As a design company, early on we took the approach that we wouldn’t undertake speculative work. For whatever reason there seems to be a trend when commissioning design services, to ask companies to produce work before a contract has been agreed to. The No!Spec website highlights all the main reasons why, as creatives, we shouldn’t be undertaking speculative work, as well as detailing what we mean my speculative work.

Aside from all of the reasons highlighted on the No!Spec website, we got to thinking, ‘In what other industry does this practice of creating work, in the hope of getting paid for it, take place?’ - Do we need to start taking our car to 3 separate garages to have it repaired and then only pay the one we thought did a good job?