aquent site redesign-spec work
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- Josev0
The AIGA has sent Aquent a formal response.
- Do you happen to know where they sent that?Aquentminister
- OK. I've seen it.Aquentminister
- ********0
ID HIT IT
- ********0
$500 bucks goes along way in India!
- I think this is a good point. Is outsourcing design to India or Malaysia bad as well?Aquentminister
- Yes, if you want to undermine the American economy and American design jobs.hedgehog
- I've had Indian design firms contact me for oursource work and while it may be cheaper, I refuse as I'd rather send my outsource work to quality designers that I know and work with and pay them a fair wage.hedgehog
- I'd rather send my outsource work to quality designers I know and pay them a fair wagehedgehog
- This is why we should be supporting shared values. Respect for proper process and for the profession as a whole does not end at our borders.Josev
- does not end at our borders. We should be setting a standard.Josev
- agreed, everyone should get a fair wage.hedgehog
- I think that standards and ethics are not enough - you need actual agreements, laws, and treatiesAquentminister
- "you need actual agreements, laws, and treaties" Is that a joke?Josev
- not a joke, I'm serious - shared ethics are not and will not stop globalizationAquentminister
- Aquentminister0
I'm still reading. Still sorry - not that "we got caught," but that we did something that people find totally fucked up. Feeling pretty idiotic for not having foreseen it.
- ********0
What's odd to me is that you had such lack of respect for your own brand that you would be happy to just throw it out there and see what 500 bucks could get you - surely someone at Aquent has a clue about IA / UI and marketing and realises that actually it may be worth spending sometime and money on with a team of professionals rather than random people on the web.
- again, this whole process serves to communicate their lack of understanding of several aspects of the design process, usability, and brand management to the design community.johndiggity
- I understand that you interpret this as a lack of understanding of the design process. I view it as lack of understanding of the communities strong aversion to this.Aquentminister
- community's strong feelings about contests like this.Aquentminister
- that seems to be your big problem.johndiggity
- Matt, I think Max's point was that there is NO process in contests like this. That's one of the reasons we hate them...not to mention the pay sucks.sintaxera
- to mention the pay sucks. We thought Aquent would have known the value of good design...you know, repping designers and all.sintaxera
- designers and all.
(damn these comment boxes dont fit alot!)sintaxera - not that it matters now, but does everyone know that participants can and do communicate with contest holders?Aquentminister
- holders? I think part of my problem is that we're not always talking about the same thingsAquentminister
- duckofrubber0
QBN changing the world? 2012 is coming up fast then.
*dodges brimstone, scoops up four horses' shitpiles
- *also surprised at the lack of NSFW in this thread.duckofrubber
- monkeyshine0
Hey Nic et al,
I understand your upset and anger...Friday I was so pissed off. But...I think when someone steps forward and admits they are wrong (even if it's because they underestimated how many cages would be rattled by their actions) it is more fruitful to be open and encourage a dialog. Everyone makes mistakes. A famous designer (whose name escapes me right now) once said that if we never allow ourselves to make mistakes, to fail, then how can we ever succeed?It was a really stupid mistake but a mistake nonetheless. This incident touched on something that we designers are very sensitive about and subjected too time and again. There is an opportunity here to emphasize the value of design and educate.
- Agreed...but why should we have to educate a company who's business is built around design?Lt_Jack_Hammer
- that is exactly why you should. they aren't going away and their business model is about representing designers.monkeyshine
- This was not a mistake, it was complete miss understanding of the design industry and it's values.********
- not sure I understand the difference between a mistake and a misunderstandingAquentminister
- design_bitch0
well put, monkeyshine. i think i'm also more encouraged now by the fact that there were so many assertive people here and also helping me feel not so alone in the constant battle of designer v. client and just defending the design community in general.
makes you kind of wonder about the other issues we are capable of changing by voicing our opinions.
here's to you, the designer (and other creatives of course).
- +1 . I was so encouraged, amazed and proud of my peers. We stepped up and made a difference. :)monkeyshine
- OSFA0
well mates, I think our job here is done....
shall we go on to craigslist now??
- hello_steph0
Aquent has been such a waste of my time. The Toronto office just doesn't get my work and they are so bad at selling me to clients. WTF
- letters20
Mistake was made. Mistake was corrected. While its true that most of us didn't expect this kind of mistake from this particular company it doesnt change the fact that it was a mistake. They listened, they disagreed, they understood an alternative perspective and then they corrected their mistake. Could they do more? Sure, one can often do more to correct an error - however I think this kind of turnaround shows some real humility and isn't an easy thing to swallow...
- Meeklo0
Interesting read, I didn't knew what aquent was till I saw this thread, but I think something positive grew out of this thread, or at least designers got together to voice their opinions against something that we (and I would like to include myself) consider unethical, I'm proud of all of those here that had expressed themselves without insulting, some of the responses here were incredibly polite and mature, and for that reason alone I'm glad I'm part of this community.
I think insults and bad personal experiences related to aquent, and unrelated to the title should be left out of this thread.
I think aquent deserves recognition for coming here, listening to the community and deciding to take an alternative solution to the spec work contest. That right there sends a positive message to me.
- kld0
I got 99 things to design but this bitch ain’t one.
- gramme0
I hate Aquent. Actually, I hate all head-hunting agencies in our field. They're sharks, all of them.
- ephix0
its quite clear that Aquent have hired the wrong guy.
- gramme0
...And I see that it's all been said an well covered before my arrival. Nice work to the articulate among us.
- gramme0
At any rate, Matt publicly apologized, as well as canning the contest. What long-term effect this has on Aquent's reputation, I can't say. But at least the guy didn't retreat into hiding, and I respect him for that.
And on a tangential note, It's great to see QBN function the way it was originally intended. If we aren't careful, people might start taking us as seriously as the likes of Design Observer... ;)
- ukit0
I was thinking about this last night, and I think it's easy to get caught up in new trends and buzzwords in our industry. "Crowdsourcing" etc. After reading some of Matt's blog, I don't think there was any deliberate attempt to undermine designers. After all, Aquent depends on people like us for their business.
I do think this idea in a larger sense - pulling together creative ideas from a lot of people at once - has a place. But we need to find a way to compensate people fairly too. Not sure how we achieve both ends right now. The 99 designs model is kind of like throwing a piece of meat into a cage of hungry rabid dogs.
- design_bitch0
i was just talking to a friend of mine and i'm curious to know what you guys think about the future of design as we know it. although the wal-mart effect of the business seems inevitable, what are the things we shouldnt compromise? i'm already tired of battling against Logoworks and the other template driven companies. how else do we educate other people on the business side of our value? what can we do better?
what do you guys do to address this?
- Do you have your own blog?
You sound very insightful.SoulFly - actually no lol. just talk to a good friend of mine about this all of the time :) curious if everyone else is on the same thoughtdesign_bitch
- Do you have your own blog?