99 Designs Wins Webby
I’ve commented before on the danger and widespread damage that competitive crowd sourcing can wreak on the design industry. Yet, some deemed it necessary to give some of these cowboys an award for their work.
But that’s Ok. Every industry has an award or two for what they deem to be the best of the best. Some are voted by the people, some are elected by peers. Some people welcome them with loving arms, while others prefer to stay home and shrug. “Hey, I was just doing my job.”. I, for one, would jump at the chance to demand being called Sir, or have some useless trophy clutter up my mantel piece, but some people wouldn’t -
- Keith Richards didn’t want CBE after his name. Maybe he thought it was an Inland Revenue trap.
- Marlon Brando was offered an Oscar for Best Actor in 1972, but it was an offer he actually could refuse.
- Sinead O’Connor declined to accept the award for Best Alternative Music Performance for “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” in 1990. And she didn’t get what she didn’t want.
- David Bowie turned down the opportunity to be called Sir David Bowie in 2003. Perhaps he didn’t want to change the lyrics to ‘Sir Ziggy played guitar’…
… and the list goes on, with a different real reason for each. So it would appear that getting an award is not as prestigious as it may appear. After all, these people have already been rewarded for the work they did. One more figurine in a basement cardboard box has little meaning.
I’m not going to get bent out of shape about it. And no, I’m not jealous! However, when I saw who else has been awarded Some Kind of Better Than You thing at the Brit Awards, I felt a whole lot better.
If Lady Gaga can be deemed Best International Female Artist, then I can live quite content with the idea that thousands of designers will not get paid, while one website gets an award for bringing mediocrity to the masses.
Meanwhile, it is very important to note that Spec Work hurts clients, it hurts designers and it reduces the quality of customer service and brand building that is essential to your business.
Find out more about Spec work, right here.