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News & ArtsFriday, February 26, 2010
Arts / Teh Internets 99 Problems...
Posted by Mary Traverse on Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 2:36 PM
I'm on a horse.
My design-nerd high horse to be exact.
99 Designs is a site where thousands of designers work for free to compete for the "prize money" (read: cheap fee) offered by companies who want professional design work but don't want to pay for it. This is the problem: multiple designers doing the same project to completion for free. That's not getting free quotes, or even a few free sketches, which is still reasonable; That's asking 5 plumbers to come in and complete the same job, then deciding whose work you like the best and only paying him.
I can see this being a great opportunity for young designers right out of school who neeed to build their portfolio with professional work instead of class projects. But for newbie designers, this doesn't help them to learn good professional habits, like demanding a reasonable fee for their talent and time or how to properly communicate with clients. I can also see it being great for non-profit clients who might not have the resources to find and pay a good designer. But there are lots of professional designers with flexible fees for non-profits, or even willing to do pro-bono work.
What it boils down to is this: sites like these undercut the market for designers who rely on freelance for their income. And it's not like freelance designers are rolling in dough. Not only do they have the same overhead as any other self-employed individual, but it's often hard to convince people to pay a reasonable fee for design in the first place.
99 Designs is not the only site of its kind, and I'm only picking on them because they recently keep coming up in my Google-alert for "logo design". And don't even get me started on the logo-factory sites, where I believe they have Thai children chained to Photoshop to make you a logo for $50.
Anyway it all reminds me of this video:
Screed over. As you were.
1
Yea, it's ugly out there. The truth is that graphic design these days truly has become a commodity. Even smallish companies didn't used to bat an eye paying $10K, $20K, or more for just a logo.
Those opportunities have become rare, and unless a company is ready to pay Hornall Anderson dollars, they will happily get it done for as little as possible. The even uglier truth is that it likely doesn't make a bit of difference to the client in terms of the effect on ROI.
First technology came for the typesetters and photographers, and now the designers are in the cross hairs. If you can get a Hungarian who has went to the polyteknic to do it for $200 US and he or she does a good job, why wouldn't you?
Those opportunities have become rare, and unless a company is ready to pay Hornall Anderson dollars, they will happily get it done for as little as possible. The even uglier truth is that it likely doesn't make a bit of difference to the client in terms of the effect on ROI.
First technology came for the typesetters and photographers, and now the designers are in the cross hairs. If you can get a Hungarian who has went to the polyteknic to do it for $200 US and he or she does a good job, why wouldn't you?
2
You are absolutely correct. My company paid a total of $475 for our logo, $400 of which went to the designer (although they may have paid fees from their chunk too). Cost for a local designer to do the same work would have been more like $1200 for up to 10 designs. We got to choose from over 120 submissions. That kind of deal is tough to pass up.
4
Also, buskers are destroying the market for live performances by symphonies.
Oh, wait, symphonies provide a different type of value than buskers do. So some people go to symphonies.
I've got an idea: make your services more valuable than a $200 amateur (or Hungarian). Provide in-person consultation or other value-added services that justify the higher price.
Oh, wait, symphonies provide a different type of value than buskers do. So some people go to symphonies.
I've got an idea: make your services more valuable than a $200 amateur (or Hungarian). Provide in-person consultation or other value-added services that justify the higher price.
5
Kind of like a local newspapers blog forgoing actual newspaper writers and instead convincing suckers to write blog posts about events they've recommended, all for absolutely no pay...?
6
@4 FTW
Since most people don't care about, and wouldn't recognize good design if it bit them in the ass, the easy availability of various tools that make it easy to produce (usually) mediocre designs without involving a skilled designer are laying waste to the industry.
See also: professional recording studios, Microsoft Front Page, etc.
Since most people don't care about, and wouldn't recognize good design if it bit them in the ass, the easy availability of various tools that make it easy to produce (usually) mediocre designs without involving a skilled designer are laying waste to the industry.
See also: professional recording studios, Microsoft Front Page, etc.
7
It's also a huge issue for freelance writers. You can't really blame the publishers/website owners for taking advantage of an overflow of cheap labor, but too many inexperienced writers giving it away for free has really devalued the work.
"Provide content for free and if we like it we'll (eventually, maybe) pay you" has become the standard for web content and design. That attitude used to be confined to Craigslist, but now it's seeped into major websites and publishers as well.
I have to HOPE eventually the market will readjust to the changes in media, but I think it'll be a while before we see any sort of equilibrium between paying fair value for quality versus cheap and desperate quantity.
"Provide content for free and if we like it we'll (eventually, maybe) pay you" has become the standard for web content and design. That attitude used to be confined to Craigslist, but now it's seeped into major websites and publishers as well.
I have to HOPE eventually the market will readjust to the changes in media, but I think it'll be a while before we see any sort of equilibrium between paying fair value for quality versus cheap and desperate quantity.
8
The market always adjusts, but that doesn't mean that any given skillset retains its value, or even viability once the adjustment is "done". I remember when someone could make a tidy amount of cash duplicating CD-R's in their house for bands who wanted copies of their demo.
9
@4 I'm not sure I agree with your analogy, but beyond that it's not as simple as "adding value". Some clients don't see face-time or experience as added value, just as added cost. These are usually the same clients who think their only obstacle to doing the work themselves is that they don't know the software.
Yes, this isn't every client, but it's a pervasive enough problem that it gets to be a frustration for almost every designer I know.
And while buskers might not be taking clients away from the symphony, a general lack of interest in/respect for the arts is a problem that afflicts both symphonies and designers. And buskers.
Yes, this isn't every client, but it's a pervasive enough problem that it gets to be a frustration for almost every designer I know.
And while buskers might not be taking clients away from the symphony, a general lack of interest in/respect for the arts is a problem that afflicts both symphonies and designers. And buskers.
10
@4 I totally agree. You've got to add services that are relevant and valuable. Most clients really can't tell good from bad, and I'd say some of the value of working with a professional is to not have to sift through 120 options.
The point is, the "art" part of design is perceived as less valuable than it once was. Gone are the days where an agency could get by claiming some vital but intangible value for their work. You have to prove it to a skeptical audience now.
Here's a tip for students. Get some experience selling something. You're going to have to do a lot of it if you expect to get out of the $200 amateur or Hungarian pool ;->
The point is, the "art" part of design is perceived as less valuable than it once was. Gone are the days where an agency could get by claiming some vital but intangible value for their work. You have to prove it to a skeptical audience now.
Here's a tip for students. Get some experience selling something. You're going to have to do a lot of it if you expect to get out of the $200 amateur or Hungarian pool ;->
12
I thought I'd point out local start-up Inkd.com which does nearly the same thing as 99 Designs, except their approach is more of a passive "Upload your stuff and wait until someone buys it as a template." While I personally despise such companies, they do force good graphic designers to set their own personal bars higher.... which is ultimately a good thing in the end.
13
@11 Ha! So true. And third prize isn't even a nice set of steak knives, it's living in your mother's basement with about $50K of student debt over your head.
15
@9: If a client doesn't see value in face time, and if they think the only reason not to do it themselves is that they don't know the software... then your services aren't worth much to them. Why would they pay higher amounts for services that (from their perspective) don't add value?
Bemoaning simpler, cheaper, lower quality competitors is pointless. Either find a market willing to pay a premium for your services, or get better at educating clients about why they should pay more, or start subcontracting to Hungarians :)
Bemoaning simpler, cheaper, lower quality competitors is pointless. Either find a market willing to pay a premium for your services, or get better at educating clients about why they should pay more, or start subcontracting to Hungarians :)
16
Wow, I JUST had this conversation today with a co-worker in regards to architecture and how we constantly end up doing things for free for clients. So wrong!
I LOVE the video. Posting now everywhere...
I LOVE the video. Posting now everywhere...
17
@16 the hardest thing to do is to refuse to do spec work. The temptation is enormous, especially in today's business climate. Ultimately, though the really valuable relationships are based on working with people that understand the value of what they are buying.
19
Go ahead, try to define "designers who rely on freelance for their income" in a way that doesn't include people working for paupers' wages in fucked-up eastern european and asian economies. I dare you.
20
I know it hurts but we're all figuring out how to free ourselves from money.
I can't wait 'til I can call Dominos, Pizza Hut and Pagliacci and...fuck it. I'm just going to kill myself instead.
I can't wait 'til I can call Dominos, Pizza Hut and Pagliacci and...fuck it. I'm just going to kill myself instead.
21
In my field (translation), freelancers and agency people have to spend unpaid time on "client education," to briefly and effectively inform clients and prospects about how much going cheap will cost them. Mostly how embarrassing themselves will hurt them. Our professional associations put together handy brochures that help with the discussion.
Can you explain good design in the same way? I can't, but would like to hear it if someone else can.
As far as the giant translation websites where freelancers around the world bid against each other, driving down prices, word gets around. Some people do need cheap quick and dirty translations; others need more reliable work.
Can you explain good design in the same way? I can't, but would like to hear it if someone else can.
As far as the giant translation websites where freelancers around the world bid against each other, driving down prices, word gets around. Some people do need cheap quick and dirty translations; others need more reliable work.
22
Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing has come to define us as a consumer capitalist society.
Of course, how many of these designers...
...shop at Walmart or other, big box retailers instead of patronizing local stores with owners who have the knowledge and experience to recognize that one size doesn't fit all?
...don't know the value of a "union label" and couldn't tell you the last time they checked a label to see who made it and where it was made?
...furnished their home or office with "Made in China" because it was cheaper?
...buy their books from Amazon instead of a local, independent bookseller?
...have never read a book that wasn't on a "best" list or published by a major imprint?
...have never even been to a farmers market to buy food from local, organic farmers?
...buy their groceries from large, chain stores instead of local markets and co-ops?
...opt for the cheap, multinational brew over the local or domestic microbrewery?
...have never donated a dollar toward the development of any open source software that you use?
If you find yourself in a culture that does not value the talent, knowledge and experience of skilled craftsmanship, ask yourself how you may have contributed to the world as it is before or instead of casting a critical glance at others.
What goes around, comes around. If you want to see the world change, start with you.
Of course, how many of these designers...
...shop at Walmart or other, big box retailers instead of patronizing local stores with owners who have the knowledge and experience to recognize that one size doesn't fit all?
...don't know the value of a "union label" and couldn't tell you the last time they checked a label to see who made it and where it was made?
...furnished their home or office with "Made in China" because it was cheaper?
...buy their books from Amazon instead of a local, independent bookseller?
...have never read a book that wasn't on a "best" list or published by a major imprint?
...have never even been to a farmers market to buy food from local, organic farmers?
...buy their groceries from large, chain stores instead of local markets and co-ops?
...opt for the cheap, multinational brew over the local or domestic microbrewery?
...have never donated a dollar toward the development of any open source software that you use?
If you find yourself in a culture that does not value the talent, knowledge and experience of skilled craftsmanship, ask yourself how you may have contributed to the world as it is before or instead of casting a critical glance at others.
What goes around, comes around. If you want to see the world change, start with you.
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