Despite the summer heat, Portland’s creative community is incensed. What’s going on?
Designgate
On July 13th, the City of Portland launched the PortlandOnline.com Design Concept Contest, which started on July 19th and which is part of the larger and much-needed Refresh Project to redesign the 100K+ page site. Essentially, the contest invites individual designers or firms to submit speculative proposals for the website concept. Every submission becomes City property. The winner will be compensated by 1) a 12-month placement of a footer text link on the redesigned website and 2) public recognition in the redesign publicity.
The ensuing (hashtagless) Twitterstorm was immediate and severe – four-letter as well as multisyllabic. A number of blog posts (and many comments) from several corners – designers and techies and agency executives – offered scathing critism of the City’s move. Almost universally, the City’s action offended members of Portland’s creative community because it suggested, among other things, that the City, which has a budget for the redesign, doesn’t value their work.
The following week, on July 21st, a roundtable took place to discuss the City’s move and the community’s response (see the event write-up and video and Twitter discussion), with another discussion to follow next week. It’s likely the issue will be formally raised with the City.
Chris Anderson can say all he wants, but the good people of the People’s Republic of Portland know their capitalism, or at least the money part. And though cattle-call RFPs are certainly a way of doing business, I find that ignoring them directs my energy into more productive activities and battles.
Spec work and Portland’s sustainability
Spec work is subject to lively discussion in the creative circles, with the con camp a much more energetic presence than the pro camp. Portland’s creatives seems to be overwhelmingly against the practice as well. I won’t rehash the many issues with the contest – just click through the above links – but I will put my name under the no-spec banner from the sustainability standpoint.
According to its Economic Development Strategy, adopted just days before the contest was posted, the City of Portland aims to “build the world’s most sustainable economy”, defining a sustainable economy as one “that creates wealth and health for people and restores the environment”. A spec work contest with practically no compensation is certainly no way to start that journey.
The financial aspect should be obvious: the unwillingness to compensate any contractor’s hard, quality work defies the idea of fair wages and prosperity creation the City espouses. Intentional or not, the disrespect the City and the contest rules show for Portland designers’ passion, work, and livelihoods, goes against the tenets of community building the City so heartily promotes. While everything around the contest is to take place online, thus saving some resources, the energy spent discussing the issue could have been used much more productively for the good of our fine city.
Part of the Economic Development Strategy is the development of brand Portland:
“Portland is home to a host of internationally-known design and advertising firms and will seek their expertise in developing a branding and marketing strategy. Despite an undeniable reputation as a leader in sustainability, Portland lags other cities in the focus and sophistication of its message. Leveraging the design talent in the city should help to level the playing field.”
Designgate makes me wonder what kind of brand the City will really be building and how. I also wonder how the creative services community can help the City balance its commitment to sustainability and the redesign requirements.
What do you think? Whether you’ve been following Designgate or not, what would you say to Portland’s creatives and to the City of Portland?
