Say no to spec.

Earlier this week I dealt with an issue that many in the creative world face on a regular basis. I received an RFP for a publication redesign and within its list of requirements was this statement:

To be considered for this position, candidates should submit a simplified designed prototype of  X that includes a cover story, one feature spread, one news spread, and one social page. Text and photos will be provided. The prototype should be created using design elements that the candidate feels will best achieve the goals and outlines set forth in this document.

This, my friends, is called spec work. The only required response in this situation is one word:

No.

My hope is that every designer who receives this RFP has the confidence to respond with exactly that. However, I gave it some thought and drafted a more articulate response.

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Dear X,

I read through your proposal and would like to address the process in which you are using. What you have labeled as a “prototype” in our industry is referred to as Spec Work—of which I, and the majority of design professionals, am ethically opposed to performing. Not only is this concept detrimental to our industry, profession, and community as a whole, I want to let you know why it’s an ineffective way to go about finding a design partner for your publication.

1. What you are in need of is brand development for your new publication and to properly design and develop a strategic brand, it needs to be grounded in research and problem solving. Without a clear understanding of your objectives any design or potential names submitted would be superficial and a futile exercise in decoration resulting in a decision based on those traits alone.

2. Requesting work for free demonstrates a lack of respect for the designer and the design process, and a lack of understanding and respect for the value of effective design as well as the time of the professionals who are asked to provide it. This approach, therefore, reflects on your organizational practices and standards and may be harmful to the professional reputation of both you and your business.

3. You are opening up yourself to issues concerning intellectual property and legal action. Consider if at launch your new publication looks anything like that of one of the rejected designs—what will that designer have to say?

I know it is challenging to evaluate designers when our range of past work and experience can be so different. However, the most efficient way to do so is to ask us to submit examples of our work from previous assignments along with a statement of how we would approach yours. Judge us based on our ability to solve problems and on our ability to get results for other clients.

Instead of thinking about what the designer will create you should be asking how the designer will arrive at their solution. What is their process? How do they work with their clients? In the end, this approach ensures a more successful, professional, and evaluable response for everyone involved.

If you would like to work with me through a process that will benefit you most and maintain the high business standards I expect of my clients, let me know. Your consideration of these professional design issues is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Carrie Walters

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I realize now this email was a wasted effort since their reply was just as vapid ( “this is how we’ve always done it” is not a valid argument). However, since I know this is an issue that too many designers face I thought I’d post it here. Feel free to copy and paste my response the next time you are asked to work for free—if none of us do it, it will stop being expected. Moreover, it is not acceptable, it is not ethical, and any organization that expects you to provide your services in this manner is not deserving of your talent.

For more resources on the no spec stance, please check out: 

• No Spec
• The AIGA position on spec work.
• And my personal favorite, this video:

Stay strong and just say no to spec.

731 days of freedom and keeping it real

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On April 22, 2014, I hit publish on this little blog post, effectively sending Carrie, Ink from "fun little side project" to "this is what I do now." If it weren't for the inarguable nature of my calendar, I'd be hard-pressed to believe that day was two full years ago. Time flies when you're having fun—or trying to remember to have fun. 

How about a year two recap?

I'm not going to lie, this second year of Carrie, Ink has had its ups and downs. You wouldn't know it from my lack of blogging and embarrassingly out of date portfolio, but it was also an insanely busy year. 

The good

At this point last year my team and I were gathering the last bits and pieces of content for 804ork, Vol. 2—right on schedule. I had just started mentoring other entrepreneurs and business owners with Thrive. And I had the second half of 2015 booked with client work. 

In May, I even squeezed in two business trips to NYC—the first for 99U, the second to attend NSS. I made new friends, met people I admire, and became truly inspired. 

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1) That time I sort of broke into MoMA 2) 99U swag 3) That time I met @swissmiss 4) NSS awesomeness by Easy Tiger 5) and Bespoke Letterpress 6) Paper Party Photo Booth fun 

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It was also right around this time I woke up to the brutal reality that was my plan.

The bad

On paper, it all looked feasible. I blocked out a break in my client work to accommodate the 804ork schedule. I outlined every milestone of the design process and felt like I knew exactly what I was doing this time around. I lugged around 4GB of photos to edit in airports, on trains, in hotel rooms at 1 am. I thought for sure I had given myself enough time to get everything done. 

In reality, projects had gotten off-schedule and still needed to be wrapped. New projects popped up: opportunities I didn't want to pass up, people I felt obligated to help. Oh yeah—then I decided to redesign the entire format of the book and grossly underestimated the time it would take to do so. 

I spent months pushing myself harder than I have ever pushed before. The result was the record turnaround of 224 meticulously designed pages, published just in time for holiday shopping. And week after week of my calendar looking like this (see below).

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The good: a final product!

The bad: Those measly little green areas? Yeah, those were my blocks of free time—also known as working out. Ugh.

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I'm not going to sugarcoat this—things got ugly. 

How ugly?

By the time I approved the last set of proofs in late July, I was spent. I also needed to jump right back into major client projects that I had already lined up. Should I have taken a break? Absolutely. But given the fact I not only lose many, many billable hours during the 804ork design phase but that I also fund the entire project, this wasn't an option. My client work suffered, and so did I. 

This sure sounds like a lot of complaining.

My apologies. Only in the past month have I felt as though I'm caught up from everything that started a year ago. Now that I can look back and evaluate what went down there's one thing I know for sure—I don't want to do it again.

For the past few months, I've been reassessing my business model and thinking of ways I can improve my services and products—not only for my wellbeing but also for my clients' benefit. What bothered me most about what happened last year was feeling like I was letting them down. Projects took longer than they should have and I let the chaos drive my schedule and affect my process. This simply cannot happen. 

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On the bright side: New office design.

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Day 732

Have I figured it all out? Heck no!

Will I figure it out? You betcha! 

There are great things on the horizon for Carrie, Ink—and hopefully you all will be getting a taste of what's to come real soon. But not today. Today I'm rereading what I wrote two years ago and remembering why I started it all in the first place. 

The Print Magazine love continues!

As I was reading through my feed this morning a headline brought me to Print Magazine. After skimming a quick interview with a designer I admire, I clicked over to the homepage in an attempt to procrastinate a little longer. Instead, I was greeted with this—not a bad way to start the week. 

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This is the first time the full article they published on 804ork has been reposted. Head on over to Print Magazine for the full story. 

Here's an excerpt:

It was important to Walters that everyone involved felt the freedom to flex their creative muscles. For instance, although she would share a vision with the photographers for the types of shots she hoped to acquire, she never went to photoshoots, as she wanted the artists to have fun and not feel “art directed to death.” The chefs also presented dishes as they normally would in their restaurants. “No props, no styling—we let the chefs show off their dishes the same way they do every night,” Walters says.

This approach was clearly the right recipe for this Best of Region winner.

Christmas Vacation with my iPad Pro

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In hindsight, I may have gotten a little carried away designing our Christmas cards. 

Throughout the year, I’ve been working on my hand-lettering skills with a handful of side projects. I’m planning on launching a new version of this after the holidays, but otherwise, most of these project have stayed within the confines of my sketchbooks.

When my iPad Pro arrived in November, I knew I needed to find a way to justify the not-super-necessary splurge. I began dabbling in Adobe Sketch, and by the time my Apple Pencil finally arrived I had gotten pretty comfortable with it. Like most designers, I started practicing with sayings and famous quotes. As the holidays approached, my inspiration became a bit more focused.

Here are some shots of my little side project. I shipped out a big batch of full sets to friends, family, and some clients who I knew I couldn’t offend.

I’m pretty psyched with the final product, and I think my skills have been getting better—but you can be the judge of that!

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Here's the full set!

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I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Vacation, and we’ll catch up in 2016!

The last minute gift guide for Richmonders (and everyone else)

I’ve seen a handful of gift guides pop up over the past couple of weeks, and short of this one they mostly require a lot of planning or going to a mall, which even I cannot tolerate this time of year.

Given I haven’t done much of any shopping yet, I figured I’d put together a list of my recommendations for things I have bought for people* recently. Most of these are available locally, so bonus points for procrastinators!

*I’m people. Note: There is some shameless self-promotion in this list, so—too bad.

For the stationery lovers

1. Adorable pencil box and pencil sets from Mongrel. 2. There are only TWO of these bags left! 3. I’m not sure if you can find this one locally or not, but I still had to include it. Anything from this guy’s site is awesome. 4. Get creative and box together a collection of greeting cards. I found this cardboard recipe box at a craft store and all of the cards came from my friends at PaperFreckles.

For the crafty types

5. Mast Brothers complete 2015 collection. So—this one is a little pricey for why I recommend it (the paper), but you get to eat chocolate while you make things! 6. A subscription to Uppercase Magazine. This publication is a gem. Every issue comes with some little surprise and tons of inspiration. 7. Pick up a new hobby! The classes at Studio23 would make a great gift for pretty much anyone. 8. You can never have too many notebooks.

For the craftsman

9. Stop into Studio23 and check out their collection of one-of-a-kind prints, products, and all sorts of other cool stuff… like 10. Tea towels! 11. My friend Erin of Awl Snap is the coolest. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything she makes, but this Black Leather and Waxed Denim Weekender is killer. 12. As are these new Block Zip Wallets. The last time I ran into Erin she had just finished making this prototype. I couldn’t stop admiring it—which meant I was basically going through her wallet.

For the nerds

13. I grabbed myself a copy of this book a few months ago, and it is genius. As of this morning, Chop Suey has six copies left. 14. People seem to like this one. 15. For kids and big kids, this one is such a treat. Pick up a copy at bbgb and snap a color-coordinating bear rug Instagram while you're there. 16. Last but not least, John and Sherry knocked it out of the park again with their new book. Matt and I were honored to have our house included—and Marco is demanding an agent. Pick up copies at Chop Suey and other local bookstores.

Happy shopping!!