A colleague recently pointed me to this blog post by designer David Airey on spec work. I particularly like this post because it perfectly illustrates what spec work by turning the tables on the person asking for it. Spec work is the term applied to doing design work with the hope that the client or prospective client will like it and pay you for it. If they don’t like it, they don’t pay. I’ve touched on this topic before in I am not a toaster.

Any good designer will refuse to submit work on spec. Professional associations including the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RGDO) and AIGA, its American counterpart, prohibit members from participating in spec work.

Join the conversation. I’d love to hear your comments.