Thanks Kroz :) Payment received, files sent.

Thanks DIGITALINK! I appreciate it!

Congrats to Lucy for the "out-of-nowhere" win!

I dont like the way the No Spec people operate, I do understand where they come from, but there are other ways to fight the fight they are supporting. This way is obnoxious. On the other side of things, i have never thought about it in the way Kroz represented his case. I feel for you in many ways. Only because you are such a good designer from what i see in your profile. To not get paid for your skill like you should in your country is flat out wrong! Glad you have another outlet for your skills!

nice design lucy mango #90

but i think you just modify my design.

good thinking kroz. I agree.

I agree with you DL! I'd love for these "NO-SPEC" fighters to try and be a designer in a country such as mine. A 3rd world country, where, most of the time, a logo designer could only be paid about $45 per work. And thats if your lucky! Personally, this site has become a way for me to find value in my graphic design skills. If I had only decided to rely on doing Design Works for local Agencies, I wouldn't be able to provide myself at least three meals a day right now. I would've been piss-poor by now. Additionally, this site is the sole reason why my design skills have reached the level it is right now. This is because 99designs gave me the opportunity to work with international clients and designers which has challenged and motivated me to become a better designer. Try being in my place and lets see if you'd still be unwilling to do what you would call "Spec-Work"!

@andrewwangus
Sorry for using up this space on your message board having that "NO-SPEC" logo on your contest just drives me nuts.

PS.. looking forward to your feedbacks! ;)

Hey, whoever's posting NO-SPEC logos everywhere...in the nicest possible way...sling it!!! I've never been quite so enraged, by a group of seemingly pompous design professionals who have banded together under the banner of this pseudo-guerilla organisation to allegedly protect their beloved industry.

I've been a design professional working in international advertising and design agencies in London for nearly 12 years. Now on the freelance path, trying to grow my own business, I often rely on sites such as 99Designs, not merely for potential income, but also as a base to generate ideas and cross-pollinate thinking with other creatives during 'leaner' periods when regular clients and freelance agencies aren't so busy (such as now, coming up to the end of the financial year when everyone is tightening belts and budgets are practically runnning on vapour).

You cite the fact that designers potentially receive no recompense for their efforts, but yet this is no different to a agencies pitching against one and other for clients, unless you happen to be working back in the 1980's when agencies used to charge for pitches. Designers don;t have to submit work, nor are they tied into doing so to be a member of the website.

You also cite the lack of a 'client-designer' face-to-face relationship harmful to the industry and its standards. However, having worked with several clients from this site, via email and mobile phone, I've had a very clear understanding of the requirements of the brief and the client's expectations. Conversely, the clients have also understood the rationale of my work through clear writing and communication.

All in all, and given that most of the soundbites on the NO-SPEC website come from professionals based within design groups, it strikes me that sites such this have got agencies worried, and too bloody right they should be. They've been overcharging clients for years and this is the backlash.

If businesses are voting with their feet and seeking cheaper design through the internet, perhaps you should ask whether or not the design agencies and their professionals actually have a desirable product any more. And remember, cheaper rates, doesn't have to mean 'cheaper' work.