There are a lot of design contests going on right now...and the momentum seems to be building. There's also a lot of grousing on the part of designers all over the world, as manifested by initiatives like No!Spec, which ohTwentyone supports. It's a hot topic wherever thoughtful and conscientious designers are gathered.

This morning I received an email from Don't Mess With Texas, an anti-littering campaign, soliciting entries for a contest to design a limited edition litter bag of "over 200,000."

Reducing litter is an admirable goal, and we know that it's their intention to generate publicity, not take paying work away from designers, but we're getting really tired of people treating our profession like a PR Piñata, so I quickly wrote out the following response. Let me know what you think:

Katherine,

Hi. Thanks for taking the time to contact us.

We won't be entering the contest. Here's why:

While we understand that this probably isn't taking paying work away from designers, and that it's intended to generate publicity for Don't Mess With Texas' anti-littering campaign, we're of the opinion that design contests erode the legitimacy of the design profession.

As I said, we realize that this isn't a situation where a contest is taking place instead of hiring and paying a designer, which is why I'm not sending you the standard AIGA anti-spec letter about the value of a relationship with a designer who takes the time to understand your objectives, and deliver more than ornamentation, etc...

Our primary objection comes from a general feeling in the public that design contests ARE an acceptable substitute for a relationship with a designer, or that the process of developing a design solution can be reduced to, essentially, shopping. Well-meaning publicity stunts involving design reinforce that idea, and it's damaging not only the profession, but our culture as a whole.

A secondary point to consider is that holding a contest is going to limit the quality of your submissions by eliminating the most in-demand designers. There are lots of great, well-known Texas designers who would probably design bags pro-bono if asked nicely...but they're not going to enter a contest. It's not a good use of their time.

I hope this will be taken in the spirit it is offered, as the beginning of a constructive dialog, and not as one preachy jerk mouthing off about the importance of Capital-D Design.

Also - The link you're distributing leads to a 404 page. The correct link should be: [Link Redacted - They don't need more publicity ;-) ]

Have a great day.

Sincerely,

Jon Sandruck

Principal & Creative Director

ohTwentyone

t: 972.646.0021

http://www.ohTwentyone.com

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea, and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”

~ George Bernard Shaw