ANYONE to have a chance to be recognized for their work. Not just firms or designers that are already successful. I am assuming that the people against this are eating more than rice and bananas while worrying about when that next client is going to call?

On Dec.15.2009 at 01:22 PM

Josh B’s comment is:

Holy shit people! Lighten the fuck up.

The rhetoric and fervor around “no spec” has really gotten out of control. The endless, whiny regurgitation of the no spec dogma has clearly gone over the line of common sense and into zealotry at this point. Reminds me of people quoting the Bible to defend a position they’ve really given no personal thought to.

If you don’t like it, don’t enter the competition. Period. Space 150 isn’t coercing anyone to do it. It’s simply an opportunity to contribute to their pre-established brand of re-invention, and to have some fun doing it. They do no stand to capitalize on the work of one person/team… after all this new identity will disappear in another 150 days so how much mileage will they really get out of it. The change in and of itself IS the brand, not the individual iterations.

And to suggest that all those who contribute and don’t “win” have wasted their time is simply retarded. Anyone who enters for the glory of being chosen is deluding themselves to begin with, and they deserve to be taken down a peg. The rest of the entrants (i.e. the level headed normal people) are likely just excited by the creative free for all, and the opportunity to see everyone else’s solutions at the end of the day. Who, after all, doesn’t like a look inside the mind of any other designer, much less a fleet of them.

In closing, save your righteous vitriol for some corporate douche bag who deserves it.

On Dec.15.2009 at 01:29 PM

PG’s comment is:

I think Tetra nailed it with his/her comment.

The economy is still in the dumps, unemployment is at 10%, and the holiday season is coming up. Bad timing is an understatement. Regardless of your stance on spec work, people need to pay bills and eat in these tough times. Pulling a stunt like this now is a slap in the face to us starving designers. It’s like those brainless TV shows where celebrities flaunt their houses, cars and money… now is not the time for that crap and most importantly, WE DON’T CARE. Space 150 has a new logo thingy every 150 days… whoopty-f’in-doo.

On Dec.15.2009 at 01:50 PM

Zach’s comment is:

I’m a student and feel there is nothing wrong with this post. This is a great opportunity out there for any student with the time and resources to work on this project. If you win it guarantees you an awesome job in the future and if you don’t at least you have the experience and work to show you are dedicated to the profession.

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:00 PM

John’s comment is:

Zach,

I’m sorry, but winning this “contest” does not guarantee you an awesome job in the future. Hard work, dedication to craft and attention to professional detail will garner you said fabulous gig. There are no shortcuts.

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:28 PM

JC’s comment is:

While I dont usually support identity competitions, this is a slightly different scenerio. Reinvention is their identity. Chopping Block has done it for years. Space150’s identity is that they are so experienced at redesigning everyone else because they even do it for themselves every year.

One could make an argument that a competition to reinvent themselves defies the whole point of continued reinvention. But we could also call this a loyalty campaign. Art for art’s sake if you will.

Meh.

Oh, and to the environmental alarmists here: You can totally redo everything every year and still be responsible if you plan accordingly. Do limited press runs. It costs them a little more but that’s their expense. And if you still have an issue with any actual use of paper in business, go design them an all-green, digital identity. I’m sure they’d like it - for a year.

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:30 PM

Brady Bone’s comment is:

Armin,

The statement - “… so I really doubt they are taking advantage of anyone.” - is a flaccid excuse for making an exception. How could you ensure the other contest offers were actually taking advantage of potential participants? Also, the juxtaposition to a “global corporation” isn’t essential to your argument. Why?

Because, spec work is spec work.

No, they are not forcefully “taking advantage of anyone” - that would be slave labor. No one is obliged to participate. Yet, by offering the chance at a prize for providing hours of free labor is taking advantage of the contest holder’s and your position, Armin, in the design/creative community. It gives credence to a questionable practice in our profession. Do not confuse giving away your work with holding a contest to get others to work for free.

Like all contests, without real collaboration, strategy and goals the end result is based on highly subjective whims. In this case - “this is pure unbridled design for designers” - you have an outcome that is predicated wholly on subjectivity. Therefore the target - which is usually moving in spec contests - doesn’t even exist in this scenaario. And people’s efforts will be created based on their individual taste and a winner chosen based on specific tastes. That is an exercise in folly. I am sure they will get some interesting entries and will find something they like. But to what end? Publicity? The chance my tastes align with theirs?

To answer the “Get over yourselves. I’m doing this for fun.”-type of defense, that is fine. We all partake in endeavors that bring us pleasure and take our time. It’s for fun is a stawman argument. It ignores the fundamental issue that if I personally want to redesign Space 150’s ID is my prerogative - with or without a contest. If there were no contest and I sent them the design and told them they could use it for free - it’s my choice. The problem is found in that Space 150 and tacitly - UCLLC - have engaged in willfully soliciting unpaid work. That is an ethical issue. One that deserves more than “just get over it” responses.

I find it interesting that you use classic defenses and phrases often seen in the attempts to legitimize the practice:

“they could do it themselves” (of course they could) / “if you have some free time” (nothing is free) / “tough if you don’t like it” (closed for dialog)

and from the comments “you don’t have to participate” (obviously) / “bitter designers” (be more resourceful with the name calling).

You don’t have to participate is always a classic. And you are right, we don’t. But from where we stand we also don’t have to participate in a number of things that are wrong in this world. But that doesn’t make them right, nor us bitter. Choose a different tact.

But, if you think I am a “bitter, old designer” you wouldn’t be wrong. But this ongoing battle with spec work does not derive from my bitterness. This comes from years in a profession of which I am completely obsessed with. Obsessed with quality, integrity and fairness not only in my work but also in what we collectively do in this business.

Plus there are so many unforeseen reasons not to run contests - especially to not run them in a proper manner:
Without specific terms while offering a “cash-equivalent” prize for a “skills contest” - such as travel to a launch party - this may actually be an illegal contest. It depends on state/federal laws (e.g. Rhode Island requires contests that offer cash-equivalents over $500 must file a statement with the secretary of state). Don’t forget international laws. By not having specific terms and with the call for the contest being accessible to anyone, it means anyone is eligible and Space 150 is subject to the laws in the countries of those participants. It’s simply not something you just do because it’s cool.

Also, without terms, Space 150 doesn’t have pick a winner at all. I’m not saying they wouldn’t choose one, but there would be nothing anyone could or would want do about it. The contest holder always has the advantage.

So, if you don’t like it, tough.

- Brady Bone

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:30 PM

Soda and Candy’s comment is:

I’m not sure where this falls in the spectrum of spec / free / crowdsourcing, but it *feels* shady.

I will say I don’t think “they could easily do it themselves, therefore it’s not taking advantage to ask other designers to do it” is a valid excuse. I could paint my house myself, but I think I’d still have to pay someone else if I wanted them to do it.

That’s where it starts to feel like “What? Your job is FUN, not work, why should we pay you to have FUN?”

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:40 PM

Emory’s comment is:

“We’re in a recession, 130,000+ jobs were lost in it and you have a ton of kids coming out of colleges into a tough job market and you are saying hey it sounds like a great opportunity to work for nothing?”

As stated before, no one if forcing anyone to enter the contest, but I think it’s a great opportunity for young kids coming right out of college to get a little publicity. As you stated, it’s a tough job market, and I think designers looking to get a job, esp. young ones, could take advantage of this opportunity. For the winners, it will make them look more competitive as potential new hires. And for those that don’t win, it’s still a good practice round.

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:47 PM

Caspian’s comment is:

I’m with Josh B. Lighten up.
Their USP is reinvention. And good on them for sticking to their guns, and spreading it around. Admittedly it could be better timed, they could be more upfront about their recycling policy, but I for one don’t think they just stick it all in a plastic bag in a landfill. But here’s a challenge to whomever wants to take it on: make the reinvention of S150 as planet hugging as possible. Make a difference. No one is forcing you to take this brief on, nor that you have to use Tyvec, styrofoam puppy skin, or 12 colour and UV. I have plenty of ideas to push them in a better direction, but it’s Christmas and I am going to take a break from all this madness. Then set up a company that re-dresses itself every 50 days and force students to do my logos for free.

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:50 PM

Erwin’s comment is:

I want to go back to that positive MercyCorps vibe we had over here a few days ago! :’(

This whole post is depressing me, fresh out of the academy and already fearing for my job! But then again, “I don’t have to read this blog, do I”? I guess I don’t. Maybe I too should lighten up…?

On Dec.15.2009 at 02:57 PM

NicKLAUS’s comment is:

Lighten up people. Things like this will never cease to exist, so deal with it. Complain all you want, but just remember this stuff will always be around. Its part of life. The medical sector deals with black market clinics, mechanics have to worry about chop-shops giving them a bad name and we as designers have spec-work and “competitions” to haunt us.

Do your part by not joining in on the fun and you’ll help the revolt against spec-work. Design shenanigans like this only pollute our aesthetic environment which makes our lives easier in the long run. If every single design was perfect in every way, shape and form, it would be a lot harder to “up” the ante. If everyone was professional in their design-morals, good luck finding work.

Just be confident in your designs, be confident in your design-morals and stop giving stuff like this the passionate attention that you believe it deserves.

Spec work will always exist. Design competitions will always exist. just don’t get all caught up in the hooplah, which includes the most of the negative banter that is seen above.

Relax and just design.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:08 PM

Armin’s comment is:

Forget the economy, forget the publicity, forget “winning.” Consider this: To be a great graphic designer, to be a great anything, you need practice. Practice. Practice. Practice. The economy is bad and you don’t have a job? Fine, cry yourself to sleep or whine about it if that’s how you prefer to cope, BUT you can use that time to make yourself better. Take this opportunity to create work that has a scope and intention. Most graphic designers I know are bad at designing for themselves or self-initiating projects because there is no delineation of what has to be done, no deadlines, no context; here is a creative brief, it needs execution. Heck, do it and don’t even enter it in the competition if you are offended by it. Use it to practice executing a full identity from logo to stationery to website to promotional materials. Imagine alternatives. Use it to explore things that one day can apply to payed work for those clients that are willing to give it to you. If you have the work and the notoriety to keep you busy, don’t lose any sleep over this, clearly you don’t have anything to worry about.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:08 PM

MSGDS’s comment is:

It’s absolutely pathetic that space 150 can’t redesign their own identity, and I’m disgusted that you would even post this on Brand New.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:10 PM

Michelle Rollins’s comment is:

I love the dudes at Space 150. This is a great idea.

It truly fits with today’s digital experience. “Its all about you.” The user now has great power and control which is changing how we all communicate and interact.

Love it and happy 25th ID!

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:17 PM

tetra’s comment is:

College students are the perfect victims in all of this. Eager and excited, expecting some sort of reimbursement in the long-run. Zach’s comment above echoes this very sentiment. Shows dedication? Sure. Shows dedication that you’ll be had for cheap.

I don’t know why any of you think these people are going to “get publicity.” We’ve got how many So you think you can be the next best _________? shows that are on cable TV, cause people all sorts of heartache and drama.. and then what? They don’t go anywhere. They fade off into oblivion. And that’s a series of finalists on award-winning shows that go on year after year after year, millions of viewers and fangirls/boys alike.

Not some random designer who busted their ass (Everything: Business cards, letterhead, logo, web site, promotional materials, the whole package is no small task) for free hoping that putting this on their resume is going to garner a “Hey! You were totally that dude! I so remember that! HIRED!”

Anyone who thinks that space150 wasn’t sitting around their offices laughing at the crap that’s about to roll in is kidding themselves.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:18 PM

sg’s comment is:

This company works often in motion and online… meaning they work in fluid, ever-changing mediums. They’ve treated the branding of their company in the same manner as that which they work in… fluid and ever-changing.

To me, the saddest part of this discussion is that everyone is hung up on this being spec work and how it “cheats” all the designers that are NOT FORCED TO ENTER WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE out of a payday.

I would argue that the discussion, especially considering that this is on a blog that deals exclusively with branding, should be more focused on what this means for the idea of a logo as identity. Can it be fluid and still functional? Isn’t this essentially what the new AOL rebrand is trying to do, adapt itself to any new context and be ever-changing? Does either do it successfully? What does that afford the company? Where/how/does it short change the identity?

Whether you agree with them or not, Space150 has altered what it means to have a logo as part of your identity. For a bunch of seemingly intelligent people, ones that I consider to be my peers, your arguments are petty and trite on this one.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:18 PM

Ryan Adair’s comment is:

Is there a dislike button?

This is a typical case of an agency (or person) hopping on the Trend Express….

Chooooo Choooooooooooooooooooo…

So annoying…

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:38 PM

Joe Szczepaniak’s comment is:

It would be a mistake for Brand New readers to believe that there is some sort of unified philosophy wherein we all agreed that Aol’s new branding is ineffective, or that brand consistency cannot survive a fluid process like this.

I really enjoy the new Aol branding, and I’m willing to bet it actually raises their brand awareness in a quantifiable way. That’s the way branding is trending right now. Trends are supposed to be the death of branding, but that’s not the case in every circumstance.

For those of you concerned about the environmental/waste aspect of this, you all sound to me like people who have barely ever sent anything to print. If you had any significant experience you would know that there’s nothing wasteful about the process if they only print the amount of letterhead and promo materials that they need (which all smart companies do). Just because you buy things in mass quantity and end up with stacks of them sitting around the office doesn’t mean that everyone else does.

This whole “fluid branding” may turn out to be more of a paradigm shift than a trend in the end. I think many of you are forgetting that graphic design is only 200 years old at this point, and has only existed in its current form since the early twentieth century. If you think we’ve completely mastered all there is to it, then you’re very naive. “Not to know what came before you is to remain forever a child.”

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:48 PM

Kevin Zwirble’s comment is:

Armin,
I’m glad you posted a reply to all this.

As fore-mentioned, I agree with you posting this, it’s a great opportunity and everyone (who chooses to) can create something incredible if they wish.

I also wanted to respond to your latest post, because I know exactly what you described. While everyone is in here rattling off all the unemployment facts & figures, are they truly speaking from experience? This past year was one hell of a year for me. I went from one bad job to the next to ultimately get laid-off from that. I was unemployed for 7 months and would have killed for this opportunity. Would I have gotten paid? Probably not. But it would inspire me to work for a real client (designing for yourself is truly the hardest task—hmmm, maybe that’s why they are doing this contest), pull myself outta my “whoa-is-me” funk and do what we are born to do…create.

Simply put people, I understand that this is a forum to sound off our opinions on everything, but if you don’t like it, don’t do it and complain while someone else does some killer work you wish you had done.

Sorry for the negative energy, so let’s stay positively creative.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:52 PM

Josh B’s comment is:

The thing that no one has addressed here is one of the primary reasons the “no spec” doctrine arose in the first place. Most “contests” stipulate ownership of ALL entries, whether they win or lose. They also often stipulate that a winner may not be chosen. In other words, “we own your work outright, and don’t even have to award a winner, and also we won’t give any of the designers credit.” When we say companies are “taking advantage” of designers, this is what we mean.

But let’s be clear about this. Space 150 has NOT made any such stipulations. Quite the opposite. They intend to given the winner full credit. They also intend to give the winner full creative control of every component in the system, no holds barred, no budget caps. Complete creative freedom and control. Sure, its unpaid, but who wouldn’t want to go crazy with someone else’s money?

How is this any worse than a design firm using unpaid interns? They often bust their asses and have no ownership of actual creative work to show for it at the end of the day. Yet most of the whiners complaining about spec work here would chalk an unpaid internship up to valuable experience.

“No spec” is not a black and white issue. Take a step back. Think. Use some common sense.

On Dec.15.2009 at 03:55 PM

Emory’s comment is:

“I don’t know why any of you think these people are going to “get publicity.” We’ve got how many So you think you can be the next best _________? shows that are on cable TV, cause people all sorts of heartache and drama.. and then what? They don’t go anywhere. They fade off into oblivion. And that’s a series of finalists on award-winning shows that go on year after year after year, millions of viewers and fangirls/boys alike.”

Just because you haven’t heard about them doesn’t mean that it didn’t help advance their careers in some way; either by all the practice or by making a new connection through the competition. I’m not saying whoever wins this thing is going to automatically be the new bad ass designer at Pentagram, but I think it could certainly open new doors that may not have opened otherwise.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:05 PM

Speclicious’s comment is:

Quote
Forget the economy, forget the publicity, forget “winning.” Consider this: To be a great graphic designer, to be a great anything, you need practice. Practice. Practice. Practice. The economy is bad and you don’t have a job? Fine, cry yourself to sleep or whine about it if that’s how you prefer to cope, BUT you can use that time to make yourself better. Take this opportunity to create work that has a scope and intention. Most graphic designers I know are bad at designing for themselves or self-initiating projects because there is no delineation of what has to be done, no deadlines, no context; here is a creative brief, it needs execution. Heck, do it and don’t even enter it in the competition if you are offended by it. Use it to practice executing a full identity from logo to stationery to website to promotional materials. Imagine alternatives. Use it to explore things that one day can apply to payed work for those clients that are willing to give it to you. If you have the work and the notoriety to keep you busy, don’t lose any sleep over this, clearly you don’t have anything to worry about.

Hey Armin, you forget to post the link…

www.crowdsourcing.com

Disclaimer2. The poster of the comment have not received any free sample, meal, money or sleep with anyone related to the comment above posted

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:12 PM

Brady Bone’s comment is:

Armin -

“If you have the work and the notoriety to keep you busy, don’t lose any sleep over this, clearly you don’t have anything to worry about.”

We clearly do when respected design firms and blogs are promoting this kind of practice - no matter how small it may seem.

-Brady Bone

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:16 PM

Speclicious’s comment is:

Hey Armin, you forget to post the link…

crowdsourcing.

Disclaimer2. The poster of the comment have not received any free sample, meal, money or sleep with anyone related to the comment above posted

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:19 PM

Impossibly Stupid’s comment is:

Since tetra’s hitting all the high points I would, I’m not going to post further beyond this simple request:

Armin,

Please attach a poll to this article so that we can at least vote about a followup “feature”.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:26 PM

PG’s comment is:

What if this exact same “contest” was held by some firm that doesn’t have the design creds as Space 150, or if this was just some pissin contest held by an amateur “DeZign B!og”, would people still defend it?

College is for practicing and brushing up on your design skills. After graduating and becoming legit, you can still practice but that is done in the midst of one paid project to the next or a full time job. There’s plenty of time to do free design work, e.g., pro bono, for yourself, family or friends. But for an established design firm just so they can further their brand and increase clients… no thanks. The “publicity” you’ll be getting for winning the contest surely won’t be greater than the publicity Space 150 will CONTINUE to get.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:27 PM

jmk’s comment is:

i’m just curious… has any bigtime designer ever started out doing free “great opportunity” designs with the promise of massive exposure, and it actually worked and the massive exposure from THAT project made them the giant bigtime designer they are today?

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:29 PM

Daniel’s comment is:

Daniel Kent is right. too many people are bumming me out here. some very high horses.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:37 PM

Sarah’s comment is:

Stop whinging people.

Armin, interesting post never knew there was a company that changed their logo all the time.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:37 PM

sg’s comment is:

jmk-
if you are looking for one or two gigs that garner you “massive exposure” then someone has led you terribly astray as to what this industry is really like. anyone who is of any great acclaim in our world, started from meager beginnings � jumping at any and all “opportunities” like this, where they weren’t bound by having to satisfy an army of clients whose soul desire is to put their stamp on something.

your single “great opportunity with massive exposure” is the proverbial Big Foot of the design world… i’m not saying that it doesn’t exist… i’m just saying you probably aren’t going to see it strolling through your backyard.

On Dec.15.2009 at 04:47 PM

Kels’s comment is:

A quote from their Facebook page:

“Our staff has re-branded our agency 24 times over the last 10 years - and we’ll continue to do so every 150 days. We certainly have the talent to work on version 25 - but we’ve opened it up to the design community - specifically, younger designers and students who could use an opportunity to showcase their work. Designer credit, and contact information will be clearly present on the new site.”

I don’t think they are short on designers to do the work internally.

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:00 PM

durka’s comment is:

Way to waste precious resources guys. Reprinting all their stationery every 150 days? What an absurd waste of time, resources and money. Ridiculous.

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:10 PM

Spencer Cross’s comment is:

All of you who are harping on the fact that this isn’t something they would normally outsource must’ve garnered very low Reading Comprehension scores as children:

Over the last ten years space150 has reinvented itself 24 times, done either in-house or by commissioning an outside firm.

In other words, they’re well aware of the value of the work and have paid for it in the past. No, nobody’s forcing me to enter their contest, but nobody’s forcing Brand New to write about it either and as a fan of the blog I would’ve been happier to see them refrain from giving valuable publicity to a questionable enterprise.

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:13 PM

jmk’s comment is:

sg, i’m not looking for an opportunity lol, i’m very happy where i am.

i was asking if the golden “this would mean massive exposure” gig actually ever worked and turned someone from a newbie into a bigtime designer like so many “clients” who want free work claim will happen.

it reminds me of the freelance freedom comic strips :P

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:22 PM

RussellUresti’s comment is:

I usually don’t comment on too many postings, but I do feel I need to say something here.

A forewarning, though, this comment has little to do with the contest posted, and more about the comments that have been made.

You often hear from the “no-spec” crowd. But you rarely hear from the tons of people who participate in crowdsourcing on why they do it, so that’s what I’m going to talk about. I can’t speak for others who choose to do this, but I choose to, and I’m going to give my reasons.

I think a lot of designers complain about crowdsourcing, saying that the people who enter are being taken advantage of, because the pay is so little, and almost everyone who enters doesn’t win the project, so they don’t get paid at all. Well, allow me to retort.

FUCK YOUR MONEY.

That’s right, fuck it. I, for one, do not give a shit about the compensation that comes from winning a crowdsourced project. I very much doubt that the people who participate in those things are using it as their sole source of income. Myself, I have another job (doing web development, actually), and I do freelance design and development projects where I set my rate. These things are my main sources of income, and they’re more than enough for me to get by on.

I participate in crowdsourcing because sometimes I like to design things just for fun, let my imagination run wild, and be as creative as I want to be. I do it for my own enjoyment, and participate in only projects that interest me.

Therefore, I am not being taken advantage of by crappy monetary compensation. I’m participating in the project just for the fun of it, and that’s it. Is it really that hard to understand that there are people who like to design in their free time just because they like to design? I mean, didn’t you designers start doing this stuff because you enjoy it?

The group of people I hear all this “no-spec” propaganda from are designers who are already established in the business, either as freelance or at a company of some sort. So, let’s be honest here. Let’s stop pretending that your “no-spec” position is based on some sort of moral outrage that the people who do participate are being taken advantage of and let’s get to the cold, harsh truth that you’re simply afraid that there are hobbyists out there who participate in these things who can do just as good of a job as you can. Your “no-spec” stance is nothing but self-preservation.

So, that’s my stance on crowdsourcing. If you’re just doing it for fun, and because you like designing things, there’s no harm in joining something like crowdspring.com (which I am a member of, just not extremely active lately) and messing around with projects posted there. If you’re a designer who is anti-spec, just don’t participate, stop pretending to be morally outraged, and shut your mouths about it. There are still plenty of clients out there you can get; the clients that choose to crowdsource probably weren’t your potential clients anyways.

And in case you’re wondering, there are also times I do development for free too, just because I love doing it. If you’re to the point where you can’t imagine doing design for free anymore, perhaps you should seek out a new career, because you’ve obviously lost your passion for it.

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:38 PM

BlueEyedPeas’s comment is:

As a daily ‘Brand New’ reader, I was very surprised to see this contest being promoted here, an ‘In Brief’ tidbit would’ve been enough, a lengthy promotion piece is a bit of a stretch.

I have no issue with contests being discussed here, but the same rule that applies to new brands being featured, namely, that it should consist of a brand that somewhat plays a more global role vs. a local one, should apply to competitions as well.

And to that end I was fairly surprised to read up on the COP15 logo competition, this is the sort of thing that deserves mention on my much admired blog.

http://www.danishedge.dk/visVisitkortKvadrat.asp?artikelID=1916&sSearch=&intHighlight=1581&filter=all&pos=9

http://en.cop15.dk/blogs/view+blog?blogid=600

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:39 PM

David’s comment is:

Brand New was a good blog. Until today.
Goodbye everyone.

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:40 PM

jmk’s comment is:

found it:

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:50 PM

jmk’s comment is:

@Russell Uresti, i have to disagree, a lot, and i mean a lot of people are using crowdsourcing for their income. they go as far as cheat and create fake accounts and praise their own work, pm the contest holders to sabotage leading rated designs, and submit logos they find find on the internet (rips) just to win because they need the money. if “crowdsourcing” didn’t exist people would have to pay the going rate for work, the way it should be and the way it is with every other industry.

On Dec.15.2009 at 05:54 PM

Manny’s comment is:

“Over the last ten years space150 has reinvented itself 24 times”

= Dumb.

On Dec.15.2009 at 06:03 PM

Eric’s comment is:

Hey, to all you loser designers posting out there, turning your noses up at a company that invests effort, time and money into reinventing its business every 150 days, check yourselves.

Let me start by calling out Alexanda (very creative by the way, loosing the r) and her likeminded robot design buddies that believe everything has to done by a certain set of rules in a certain way.

Rebranding yourself that often is not only challenging but also takes an incredible amount of effort and design savy that they are willing to invest back into their company. Meaning that they are continually sharpening their design skill and becoming more efficient at it, not to mention the extra pub it earns the studio.

But your talking about the environment right? Because they are bringing about the end of the rain forest by irresponsibly creating something fresh and new more often then they they are supposed to? Just want to make sure I understand your take before I call you the typical robotic antagonist of likeminded creatives, who dont sacrifice there abilities to appease you greenpeace, weed smoking, vegan eating, PETA loving, hippie losers out there.

Now I’m done.

On Dec.15.2009 at 07:59 PM

PG’s comment is:

@Eric

If YOU’RE (note how that word is spelled) going to attack other people and be condescending, it’s more convincing when YOUR (note how it’s an entirely different word when spelled this way) spelling and grammar is at a reasonable level of competence.

Seriously, why the personal attack? Aren’t we all open to our share of an opinion on this topic?

On Dec.15.2009 at 08:27 PM

David’s comment is:

Eric;
I believe that you don’t understand what design is.
Simple as that.

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:03 PM

Scotron’s comment is:

I AM THE BEST DESIGNER IN THE WORLD! I am also confident that no one will challenge this as it will require spec work as a rebuttal. I mean seriously, if you deny contests, then you deny dance-offs. And I dare anyone who can ACTUALLY dance to resist a dance-off.

p.s. everybody loves watching dance-offs

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:06 PM

Tim Gengler’s comment is:

I have to hop on the bandwagon of naysayers. In fact, this is one of the worst competitions I’ve come across…

There’s no prize. The only ‘tangible’ winnings mentioned are a plane ticket to Minnesota. So, the winner gets to pay for their own hotel and other expenses? In Minnesota? In the winter?

And notoriety? Space150 has a talented crew, and I’d love to work with them, but what kind of referrals would the winner expect? The only people who will see this contest are (likely) other designers and a few Space150 clients.

The worst thing in my mind, though, is the fact that all of your work is guaranteed to be thrown out in 150 days. And this is not a quick crowd-sourced $300 logo contest, this is a HUGE amount of work.

My aim here isn’t to judge this blog. You just expect a company as savvy as Space150 to really value how much work is involved in the re-design.

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:08 PM

John McCollum’s comment is:

So, why is it that Space150 isn’t HIRING a design firm to do this project?

On Dec.15.2009 at 09:50 PM

Anytown, USA’s comment is:

It seems like this is being positioned as a design competition, seeking students and early career designers, in the same way a competition such as a D & AD or One Show positions their student competitions. While I am not a fan of crowdsourcing, I also do not feel there is a great difference between the Space 150v25 redesign and said competitions above, other than the attachment of an established series of competitions or organizations approving of such competitions.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:01 AM

Michae’s comment is:

“contest”? How about Schmontest. Space150 is so lame. Who do they think they are? Changing your look every 150 days? I have a very high job position. Are they retarded? Is the company run by retards? You can’t change your look that much, that’s insane. I mean, think of all the trees they kill to do that. Think about the environent. Crowdsourcing! You know what, I’ve had it. I do design for very large companies. Me and David are out of here.

Discalimer. according the free act speech this solely comment is the free the poster of, expresion removed, if, the holder of the blog must his violate rights, even if he say that reserve the right to remove any comment that he consider unnecessary inappropiate or .

Disclaimer2. The of the comment poster not have received free sample any, meal, sleep or money with anyone to the comment above related posted

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:19 AM

RJ’s comment is:

Having a wee bit of a hard time following the logic here.

Up until now, spec work was a bad thing. I thought we, The Bitter & Whiny Designers’ Club, decided that at our last meeting & BBQ.

Then a ‘cool kids’ agency opens up an unpaid spec-work design contest. which is then praised by a ‘cool kids’ blog and all of a sudden, spec work is okay?

Is it just this particular instance in which spec work is AOK or is there a list of companies that doing spec work for isn’t frowned upon? Does this mean that 99designs, crowdSPRING and other spec sites are cool now? Or do they still suck? Is spec work bad? Or not?

Don’t get me wrong though. Despite all my confusion, I’m glad that principles are still a valued commodity at design agencies like space150. That’s nice to see.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:47 AM

b.jmn’s comment is:

I am based in Minneapolis and have been aware of Space 150 for quite some time. A couple of years ago, I saw a free presentation by a couple of their guys at a Flash user group. It was FANTASTIC: very well organized and they gave detailed information on their current process for developing websites. I was a little shocked that they would just layout all their ‘trade secrets’, but I believe that it was consistent with their philosophy. By the time you catch up with what they are doing, they will have moved on to the next freshest thing. They are striving to be the fastest and the best at what they do.

The fixed rebranding interval is not just a gimmick. The total rebuilding of their print and digital media—usually with a completely new strategy—is a considerable undertaking …and they dedicate the resources to getting it done right. I wonder how many folks reading this blog have worked for a firm that never considers rebranding simply because they refuse to dedicate the resources? Space 150’s commitment in this regard is commendable.

It is a bit disappointing that on this blog for “creatives”,there are so many participants that are not willing to think outside the box. The branding of an agency that [partly] develops brands is a situation that demands a wide berth for experimentation. Admittedly, I have personally always reserved a bit skepticism for the firm’s fixed rebranding interval, but people who are simply dismissing it are not taking the time to consider its merits.

And as to the accusation that they are simply trying to take advantage of a designer (and, most preposterously, the unpolished work of a student designer)… Honestly. Get over yourself.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:06 AM

John Mindiola III’s comment is:

This does make me wonder if any design contests are okay. I mean, they all will include a few hundred folks who worked for no compensation. The winner will get some bank (or maybe not), and then life will go on. The winner gets a nice portfolio piece and some confidence, the exact two things the individual may have needed to land that next great job. I don’t know why Space 150 re-brands themselves all the time. I don’t know why they’re opening it up to the public. I mean, at best, one fortunate designer will be able to say “that’s my logo!” for less than half a year. After that, Space 150 will have moved on to the next iteration of their visual identity, and few will remember (or care) that the contest even happened at all.

A few months ago, I offered a small contest to my design class. They were to design a layout for a newsletter. It had to be an interactive PDF for the faculty and staff. There was no prize money. The winning student submitted to me his files, and I tweaked them to create a more sound template. His name is in the production credits on the first page. When I showed him the tweaked version of the template, he smiled and said, “Wow, it’s so cool to see it done professionally!” He was very excited to see his concept transformed into a real, working piece. We’re working on Issue 3 right now. He has never seen any of the issues (it’s for faculty and staff only, no students), but he doesn’t mind. He knows it’s his, and he gets to put that on his resume and carry that with him to his future classes.

What about the other students? Well, it was an assignment, too. They all earned their grades for the project. The winner didn’t even receive the highest score (he was second highest), as another student produced a piece that was slightly more technically sound but less aesthetically pleasing.

Now, should students be exploited for free work? No. My students were going to create an interactive newsletter anyway, at that exact same time. When the faculty newsletter was pitched to me, I said it was a perfect fit. The students agreed. They got exposure to brand guidelines, relevancy, and designing for a market that most certainly excluded themselves.

Hmm, what a concept … designing what’s good, not necessarily what you like.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:38 AM

grfk_dzgn’s comment is:

Coca Cola has re-branded how many times? And Space 150 how many times?

Space 150 is a joke - right?

.
.
.

What I’ll take away from the last decade won’t the be the wars - that’s been going on for awhile. It won’t even be the recession - that too has been happening for a while. It won’t even be all the celeb indiscretions.

Crowd sourcing, that is what the last decade has been all about. The repackaging of ‘greed’ and ‘want’. The slick corporate fusing of supply and demand - in the form of hopeful participation.

Manipulation isn’t new either - but it’s the scale of the manipulation that ranks right up there with war, recession, and moral indiscretion.

Armin - wake up.

Please…

On Dec.16.2009 at 02:02 AM

Smirker’s comment is:

To all the haters,

Until today I’d never heard of Space 150. But having checked out the work on their site it seems that they’re an intelligent bunch producing nice work. If they’ve decided to have a brand that reinvents itself every 150 days then good for them! It is obviously a device to show clients how you can maintain brand integrity even after a drastic change to your identity. It’s a great idea, KesselsKramer does a similar thing with their website, and they are without doubt one of the best ad agencies working today.

I agree that having ALL physical media reworked every 150 days could be a little wasteful but credit them with the notion that they have probably figured out by now roughly how much stationary they get through in a year and will probably produce not much more than the amount they need. That’s fairly obvious, so all the environmentalists can put their toys back in their prams.

Design competitions aren’t all bad. I personally don’t have time to enter such a competition, but at the end of the day if a young (or experienced) designer who has time on their hands wants to stretch their creative muscles and create an identity that may never see the light of day, then good luck to ‘em. If they produce something they’re proud of they can still put it in their portfolio, and it might still impress the right person come interview day.

This knee jerk reaction to ALL design competitions is ridiculous. I’m as opposed to some forms of crowdsourcing as the next dude, when companies with bottomless coffers of money get people to do this to create a permanent marque. But when this is just part of an ongoing project that’s going to last a short amount of time I really don’t see the harm.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:47 AM

John McCollum’s comment is:

This thread is depressing. And a little infuriating.

I too think that this “contest,” like all requests for spec work is bogus. I wouldn’t have my undies in a bunch if I’d heard about it somewhere else, and if the guys looking for the free work weren’t notable designers themselves.

‘Cause guys, you shoulda known better.

And to all of y’all saying, “Chill the fuck out, dudes” and asking “What’s the harm?,” I have to think that: a) You haven’t been around long enough to be reflexively and violently cynical about this sort of thing; or b) Your experience has been radically different than 100% of the designers I hang out with.

Anyway.

In the 12 years I’ve run my firm, I’ve heard the line at least a hundred times, especially when I was just starting out and relatively desperate for good portfolio pieces: “Listen, this is a great opportunity for YOU guys.”

The implication was clear: do free work for us, and you’ll either get lots of work from us in the future, or you’ll get great exposure, which will lead to other work.

It never ever worked out in my favor. Ever.

Nor has it ever worked out for any of my colleagues, all of whom feel similarly abused by “clients” who, in most cases, could actually afford to pay them.

That’s why I’ve taken a hard and fast no-spec policy. I won’t do it, and I’ll be explicit about WHY I won’t do it.

On the other hand, I do lots and lots of pro-bono or subsidized work. And frankly, that’s what I’d suggest other designers looking to give away free work do.

And to top this off, this project really just seems to suck. You want me to spend the design time and research a creative firm’s identity really deserves, to compete against countless other hungry designers, and then if I win, you’ll only use it for 5 months?

And what happens if my design doesn’t win? I suspect that it and the dozens of other decent options Space150 receives WILL get used — somewhere and some time.

Because it really does appear that these guys are running out of ideas. Or maybe that’s just the most cynical read on it. But I think Space150 (and, unfortunately Brand New, my favorite web site) are risking quite a bit of credibility and prestige by foisting this kind of crap on a bunch of guys like me, who have been hurt by these kinds of “opportunities” in the past.

Reboot. Rethink. Retract.

On Dec.16.2009 at 05:50 AM

Deshler’s comment is:

“IMO, both of these are designed for maximum publicity.”

Uh huh … and we, as communicators, are chiefly charged with doing what, exactly? Gaining publicity! Helping to sell other people’s stuff!

On Dec.16.2009 at 08:03 AM

Eric’s comment is:

“Over the last ten years space150 has reinvented itself 24 times, done either in-house or by commissioning an outside firm.”

Consider what the expression “reinventing the wheel” means. “Reinvent” is hardly a good word to link yourself to. It just sounds wasteful to me.

On Dec.16.2009 at 08:56 AM

brandsimplicity’s comment is:

BrandNew…you just pi$$ed off a lot of designers

On Dec.16.2009 at 09:09 AM

felix sockwell’s comment is:

if you’re going to crowd source, do it the name of a good cause (e.g. Mercy logo post), not vanity (or because you think we need something to do). graphic design stationary doesn’t exist for most people (myself included).

On Dec.16.2009 at 09:55 AM

SonHouse’s comment is:

One reason i love this this blog is because it sparks these wide-ranging discussions about our chosen profession. And kudos to Armin et al. for choosing examples that are ripe for debate.

As far as crowd sourcing goes - the genie is out of the bottle, and it’s here to stay. Of all the wonderful things brought to us in the last 15 years by internet technology, this phenomenon has to be the most disconcerting for professional designers.

But all the righteous indignation and all the professional cold-shoulders we can muster are not going to impact it one bit, or make it shrivel up and go away. There will always be somebody hungrier than you - and there will always be someone willing to work for free expecting nothing more than another portfolio piece. If anything, crowd-sourcing will only grow and become much more broadly accepted.

To ignore it is really just acting like the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand. What we as a group should be doing is trying to figure out ways that we can shape the processes, practices, protections, and pricing structure of the marketplace so that they are more favorable to us as a whole. Maybe some of our trade groups can get involved (perhaps they already have?)

Personally, i don’t see crowd sourcing as the evil doom of our industry. Serious clients with resources know where to go to get the best work they require. Could it possibly force some of the larger agencies to sharpen their pencils? Maybe eventually. Would that be so terrible?

I occasionally participate in crowd-sourced creative bids. And here’s why - it gives me a great opportunity to exercise my creative muscles. It exposes me to clients, industries and problems that i’d never be exposed to in my ‘9 to 5’. And honestly, if a logo is priced at $1,000, and i choose to put 7 hours against it - that’s not too bad. It’s my spare time. I might do it for a couple hours while watching a dvd before bed. Yeah i know, my chances of getting selected are slim - but i’m still gonna do my best. And if all i end up with is a potential portfolio piece - then i’m okay with that.

That’s my 2 cents. Thanks as always for the post Armin.

On Dec.16.2009 at 11:33 AM

Josh’s comment is:

I know many of the people at this agency personally, virtually or in any other way you can think of. And no I do not work there. This is a talented agency full of designers, developers and other staff really good at their jobs. They definitely have all the talent they need to do this, but I think pretty innocently opened this up forgetting about how passionate Brand New viewers are about �spec work�.

I think it was fine to open up, but to promote widely and especially on this blog was probably ill-advised.

To the matter of rights to work. I’m fairly sure Space150 would not retain the rights to all entered work and for that matter doesn’t seem that concerned about their identity IP if they’re changing their identity every 150 days. They probably should state that though.

But changing the subject, shouldn’t we really be mad at Coudal and Layer Tennis for using talented designers innocence for promoting the Coudal brand without significant payment in return. It’s like the design equivalent of a Sports Illustrated issue. Bad Coudal!

Fine, be mad. Write an angry comment, RT it on Twitter, send Space150 a photocopy of your middle finger, but in the end, it all doesn’t really matter. I’m with Armin on this. Practice makes perfect. Don’t feel so violated, it’s just design.

On Dec.16.2009 at 11:52 AM

Amirault’s comment is:

Big successful design agency has a gimmick where they rebrand every 150 days.

Big successful design agency holds a contest for their latest rebranding.

Winner receives a plane ticket to Minnesota.

Big successful agency gets free rebranding and lots of free publicity for their gimmick-within-a-gimmick.

Winner receives a plane ticket to Minnesota.

Armin is against crowdsourcing posts, except when he isn’t, which is now, because big successful design company has decided to do it.

In his defence, Armin says that we shouldn’t have a problem with crowdsourcing because it is “good practice”.

Economy in tatters.

No work.

Kid needs diapers.

Wife crying yesterday because of cellphone bill.

People with jobs holding onto them like grim death.

Watching their friends and co-workers let go.

Wages slashed.

Freelance clients squeeze as hard as they can. Then a little more.

They want all your knowledge, your talent, your time, your skill.

And your integrity.

For as little money as they can get away with.

20 years in the industry, scouring Craigslist for jobs.

These are tough times.

We should give the big successful agency a free rebrand.

They could afford to pay, but they need the publicity.

Armin’s happy to help.

These are tough times, after all.

And it’s good practice, Armin reminds us.

We all need the practice.

And you might win a plane ticket to Minnesota.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:14 PM

Kanye West’s comment is:

SPACE I50 DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE ENVIROMENT!

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:17 PM

Kanye West’s comment is:

YO, TYPED MY URL IN WRONG! CHECK OUT MY LINK. I’VE GOT ONE OF THE NEST BLOGS OF ALL TIME!

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:19 PM

Derek’s comment is:

It’s funny how people use words like “reinvent” and “constant creativity” to describe what is otherwise freeloading and a lack of strong brand. :D

What I see when I read a post like has been pointed by many so far: It’s environmentally selfish - “constant creativity” and reinvention or not, it smacks of irresponsibility; not to mention a company that has no sense of identification and consistency and instead of relying on their own creativity they farm it out. Realistically, if I saw a company redesign every several months with no other indication as to *why* they did so, I would highly question their stability and the quality of their work.

I’d like to highlight the difference between spec work such as this and giving your work away - and there is a major difference. Designers don’t need a freeloader like Space150 (with their motto that reeks of ineptitude) to mooch countless hours of their time. If you’re just starting out and want to beef your portfolio, there are projects a-plenty doing pro bono work for non-profits that could really use & appreciate your effort.

Space150, you’re not ‘all dat’ enough to make me scramble and clamor to give you my time and energy at no cost.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:28 PM

Rico’s comment is:

Yo Kanye, I’m gonna let you finish… but Beyonce had the best video of all time.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:28 PM

Benjamin Martinek’s comment is:

Jezus, all of you who keep saying “Having to print all your business collateral every 150 days is so bad for the environment !” Are you serious ? If they didn’t change the corporate identity, they would just print the same stuff again when they needed more. Or are you concerned about the plates ? FFS.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:30 PM

Seth Johnson’s comment is:

Armin, your support and promotion of this contest makes you, and your blogs, lose much credibility in my eyes.

Had this design contest been thought up by, say, 3M, would you have been so supportive?

The whole point of maintaining a strict NO-SPEC position is that the whole topic is on a slippery slope. The more the practice happens, the more acceptance it receives, the more promotion it garners from legitimate sources, the more “comfortable” we and our clients become with it, the more it’s going to happen.

You just judged the industry a bit closer to the day when ALL work will be done via contests, crowd-sourcing, and on spec. I hope you’re happy.

On Dec.16.2009 at 12:56 PM

Seth Johnson’s comment is:

[Oops. Accidentally hit the wrong button and posted before I proofread. Typos fixed below.]

Armin, your support and promotion of this contest makes you, and your blogs, lose much credibility in my eyes.

Had this design contest been initiated by, say, 3M, would you have been so supportive? I doubt it. So why does the line get blurred when a creative agency does it? If anything, they should be held to an even higher standard.

The point of maintaining a strict NO-SPEC position is that the whole topic rests on a slippery slope. The more the practice happens, the more acceptance it receives, the more promotion it garners from legitimate sources, the more comfortable we and our clients become with it, the more it’s going to happen.

You just nudged the industry a bit closer to a day when ALL work could be done via contests, crowd-sourcing, and on spec. I hope you’re happy.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:04 PM

Bitter rival’s comment is:

Familiar I am with Space150 and, as usual, they’re more about flash than substance. Their brand means nothing, stands for nothing, and is worth nothing. Hype and attitude is all they represent.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:21 PM

John McCollum’s comment is:

I still love you, Armin. I still love Brand New. You’re still invited for Christmas. I’ll make the green bean casserole you love.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:22 PM

Sean Farrell’s comment is:

It’s a sad day to see spec work on here…

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:28 PM

Mary Shu’s comment is:

The whole premise of the idea makes no sense to me.

“rebrand every 150 days?”

Lack of consistency has always been an excellent way to dilute a brands presence. Simple put, it is confusing, and in my opinion lacks any real serious purpose or value.

Would Space 150 ever suggest their clients rebrand every few months?
I doubt it.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:33 PM

tetra’s comment is:

It’s disappointing that this post is still up and there wasn’t an apology in it’s place. It shows an incredible lack of empathy for not only the readers but creatives in any industry as a whole. No one would go through the process of designing a line of shoes, writing a series of books or choreographing a ballet while crossing their fingers knowing full well hundreds if not thousands of other people (hacks included) were doing the same for a measly plane ticket and 150-days worth of notoriety from an agency a good portion of the people from their respective industry had never heard of.

Telling the vast majority of your commenters to essentially go fuck themselves was not a smart move, Armin. Even if you don’t agree with us — the least you could do was try to address the specifics in a manner that made it seem like you could understand where we were coming from, instead of continuing to tout this dreadful thing and pretend like we should be kissing space150’s ass for giving us the ‘privilege’ and ‘practice*’.

*I’m not even going to go into what a crock this cop-out excuse is.

On Dec.16.2009 at 01:33 PM

BrandGuy’s comment is:

My thoughts:
Space 150 could do this internally and the cost would be the amount of time their FTEs spent on concepts and away from billable projects. If they hired a well-established designer to re-brand them it could cost depending on the designer up to if not more than 25k. If they wanted to hire an outside agency it would cost them 50k for a med size shop and larger ones wouldn�t talk to you for less than 100k and the price goes up. So a price of a flight to one of the most happening city in the US (ha) and hotel would not even cost a fraction of what they would lose internally or what they would spend hiring someone. It�s a cheap way to get something done and get some people to talk about them then they most normally wouldn�t be right now.
So they re-brand every 150 days. That is part of their Brand. That�s fine I guess and it works for them.
Re: Crowd-Sourcing. CS works but doesn�t work for Design. We can argue this until our figures get tired from typing but the issue is having designers spec work out only in hopes of getting a good piece for their portfolio. Why not do what so many new designers seem to do is make up a fake company name and work on a logo with no brief in mind (ha) post it on all the cool hip trendy sites to get recognized? At least that way you worked on something for yourself without helping a business out for free.
If you�re new at design and need to get your foot in the door and don�t mind working for free why not find a place that you can intern at to learn from then maybe get more out of then some portfolio pieces to show your new gig. There is a lot of unnoticed talent out there and some have talented that would amaze many design vets. I think if the main goal was to find some new unseen designer to later offer them a job that would be a on ramp into their career as a designer and a name for yourself then sure I�m all for it. A flight and hotel to a party oh come on now. �Hey thanks pal for the logo and check out is at 11am. K. Thx�
I don�t agree that this should have been posted and supported. It�s just my OPINION.

On Dec.16.2009 at 02:23 PM

SonHouse’s comment is:

Re: crowd-sourcing (again):
Recently, i visited a favorite local non profit organization’s website - with the intent of contacting them and offering my services pro-bono. And guess what - turns out they are crowd-sourcing their new logo design! Ha! True story.

On Dec.16.2009 at 02:51 PM

disgruntled_bad_designer_spitting_moot’s comment is:

You’re a cop out,
all these people complaining are bitter, talentless designers.
It’s just an innovative idea space is trying to do to share information and ideas. It isn’t a spec job, keep making up excuses about why your life sucks,

yours truly,
internet_hater

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:12 PM

Daniel Kent’s comment is:

This was a totally different situation than what is going on here but I enjoyed seeing the different interpretations of the Bunch logo.
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/january/thanks-a-bunch

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:13 PM

Dusty’s comment is:

Alright, I’ve gotten through about 30 of these posts and I’m going
to go back and read the rest here in a second…

Regardless of space150’s brand, it confuses me why everyone is
throwing a fit about the offer to create an entirely new identity
set. Yes it’s for free, but why do you all care. Assuming all of
you haters won’t be creating anything.

I say shut the pie-holes and get back to work then. If someone’s
interested in “wasting” their time on some work that they aren’t
getting paid for, so be it. Its not your time they’re wasting.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:31 PM

Zach’s comment is:

After reading some more of the comments, especially the ones directed towards me, I realized I was misunderstood. Yes, I know there are no guarantees for an awesome job, however, if you would win wouldn’t it show “Hard work, dedication to craft and attention to professional detail”? That’s what I meant by my post.

Also maybe I am naive because I’m still a student but I feel this is a great opportunity to test how good you truly think you are. I like what RussellUresti posted because it’s true. Not everyone designs for money. Yeah, it would sweet to get paid for my school projects but I don’t get pissed because I don’t. I enjoy solving design problems and this contest is just that.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:34 PM

Jim’s comment is:

What a bunch of whiners.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:38 PM

Dusty’s comment is:

Aye, aye Jimmy.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:42 PM

Cop-Out’s comment is:

disgruntled_bad_designer_spitting_moot�s
You’re a cop out. :) hehe
This isn’t about good/bad designers. it’s about Spec-Work and CS. I can care less about having this go on. I wont loose sleep over it nor would I loose money over it. It doesn’t come close to effecting my life in any shape or form. If a designer wants to work for free then more power to them. Its about a site that just flip-flopped on his thoughts on Spec-Work. Why? He is just supoprting a friend and posting this on his site? what ever his reason is. It’s his choice. If he gets a backlash from it he has to deal with it. If you wont come back to this site because of it thats you’re right. Just like you don’t have to submit work to Space 150 or any other company asking for spec work (contest). Just because someone gives their opinion doesnt mean they are bitter or a bad designers.

a lot of people made good points on both sides. It’s your choice as a designer to work for free for someone you do not know. Friends and Family. Sure why not or even for a non-pro that’s fine. It’s also not about having to pay your bills. it’s about knowing the value of the work you produce and regardless if it takes me 1 day to do a logo I charge the same amount if it took me 30days. My work has a value as well as many other designers on this site.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:47 PM

Jeremy’s comment is:

Holy shit, you people need lives.

On Dec.16.2009 at 03:59 PM

Mojo’s comment is:

While I agree with your disdain for crowdsourcing I also understand the appeal for a company to ask for it. You get a LOT more options, and fact of the matter is, it is about the client getting what they want… not you.

While I personally would never submit my work for free, i can understand others doing it, and I sure as sh!te understand a company wanting as many quality options as possible for as little a cost as possible.

Why does this remind me so much of the music industry? Maybe it’s time designers adapt to the new technology and strategies and stop clinging to the way things used to be.

On Dec.16.2009 at 04:03 PM

more’s comment is:

A company using crowd-sourcing for design isn’t the same reason why many use crowd-sourcing for their business. With today’s market and economy and the over the top rates large firms charge their clients they want to see what other options they have. The problem with CS and Design is what the financial outcome will be. Take http://www.innocentive.com/ for example. They built their business off of CS and very successfully. They get the best of the best to solve problems. Crowd sourcing is about Seekers and Solvers. They get the top notch problem solvers since they get paid a high amount. There is a huge incentive for them to get people to do this. Now for design for the most part a company will request a logo with a �prize� of Free or a few hundred dollars. Legit designers with years of experience won�t join a CS project. For the most part what attract these types of things are new designers and or students. This is totally against what Crowd-sourcing is all about. You want to have a large pool of people with experience either work together to solve a problem as a group and or as a single person. As a client you want to have access to the best group of people to help solve your problem. Some get lucky and get something that is great. What would be a great experiment for Crowd-Sourcing for design would be come out with a platform/site and have companies post projects with larger �prize� amounts. Then test it and see the quality or work and people that get involved. I would bet anything the design community as a whole might support it.

Re: No-Spec has been a huge problem that not only has affected designers but small to med size shops. When getting an RFP a lot of shops don�t jump up and pitch it. It takes time and a lot of money to pitch accounts. There have been many that worked on trimming down what they show and do it in a way to save them money. Since the outcome of winning the account could mean a large amount of $$$.

On Dec.16.2009 at 04:33 PM

NaniPrints’s comment is:

Spec work politics aside (since other commenters have this one covered), I’d love to be the print production manager for all these rebrands. It’d be great fun to print a recurring series of over-the-top designs.

I grow weary of the breast-beating hyperbole about the political incorrectness of printing anything. The amount of waste we’re talking about here is less than a field of cows. Maybe we should ban drinking milk, too.

On Dec.16.2009 at 05:02 PM

Carlotta’s comment is:

Well, i have now lost all respect for this blog. I have removed it from my bookmarks bar and will never come here again. Disgusting hypocrisy.

On Dec.16.2009 at 05:26 PM

Impossibly Stupid’s comment is:

@Zach:

if you would win wouldn’t it show “Hard work, dedication to craft and attention to professional detail”?

No, it wouldn’t. It would just show that you met some arbitrary standard set by cheap, wasteful people. I can easily imagine someone coming up with an awesome design that a company could use for decades, but wouldn’t be worth the expense of producing to its full potential for only 150 days. Maybe they’ll just pick someone who doesn’t have a plane ticket that costs over a few hundred bucks. All winning, or even entering, a contest like this shows is that you really didn’t think through the impression you’d be giving future viewers of your portfolio. “They did that space150 thing for nothing, so we should be able to pay them peanuts, too.”

Not everyone designs for money.

The company in question seems to. I mean, consider that it’s a contest for them. It’s not like they’re doing something charitable. They’re not saying “We’re doing an identity pro-bono for a local non-profit and holding a contest so that if you submit a design to them that beats ours, we’ll fly you here and celebrate with a snowball fight!” Instead, they selfishly made it their identity that supposedly deserves all this attention, despite the fact they’re just going to dump it in a few months. Just a dick move, even if there are designers who would chomp at the bit to do free work “for practice” (if there are, contact me instead!).

On Dec.16.2009 at 05:55 PM

Josh’s comment is:

First off, Armin…you’re a good cat, but I can’t believe you recanted on your support for this.

Second. I bet their web traffic is off the hook right now.

Third. Hey @Brand Guy. Your thoughts are relevant, but your aim isn’t true. Any designer creating, redesigning a personal project, brand or company is expending hundreds of billable hours. Sure, I should be getting paid from clients, but how will I maintain my website or update my business cards or completely alter my brand without working on spec for myself? Isn’t that spec work? Which leads me to my thoughts about branding.

Fuck branding or if you like “The traditional idea of branding is dead”.

Most of you are following some textbook guide that professes to understand the process of branding. Guess what? Throw it out because it doesn’t include anything that has evolved over the last 5 years the discourse of how we’ve begun to broadcast, announce or market ourselves, our lives and the companies we work for.

A brand is only as good as it’s history. Harley Davidson is one thing, but Bob the Bike Builder is an entirely different story. The idea that a logo can save a life upon creation is ridiculous. A brand mark only becomes useful over a lifetime of work. And with the onset of web 2.0 identity has become an afterthought to designers and to our customers accordingly. A logo can’t deliver what quality experience or interaction does.

If I were you all, I’d spend more time on helping your clients be good at what they do. Help them connect with their customers. Once they do that you can design a logo for them when you both know what you’re doing.

On Dec.16.2009 at 07:23 PM

ondrej’s comment is:

omg guys… i am so disappointed.

@carlotta: it’s okay to have an opinion about spec work, design competition or weird identity conceptions, i don’t like this space 150 thing either and i would never enter this competition, but why on earth would i “remove brandnew from my bookmarks bar and will never come here again”????
if armin likes the idea, why wouldn’t he post it here? anyway, if you can’t get over it, i’m sure that loosing readers like yourself would do no harm to the already very high quality of this blog.
people that take themselves too seriously never brought any progress to this world.

On Dec.16.2009 at 07:27 PM

ondrej’s comment is:

bunch of my schoolmates took a van and travelled all around slovakia for a couple of weeks every summer for past four years, doing a free design work for non-profits, small community centers or asylum houses.
they got money for the gas and some production related stuff from the fund of ministry of culture.
after getting back home they did interviews, presented the project on many presentations and conferences, published a little book and in the end they won national design prize for it… now suck on that.
http://www.dizajnnakolesach.sk/

On Dec.16.2009 at 07:54 PM

Courtny Cotten’s comment is:

I hope everyone stays out of this contest so I can win. K THANX HAHAHA

On Dec.16.2009 at 07:56 PM

Tacky Tang’s comment is:

Pardon my english, I’m not native speaker.

I have to agree with Brady Bone’s and Josh’s, and love Amirault’s short takes. My position is clearly anti CS and the likes. It’s bad enough that some clients “love to give us a chance to shine” for free works or for pittance, here comes fellow designers treated us the same. (That’s probably the biggest contention in this saga…to be continued?..)

What really sad about all this? Us designers are to blame. Until we start to value ourselves as designers, don’t expect client do the same.

On Dec.16.2009 at 11:22 PM

shiftklick’s comment is:

Fellas really like doing free work. That’s why instead of hiring designers, companies just do contests. It’s cheaper that way. Companies are happy, fellas are happy.

On Dec.17.2009 at 12:27 AM

SonHouse’s comment is:

Armin - your retraction was unnecessary.

By refusing to address crowd-sourcing, we designers are only hurting ourselves.

Again - CS is here to stay - like it or not. Only by engaging it head on, in a unified fashion, can we shape the practice so that it it becomes more favorable to our industry.

What would that entail exactly? Perhaps we could start by contacting the main CS websites en masse and stating our concerns, telling them what it would take for them to attract top-quality design. Perhaps we could encourage the GAG & AIGA to apply rational pressure on these websites. The point is - unless we engage, we’ll never affect the situation.

On Dec.17.2009 at 08:42 AM

Estel’s comment is:

I agree with Chris and John, If you’re passionate about something, you’ll do it expecting nothing in return.

Yes, people have to eat, but you have to start from something. You don’t get out of school and become Art Director, CEO or whatever immediately. How I see this, in the specific case of a student: Gaining recognition and “fame” for doing this for “free” would probably get him/her a good job.

And I do consider the whole changing-identity-every-150 days very interesting and fun, not very eco-friendly, but hey, how much water do you waste? how much do you reuse and recycle, or save energy?

On Dec.17.2009 at 09:25 AM

Ronlewhorn’s comment is:

When did we all get so ridiculously angry. Can’t we just enjoy the process of our craft. It’s like professional bowlers don’t get angry when you ask them to go bowling with you. It’s who they are. It’s what we do. I want to get back to a place where we enjoy the process of creating something beautiful and take true pride in the aesthetic without stressing over the finances. I think it’d be excitng to have my work be the brand for a company for 5 months.

On Dec.17.2009 at 10:23 AM

Philadelphia workers compensation lawyer’s comment is:

To get angry that a company holds a competition, is a waste of breathe. I’m pretty sure they have all the right in the world to do what they want with their brand.

To get angry at a blog that runs one of the more user friendly, comment recognized blogs around is just being silly. Just because you don’t like the idea of a company holding a competition in no way necessitates getting vehemently upset Armin, Brand New, or for that matter the company.

On Dec.17.2009 at 11:36 AM

grubedoo’s comment is:

Usually I’m against spec work. In this case I’m for it. There’s an exception to most every rule. Thanks for the heads up. Now I have something to do with my free-time.

On Dec.17.2009 at 11:37 AM

mykl’s comment is:

Hmmm…I think Armin should close the comments section of Brand New because he’s really just asking for our professional opinions free of charge. Can I bill $5 for consulting on this matter please?

On Dec.17.2009 at 12:04 PM

Kanye West’s comment is:

Yo, Zachy boy. The problem with spec work is it effects all of us. One person working for free leads to another person working for free. It devalues the industry and people start thinking its acceptable.

This doesn’t really effect designers higher up in the line, but for freelancers trying to get their start or scrape by, its not good. Sure, this stuff is appealing when you’re already doing everything for free, but what if you HAD TO EARN MONEY?

P.S. GIVE TIGER A BREAK!

On Dec.17.2009 at 01:13 PM

Grant’s comment is:

Let me be upforont, I know quite a bit about this company since I know the Space 150 owners. I used to live in Minneapolis and was friendly with them.

So, first let me say that many of you are jumping to false conclusions about what the company is about and the people running it. They are good people who do good work.

Second, a basic premise of their company, which was based on the fast-paced ever-changing internet and marketing world, was to show how they reinvent themselves just as the web continues to update and reinvent itself. The recreation of their brand identity every 150 days is part of their brand identity. You would understand that if you looked at their website (ww.space150.com)

I have no problem with them choosing to throw a contest, crowdsource and get other people involved. This too would be a phenomenon happening quite a bit with the web and marketing right now. It shows that they understand what is going on in the current state of marketing.

I am disappointed by a large number of commentors who have chosen to put their comments out there in such a mean-spirited way. It shows me that there is just a lot of ignorance about what our industry is about and the ignorance of some of the people in it.

If you didn’t understand what the company and the contest was about or investigate it, you really shouldn’t speak up. An uninformed opinion is pointless to the conversation.

As for Armin’s choice to post a contest on BRAND NEW. I don’t think any less of him for it.

On Dec.18.2009 at 11:55 AM

Eduardo’s comment is:

They are on the internet and they are designers, that by itslef triplifies the anger among them. I read it, you ask politely and I have the possibility the say no, so i dont really feel ofended. Authough I participate design contests, but for pleasure and for money, because if something is giving me pleasure and possible money, there is no reason why i shouldnt participate. Your doing a really great job and i think you shouldnt have brought the contest down, because its your opnion, your website and we visit it because of that. The true value of this website is you and again, you’re doing a great job here

On Dec.19.2009 at 09:08 AM

winter olympics’s comment is:

On Dec.21.2009 at 04:50 AM

Matt Steel’s comment is:

I think the people who see nothing wrong with this contest might also be the sort who see nothing wrong with asking their interns to work for free. Payment in the form of street cred = bullshit.

On Dec.24.2009 at 01:38 PM

Joseph Sims’s comment is:

Isn’t there a difference between spec work, and free work?

Doing work for free = whatever, it’s your choice… notoriety, charity, experience, parties, friendship… lots of reasons to work for free, in this case you might or might not get any reward for doing it… so it’s spec-ish, I suppose

Spec work = working, hoping to get paid, but only getting paid if the client wants your work… most of the time in competition with other people who want to get paid, a lot of people don’t get paid, even though they wanted to, and worked to.

Is a competition that requires “work” ALWAYS spec work? If kraft foods asks people to make a stupid video about oill based cheeses and have people vote on it, and a video team participates, is it spec work?

On Dec.24.2009 at 02:35 PM

r4i’s comment is:

Hi Guy’s,
Actually I know how I feel about this. Space150 should hire someone. And flat out to junior designers in the field, if you’re looking to make a name build artwork for yourself, be selfish. Aiming to win awards is just vanity.