SAA pitching process criticised by industry

The open letter, signed by 27 design agencies and endorsed by think, was sent to the project administrator at SAA last week after the recent SAA tender was released. Bizcommunity.com has decided to publish the letter in full as it is an important element to document in the continued debate around the protection of intellectual capital in the tendering process and fee issues around tenders like this one.

The letter reads as follows:

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Dear [name removed]

It has been brought to our attention that you are in the process of choosing a design firm to produce communications materials for your organization. We are concerned that your request for proposal includes a solicitation of design concepts to be produced on a speculative basis by the professionals you will be considering.

The approach you are pursuing is one that seriously compromises the quality of work you are entitled to and also violates a tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide.

think (The South African Graphik Design Council) strongly discourages the practice of requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project.

There are several reasons for this position:

1. To assure the client receives the most appropriate and responsive work. Successful design work results from a collaborative process between a client and the designer, developing a clear sense of the client's objectives, competitive situation and needs. Speculative design competitions or processes result in a superficial assessment of the problem and can only result in a design that is judged on a superficial basis. Design creates value for clients as a result of the strategic approach designers take in addressing the problems or needs of the client and only at the end of that process is a 'design' created. Speculative or open competitions for work based on a perfunctory problem statement will not result in the best design solution for the client.

2. Capable and professional designers do not work for free. While there will always be some designers who are willing to create designs in response to an open call for work, without any assurance of compensation, the buyer immediately relegates his or her choices among those designers who are least likely to be experienced, knowledgeable designers, who are in demand among clients, work according to the professional standards of the profession. Quite often, this choice of a less-experienced designer results in a client eventually having to bring a more experienced designer into a project in order to execute it. Of course, this change results in additional expenditures that impact your return on investment in design services.

3. Requesting work for free demonstrates a lack of understanding and respect. Requesting work for free reflects a lack of understanding and respect for the value of effective design as well as the time of the professionals who are asked to provide it. This approach, therefore, reflects on your personal practices and standards and may be harmful to the professional reputation of both you and your business.

There are few professions where all possible candidates are asked to do the work first, allowing the buyer to choose which one to pay. Just consider the response if you were to ask a dozen lawyers to write a brief for you, and you would then choose which one to use and which to pay... Or ask several dentists to work for free until you decide which one you like...

There is an appropriate way to explore the work of various designers.

A more effective and ethical approach to requesting work is to ask designers to submit examples of their work from previous assignments, as well as a statement of how they would approach your project. You can then judge the quality of the designer's previous work and way of thinking about your concerns. When you select a designer, he can begin to work on your project by designing strategic solutions to your criteria while under contract to you, without having to work free on speculation up front.

As your process seems to be well underway already, an alternative would be to consider fair compensation for your short listed candidates to produce the required creative work. This is the process that FIFA followed in consultation with think in selecting an agency for the 2010 World Cup.

All think members have signed the think Code of Ethical Conduct - The code is published on the think website: www.think.org.za.

Among other prerequisites, the Code states: "A designer shall not undertake any work at the invitation of a client without payment of an appropriate fee."

The following think members have agreed not to take part in creative pitches:

1. Bingo
2. Black
3. CODe
4. Cross Colours Design
5. Enterprise IG
6. Gamatong Design Enterprise
7. GRID
8. Harwood Kirsten Leigh McCoy (HKLM)
9. Herdbuoys Branding & Design
10. Interbrand Sampson
11. It's a Go! Communications
12. Kemistry Creative (Pty) Ltd
13. King James RSVP
14. Lowe Bull (Design)
15. Morning Star Design
16. Mortimer Harvey & Associates
17. Orange Factory
18. Orange Juice
19. Red Rocket
20. Saatchi & Saatchi (Design)
21. Simplicity Studios (Pty) Ltd
22. Storm MDBMP
23. Switch Branding & Design
24. Tequila
25. The New Black
26. Trigger
27. Two Tone

The following member educational institutions have also agreed to abide by the code:

1. AAA School of Advertising (Jhb)
2. Cape Peninsula University of Technology
3. Department of Graphic Design, University of Johannesburg
4. Open Window School of Visual Communication
5. The Design School Southern Africa
6. Vaal University of Technology
7. Vega School of Brand Communication

The following advisors to the think board of directors have also given their firm support of this position:

Adrienne Viljoen, Design Institute

Jacques Lange, Bluprint Design and President Elect of Icograda

Ravi Naidoo, Design Indaba

International associations that have taken a similar stance, are:

Icograda, www.icograda.org

The Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA), www.agda.asn.au

American Institute of Graphic Arts, www.aiga.org

Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (SGDC), www.gdc.net

Institute of Communications and Advertising, www.ica-ad.com

Their websites offer a wealth of valuable information on the subject.

If you would like us to work with you in developing a process that will benefit you most and maintain the high business standards we would expect of South African Airways, please do not hesitate to give me a call. In the end, this approach ensures a more effective, professional and profitable process for everyone involved.

Your consideration of these professional design issues is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Gary Harwood
think Chairperson

think - the South African Graphic Design Council was established in 2001. The council assists its member businesses in achieving recognition for graphic design within the advertising and marketing industry and work towards transformation and equality. In cooperation with macro educational institutions, think strives to achieve parity with related educational curricula. It also encourages educational institutions to develop qualified graphic design students who are well trained and prepared for a professional career in the graphic design industry. The annual student awards programme, thinkahead, serves to promote graphic design as a career choice and present opportunities for winners to fast track their careers.

think is a member of Icograda, the world body for professional graphic design and visual communication. think also subscribes to the Government's code on tender procedures, which also states that a request for submission of creative work without fair remuneration is considered unfair business practice.