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Kattwinkel Provides Legal Guidance for Design Professionals: The Trouble with Design Competitions

OWE’s Linda Joy Kattwinkel recently published the latest installment of her Legalities column for AIGASF  entitled “The Trouble with Design Competitions.”  A synopsis of the article is set out below.  Full text is available here.

“Design contests have always been around. Traditionally, contests have been accepted as a way for non-profit organizations, who could not afford professional design fees, to get good design work. Designers were happy to participate for various reasons. Some considered it part of their commitment to contributing to non-profit causes; some, especially students and young designers, saw them as a way to gain experience, and to produce professional work for their portfolios, to enhance their visibility and marketability to paying clients. Lately, however, contests and other forms of “spec” work are commonly employed even by for-profit corporations, even though they have traditionally understood the value of paying for good design and are clearly able to do so.”

Legalities is hosted by AIGASF.   The San Francisco chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, is one of the largest and most active in the country, representing over 1,600 designers in graphics, interaction, experience, motion, and affiliated fields in the Greater Bay Area.

 

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