Graphic Designers Fight Against Unfair Spec Work

For more than a week, graphic designers have been waging a campaign targeting the Department of the Interior for economic justice in their profession.

And yes, you read that right. Graphic designers.

It’s not a group of professionals you typically hear from. Designers work independently or in small teams, and often behind the scenes. They create the world around us – from Obama’s campaign logo to the digital animation we watch on the evening news.

For years, the design community has been waging a quiet battle against something called “spec work.” It’s a process by which designers are expected to work for free – designing logos and materials in the hopes of being selected for a job.

The practice of “spec work” has gotten worse in recent years, thanks to design websites like CROWDspring and StockLogos.

CROWDspring hosts contests for designers to compete for the winning logo & prize money. Often times – as is the case with the Department of the Interior – the prize money isn’t even close to being a fair wage for the winning designer (not to mention the countless other designers whose work was not selected).

Earlier this month, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced they were seeking a new logo for the sprawling, 70,000-employee agency. As petition creator Mary Koster noted, in the design world, this would be considered a big job.

But instead of contracting with a professional designer, the DOI offered just $1,000 to a winning design on CROWDspring. In a letter to Secretary Ken Salazaar, the Graphic Artists Guild estimates that this job and copyright is worth $20,000 – $50,000 USD. A far cry from the contest prize.

After several phone calls last week, petition creator Mary Koster was contacted by the Department of the Interior’s New Media Director, Tim Fullerton.

“I’ve definitely seen all the work you’ve been doing around this,” said Fullerton. “We do hear you. We’ve seen the petition. We know it’s at 900. We’ve seen the Twitter conversations. We are very aware.” (Note: The petition has climbed past 1,000 since their call.)

The first question Mary had for the Interior was, simply, why do this? Fullerton’s response: “We were looking for a different way to engage the public that wasn’t necessarily policy-related.” The idea to hold a logo design contest originated from the Interior’s Office of Policy, Management and Budget.

“We are in an incredibly tight budget situation that – to be honest – is only going to get worse,” said Fullerton. “If we didn’t do it this way, this project never would’ve happened. “

When asked about the logo contest’s adherence to the Buy America Act, Fullerton did not have an answer. “I certainly understand your side. We'll dig deeper on this issue this week,” he said. Attorneys at the Department of the Interior did approve the contest, but Fullerton will have to get back to us on this issue in particular in the next week.

Fullerton said the DOI would not close the contest – which means we have more work to do in the next few days.

“We will probably be a little more sensitive to this moving forward," said Fullerton. "I can’t say that we won’t do this again but there are certainly no plans to do this again at this time.”

The fight isn’t over. This phase of the logo design contest closes on Wednesday, and there more questions that should be raised - especially on the issue of selecting and contracting with U.S.-based designers. Sign and share the petition with your friends, here.