Design Contests

An analytical essay on this topic is in progress at no-spec.

The piece is being written by no-spec editors. While it is being finalised, here are nearby resources on the site:

• Spec Work - why unpaid pitches are still a bad deal in 2026.
• AI and the Designer - where generative tools belong in a working practice, and where they do not.
• Rates, Contracts, Scope - how to charge fairly, contract clearly, and scope defensibly.
• The Professional Record - the arguments, decisions, and history of the profession.

Contests after generated entries

A contest where entrants generate fifty options in an afternoon is worse for the client, not better, and no entry carries provenance. Spec work in the AI era runs the arithmetic; how to prove a design is yours is the record a contest never asks for. Both are in Proof of Work.