Quote:
Originally Posted by Table 5
On a basic level, you're right, nobody is being forced to enter. But you have to realize that as a whole, the design industry is too many times being asked to work for this magical carrot that rarely materializes in the end.
A lot of students and juniors will jump on this. And on many levels I can understand why...they want to prove their worth. But this will be the first of many in the cycle of "this will be great for your portfolio!" or "there will be more work after this" that they will face that inevitably goes nowhere. Every designer out there has a book's worth of stories of being screwed, whether it be out of money and credit.
If 200 designers enter a contest, and only 1 person is successful and gets paid... how exactly is this good for the design industry? Would any other industry be ok with this?
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Is this a function of supply and demand? Are there so many designers, artists, actors, singers, etc. that the most efficient and cost effective way to get through it all is to hold contests and auditions? It's tough to blame a client on setting it up as a contest when there are so many people willing to work for it. It's basically the opposite of a union, who won't do any work unless it's specifically written out.
It seems like this is a known risk on entering the industry. Actors know they have to audition. Designers know they will be doing some work for free. It's not really different than other professions. Articling CA and law students know they are going to be working extremely long hours, making very little wages, while the partners make large earnings. We know what we are getting into, and go about it because the rewards out weigh the risks. It's not even that dissimilar to athletes doing tryouts to make teams. It's not identical, but not that far off.
I'm not saying you shouldn't want to be paid; I wouldn't do my job if I wasn't paid. I am saying I don't see how you call this unethical. You can call it cheap, greedy, etc., but unethical is the wrong word. Unethical would be having the contest, declaring all the ideas crap, and then modifying your favourite just a bit. When the designer complains, you tell them to sue you, knowing they don't have the funds to do it.