21 November 2007

[no_spec] In With the WGA

1137. I know I'm waaaaaay late to the party on this one, but the clip is as funny as hell:

I heartily endorse the WGA's actions.

Now, what does a pipsqueak unemployed graphic designer have in common with WGA members who get paid sometimes beyond my own dreams of avarice (when they're working) and have a much more exciting life than I?

Because, whether or not I'm working as a designer, I believe in the NO!SPEC movement. The WGA strike, while it has nothing to do with spec work, is about the same thing–resisting the need to devalue creative professions. Whether you're paying $100 for a Logoworks logo or not paying creatives royalties on the internet-distributed entertainment that you wouldn't have if they didn't do it, you're trying to get something for nothing–or on the cheap, which is even more damaging.

By expecting creatives to create for less, we express that we want good content, but we're not willing to pay for it. And, in any system, what you get out may be greater than the sum of parts but it's rarely lesser; if you don't put in much, you don't get out much.

Pay creatives what they're worth. Treat professionals like professionals. In that way, the WGA and NO!SPEC are the most natural of allies.

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