Saying "No" to Design Contests

Updated 2/24/22

We've all experienced it. A company approaches you about a contest, or you see a "call for artists" on Instagram. This is a "huge opportunity" and the artists will "get a ton of exposure!” So what's wrong with this situation? The answer is... a lot. The majority of the time these companies are asking artists to design artwork upfront, with no payment. It's only the chosen artist that wins some cash, a gift card, or something else that's pretty lame- and, typically, it doesn’t end in the designer’s ‘big break’ like a company’s marketing department might make you think it will. We see this happen all the time, and it has to stop!

Design contests prey on new designers.

Every artist dreams of having their work seen by the masses, and companies know this. They pay their marketing department a ton of money to package design contests in flashy colors and carefully chosen buzz words, promoting it with a sense of urgency all together screams: “SEND IN YOUR BEST DESIGN BEFORE SOMEONE BEATS YOU TO IT! YOU COULD ACTUALLY WIN THIS!” 

There are so many things wrong with this, on so many levels. 

As a new designer you are no stranger to the hustle and you know how to work hard. You always have your eyes and ears open and you jump at every opportunity for experience. You’re feeling proactive and doing everything right! Then, you scroll through Instagram and see a post for a design contest, see all the comments, the buzzwords, all the hype, and… you’re not feeling so great anymore. Do you instantly feel behind? Like you’re not doing enough? Like everyone else is working harder than you and wtf, I need to get my work seen by big companies, like, yesterday? 

This is how these companies who ask for free work want you to feel, whether they admit this to themselves or not. By marketing their design contests as your next big break, the only thing they’re trying to do is save themselves some money. When thousands of new designers go through the same shame-guilt-produce cycle that design contests unknowingly facilitate, send in free work, and then cross their fingers and wait… they have all just lost an untold number of hours that they should have been getting paid for - and this is why the starving artist stereotype lives on. It sets a bad precedent for new designers and artists that don't know any better. Billion dollar companies asking for free work is not okay. 

The most valuable thing artists and designers have are their ideas, and those shouldn't be given to companies for free.

Let us reiterate, because it’s really important: Billion dollar companies asking for free work is not okay. They don’t need you to do them a favor and send in your great ideas. Those aren’t easy to come by, and we all know this!!! 

If what you’ve read here so far still hasn’t convinced you that it’s time to say “no” to design contests, maybe this will: buried deep in the fine print of design entry applications, a lot of companies have language that states that they own the copyright to every custom design entry.

What does this mean? It means that once you send it in, you are not legally allowed to use your own design anywhere else… but they can, and they can make money off of it, EVEN IF YOU DON’T WIN. Just by entering a contest, you have given these companies access to potentially thousands of dollars of free work. This is predatory behavior, and you are too smart and too talented to fall prey to it. 

We need to know our value.

So, how do we stop design contests and the stereotype it perpetuates? As artists, designers, painters, and illustrators, we need to know our value. We need to say "no". If we all said "no" to these contests, companies would have a hard time putting them on. It's our job to educate them and explain that we do not do work for free. 

Here at Pandr, we never miss an opportunity to try to educate a company who is putting on a contest that asks for free work. If you come across a contest in the future, we urge you to say something as well! Speak up and advocate for artists.

Here is a sample email template that we encourage you to use to help educate companies on why free design contests are hurting artists:

“Dear _____________,

My name is ___________ and I am a __________. I am reaching out to let you know that I was planning on applying to your _________ competition but then noticed that you require designs upfront. As a _________, I feel that this is unfair to ask of applicants. You should be able to tell from an artist’s existing portfolio if they’re a good fit for the project or not. Instead, you’re asking artists to work for free and this further perpetuates the starving artist stereotype. I urge you to rethink the requirements for this application.

Thank you,

__________”

Companies can speak up, too.

If, by chance, you are reading this and work for a company that has facilitated a design contest asking for free designs - it’s okay. It’s not too late to speak up, and you are in a great position to help make a big difference. If your company wants custom design work, suggest they run a contest for new artists that require them to send in their portfolio. Then, companies can go through each application and choose the artist whose style they like the best.

We believe that growing a great company means more than just making money; it’s also about creating jobs, resources, and opportunities for others to benefit from. When a company pays a new artist for their work, it has a ripple effect. Besides making some money to pay the bills, it can validate an artist’s worth and can lay the foundation for them to start valuing their work, and operating under the assumption that they deserve to be paid for it.

If you think your company can do better, and you want some help in pitching a healthier way to work with new artists to your boss, send us an email at pandrdesignco@gmail.com! We want to help, and can provide you with stats and language to back up your case.

Your work is worth $$$!

So, there you have it. Design contests, and actually any type of spec work, are perpetuating the starving artist stereotype (we’ll never stop saying it!). It is unethical to ask artists to create work upfront without payment, plain and simple. If companies want custom artwork, they can choose a designer from their existing portfolios. OR, even better, they can seek out the perfect artist and hire them directly - no contest needed!

Now… what to do with all those hours you will be saving by saying “no” to design contests? Get PAID! Our Outreach Email and Presentation Template will walk you through putting together an outreach PDF presentation, provide email templates, and explain how to do outreach- so you can introduce yourself to big jobs and bigger money.

Download our Outreach Email and Presentation Template

Have you participated in a free design contest before? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments!