aquent site redesign-spec work
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- SoulFly0
This person Matthew now has to put a "spin" on the whole thing.
I bet there were so many Aquent workers whispering to themselves "What is this guy doing?" before he created this fiasco.
- epete220
i hate all these creative recruiting agencies popping up. They all suck. they are all shady and they all lie.
- ukit0
Indeed...it's rather ironic that Aquent has several AIGA videos posted on their site dedicated to recognizing the "value of design" as well as "design ethics."
- lorac770
I want to know what the "affiliation" is between the two. It seems as if the two have very different perspectives on design ethics and should not be affiliated just for the sake of promoting each other if Aquent doesnt have respect for the AIGA's stance on protecting their designers. Besides, Aquent is too lazy to coordinate a discount to AIGA members who are Aquent talent, even though Ive mentioned this several times in the past. So much for an affiliation...
- GammaRay0
I agree 100% with everything here (as far as Aquent being in the wrong on this) but we're coming at it from a flawed angle...
Aquent never was and never will be "about the designers"...it's all about making money...that's all they've ever been and all they ever will be. We're treating it as if they used to be some giant advocate for our cause and now they've gone against everything they were ever about. They only sponsor AIGA to appear to be on our side...to look good. It's like big oil sponsoring Earth Day so people forget that they're part of what's polluting our environment..."Oh, well, they sponsor Earth Day so they can't be that bad...maybe I had oil wrong all along." Same logic.
Aquent has employees who's sole job is to scour the design job boards and nab up anything and everything they can before individual designers (or other staffing firms) get a chance. If you're an individual designer looking on your own for work you don't realize it but you're viewing far fewer jobs then you would be if Aquent wasn't beating you to the punch...also, they staff creative departments exclusively for some pretty big corporations. I know at one time you couldn't get a job in Gillette's creative department unless you went through Aquent because they staffed the entire thing.
If you land a job through them and get paid $30 an hour they will actually be charging the client $45 an hour...$15 dollars an hour, every hour you work for that client, when, essentially, their job began and ended once you started for that client. Sure they have payroll costs, etc and the recruiters have to get paid too but, seriously, $15/hr on top of what I'm getting when I'm now the one doing all of the work? Also, let's not even get in to what they charge if the client wants to hire you away from Aquent...that is a VERY large sum.
- akrokdesign0
aquent can't even confirm appointments as they are dumb fucks.
- monNom0
who's going to be the first person to insert an anus into their comp?
- epete220
pathetic.
- monkeyshine0
Seriously, the more I think about this and the glib tone of Aquent's response, makes my blood boil. I think every designer should pressure AIGA to put the screws to Aquent. Aquent needs AIGA more than AIGA needs them.
- Iggyboo0
I posted : " By Aquent actively participating in running a design contest on a site that makes a business off of spec work being sold; aren't you positioning Aquent to profit off of spec work and actually taking a stance to approve of Spec work in general?
I think request for proposals genuinely are different than spec work, mainly because larger entities ( IE businesses entire studios ) take the risk of competing for RFP's. Of course there are plenty of freelancer's that compete for RFP's as well but that's all for business that's much greater than sum's of $500 dollars or less. That's like 1 or 2 billable VP hour(s) on the job btw. and generally higher up's write these briefs or at least have their hand in them.
I dunno I thought better of Aquent I thought you guys protected designers prior to this and that's what your company lose when designer's see you competing on these sites; An active change in their perception of your organization regardless of your businesses actual stance."
- monkeyshine0
I just posted a response to his comments. His comments about RFPs are just lame. And that he questions AIGA's position on spec work? This makes me feel that if AIGA doesn't step up I'll cancel my membership.
- ukit0
Here is what else he had to say:
Ian - I appreciate your passion on this subject but respectfully disagree with you for two reasons.
First of all, I question the equation of this, or any contest, with spec work. No one has to enter if they don't want to and, frankly, there is the potential for everyone involved to be compensated either by winning the prize or via feedback on their design work, which I have been providing, or by coming to the attention of Aquent's recruiters.
Second of all, I question the AIGA et al's opposition to spec work. Many AIGA members have been emailing me the same position statement about spec work, all of which include the line: "We encourage you to reconsider holding this contest, and instead issue a Request For Proposals from qualified design professionals."
Have you ever worked on or submitted an RFP? Do you realize how much effort (time, energy, and money) goes into that? Do you realize how little the "losers" in these competitions are compensated? RFPs ARE spec work (and, given the number of hoops you have to jump through and the nature of the information you are asked to provide, can even be worse).
I think the only legitimate argument against this contest is the one made in that No-Spec post you included: Contests are not a good way to get good design. This may in fact be true, though there is the chance (and the odds probably aren't as bad as the lottery's) that something good might come of it.
Anxious to hear your response. I have some other thoughts that I'll post on my blog.
matt
- AngArtist0
"Take a stab at redesigning their homepage?" So they are going to make a handful of designers spend hours on a design knowing that they may not get paid for their hard work? And then Aquent gets a lot of comps to choose from for free. And if there is one that they like, they are only out a measly $500. How nice. Makes me sick. Aquent should be ashamed. I'm sorry, but Matt Grant's BS is only to make him feel better. There is nothing good about what they are doing.
- ukit0
Would be nice if a few from here could take the time to comment on that Facebook page.
- digdre0
how about we all enter the contest if one of us wins, we back out!
- Josev0
From Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aq…"As the person who launched this contest, I appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
I also share the design community's suspicion, to put it lightly, of "spec" work or contests like these more generally. I would however, ask you to think about it differently.
First of all, I view this as an experiment. What can we get if we take this approach? We could get a bunch of junk, which would reinforce the idea that you can't get good design this way. Maybe we'll get something good. Maybe someone who wouldn't otherwise have the chance to show their stuff will get noticed. Who knows?
Second of all, we're not asking anyone to build an entire site, rebrand Aquent, create a new corporate identity, etc.. In effect, we're asking if anyone would like to take a little time and rearrange our homepage. If you have time and wouldn't mind winning a modest sum, why not give it a go?
In fact, come to think of it, we could have created a Flash game allowing people to rearrange the homepage and submit their new page to us. I bet people would take a stab at it without a prize even being offered!
Or maybe we should do something a little different, but frame it in terms of self-promotion. Maybe we should say this to all the web designers we represent: "Want a chance to show off your work? If you'd like to take a stab at redesigning our homepage, just do it and send us a jpg. We're going to be experimenting with various designs in the coming months, and, if we like yours, we'll put it into our testing rotation. It would be a great way to feature your work!"
Oddly enough, I don't think we would get grief for doing that, although the main difference between that approach and the current one is that it would be free!
I await my lambasting.
Matt Grant"
- ukit0
Can someone repost here? I'm too lazy to go Facebook.
- Josev0
The guy who posted the job, "Aquent Minister" or Matthew Grant, posted a comment on the Aquent facebook profile explaining his thinking behind the contest. He ends the comment with "I await my lambasting."
- ukit0
"Crowdsourcing" is just another word for "slavery."