Hey Joe- I was wondering if you’d be able to give us a sample design so we can see what kind of work you do. It will help us make a decision on which designer we should go with.

This is not an uncommon email, especially in the world of web and graphic design. And it seems harmless to a lot of people. Sure, they just want a sample design. But they are really asking for free work. While you as a freelancer might be tempted to do comp/spec work to try and seal the deal on a contract, it’s not the way to go. Last week I posted 10 Reasons to Say No To Spec Work by No!Spec; here is my take on spec work.

Tags: clients, comps, gigs, proposal, relationships, samples, spec work, tips, work | Posted in Advice, Lessons | 4 Comments »

As a designer, you will likely be asked to do comp or spec work; that is, work for free to see if a potential client wants to  hire you. This is a big no no for designers for several reasons. I’ll write up my own post next week (keep an eye out!), but for today the site No!Spec has Ten Reasons to say to No. You should check that out, as well as the rest of the site as it has reasons, horror stories of doing spec work, and more.

(link to post)Visit 10 Reasons to Say No to Spec Work