Lets get something straight, the idea that a talented and skilled person would design before being “actively” commissioned by the buyer is a  personal problem.  I would NEVER do it ( I have provided spec work in the past, its a loss-loss sum game).   These speculative design mill sites like 99 Design and Crowdspring have their detractors and I am one of them. But not for the same reason as most.

My problem with these type of services is not the downward pricing pressure and denigrating quality of work, I believe some form of this is actual good for the industry. Students need paying projects and there are times when new work procurement is harder than just designing for fun.  So I can’t question the motivates of a willing adult and how they choose to spend their time.  Good designers will get better and define their niche and expertise further. Poor designers will be caught in this hand to mouth cycle.

The main issue with these services are the lack of support for the environment.  For example, if $99 renders 40, 50, maybe 60 different designs then 100’s maybe 1000’s of computer hours have just been wasted.  The carbon footprint for design time has just become an issue.

So for every duplicitous chance at winning a logo design contest – what’s the real cost? Is it one less minute, hour, day, week, month, or year on this planet earth.  If these services would also calculate the carbon footprint of a project and sell tokens to the art buyers, then I am a fan of the design industries innovation.  Maybe not.