Crowdsourcing: Sabotaging our value
Designers go to school to learn a craft and thus become well educated and proficient in their respective field. When a bank like Citigroup or a law firm like Cravath, Swaine & Moore hire a graduate from a prestigious college, they are willing to pay that employee a hefty salary as they will receive a higher return from him versus a candidate who is not as well trained. This model should also apply to the design industry. Spec work and crowdsourcing are ultimately disgracing a designer’s education, training, natural talent, and yes, the value of work he or she produces. This in turn lessens the conceptual and strategic value that would have gone into the client’s final product or solution.
Amen.
