Large company contract position not allowing portfolio usage?
lynxkitten (7 points) | Mon, 2007-10-22 15:55Hi, everyone -
I'm new to the neighborhood and thought I'd start out with a bang. I was laid off a couple weeks ago from my permanent full-time position, and have been offered a contract position at a large company through a recruiter of mine. While I've verbally accepted the offer, I haven't put anything in writing, and neither have they.
Basically, I just got told today - again, verbally - that I won't be allowed to put anything from this contract in my portfolio. Do many companies do this? Should I go through with the contract? It's good money, but I'm trying to get some experience and portfolio pieces from larger companies... not sure how to word it with either my recruiter and/or my contract so that I can potentially be able to use even a comp/company name blurred out/etc. in my portfolio going forward. Actually, it'll be mostly Flash work that I'll want from this, with website usage.
Help. I've always been an in-house designer, and this world is very new to me.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
Any idea why the company is placing this clause in their agreement? Maybe they had a bad experience with another designer... Who knows.
Perhaps if you knew that, you could suggest a solution that addresses their concerns and allows you to show potential clients this work in your book.
I'd try and negotiate this with them. I don't think it's an unreasonable request to be able to use your previous work to promote yourself.
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
It's quite common for large companies to routinely not allow designers to put work involving their company in a portfolio. Hell, I've even done freelance work for other agencies that won't allow it as they are taking credit and don't want anyone to know they farmed out the work.
From the sounds of it they've stated multiple times that inclusion of samples in a portfolio are forbidden and I'd be willing to bet they've had other freelance designers challenge them on this and are unwilling to bend the rules. If you need and want the work be extremely careful with how to approach them with contract modifiations.
"Unofficially" I've known designers who will show this work in person but it doesn't appear anywhere in their promotional materials or online. Their view is that the chances of getting caught are slim to none.
Again, up 'til this point, it's been all verbal. I've contacted the recruiter that's negotiated for me for this position, and she's talking to some people about potentially negotiating a specific "portfolio clause" into the contract.
That's a mess. How does one self-promote going forward, in your experience, when you have this sort of thing happen (besides "unofficially")? Is there a way you can verbally articulate? This is a short enough contract (3 months) that it won't kill me if I don't get anything out of it for my portfolio, but I really would like to be able to figure this one out, as I'm trying to boost my career up into senior design positions (I've got 8+ years of experience and an already strong portfolio, just no 'big business' experience... which this was supposed to help correct the lack of.)
Are they also forbidding you from using any reference to them on this project or just limiting the use of portfolio samples?
On the promotion side many will list that they've done work for 'XXX Big Company' and simply explain they are limited by contract from showing that work. Big companies have very valid reasons why they do this. Usually, you play by their rules or you don't play at all.
Nixing portfolio samples whatsoever. As far as I've read, I can at least say that I worked with them.
Thanks for the tip. Being a short contract helps. If it were a longer one, I'd worry about ending up looking too out-of-date by the end of it. I hope that I might get an answer back in the positive that I can actually use things as portfolio samples, but I'm being realistic enough to accept that it probably won't happen.
Sometimes I think it pays to be an in-house designer at a little company. :P
I can attest that even little companies can put restrictions on what their in-house designers put in their portfolios. All portfolio restrictions make it difficult to self-promote. Best of luck, Lynx...
It seems to me that if you do anything that gets distributed to the public (via mailing, magazine ad, billboard, posted to the company's official site, etc.), you should be able to claim your involvement in the creation of that instance of design work.
The only situations like this that I've run across... and it's been a while... were dealing with rejected work created "on company time" which might have some aspects in it that could get used in later projects, and they don't want anyone else picking up on any of those ideas.
Depending on the nature of the company, you might see if you can at least use "published" work in your portfolio going forward. But like others mentioned, tread carefully if you really want the contract.
A great article on this subject from HOW Magazine:
http://www.howdesign.com/db/features/protectportfolio.asp
Companies do this who want to closely guard the work they do as theirs (Imagine starting your own firm and then having freelancers you hired presenting 'your' work as their own) do this. It's not beneficial to the designers, but it's not uncommon either.
As a contractor I don't imagine you have much say in the matter either. It would first fall to your hiring firm to negotiate that term in the contract and since it sounds like a requirement of hire I don't see that changing.
You have to weigh the pros and cons of this job. Can you take it and keep searching for a full time position somewhere else on your own? I'd recommend that highly. You're more hireable when your working. :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
In my experience, usually companies send you an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) asking you to shut up about the project and not showcase anything until it has been made public. In some cases, They'll want you to hold a bit longer, even, or not say this at all. In any case, I'd request an NDA to make this official. Or ask them to insert the proper definitions in the contract.
Now, if you should go on with it it's up to you. I would.
Graphic & Interface Designer
http://www.devixdesign.com
Have you considered the possibility that the work you do may not be worthy of being put in your portfolio anyway? Maybe you won't even like the end result. Or maybe it's great work, but just doesn't really "showcase" your talents.
In other words, there are too many unanswered questions to go off trying to get it put in writing at this point. If the money is good, and the experience is good, then accept the job. Once you're sure you actually create something worthy, you might go back to them and ask if you can use that particular piece in your portfolio.
They aren't going to grant you a 100% yes up front, but they might be willing to say yes to 1 or 2 pieces after the fact.
Besides, having produced work in your portfolio is overrated. Most people doing the hiring want to see how you think and design... not what some arbitrary client has approved. In the portfolio world, spec work is king.
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Asking after the fact will be too late.
And spec work -- we don't do that here. :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
By after the fact I mean that after he creates a piece that he may wish to use in his portfolio, he could ask permission to use it. The client may look at the piece and decide that it would do no harm in allowing it, and give permission.
And by spec work, I don't mean spec work for an actual client. I mean spec work for the sake of putting creative in his book. In other words, you make up a company and do an ad, or use a real company and just make spec ads to put in the book. Hell, make up a whole campaign for CreativeBits.
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Why not just ask permission beforehand? If you've signed a contract stating you agree to not use the pieces in your portfolio, asking to do so later on shows you are ignorant of the details of the contract you've signed. Not very professional in my view.
And I think you mean a self promotional piece, not a spec piece. :) Just being semantically difficult over here, ha ha.
Otherwise, I understand what you mean.
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
It seems to be becoming more common all the time for companies to not allow past contract workers, and even former employees, to use projects worked on in public portfolios. The designer needs to protect themselves in advance to make sure that they will have the right to show future work in a portfolio.
My project agreement has the clause: "The designer retains personal rights to use the completed project and any preliminary designs for the purpose of design competitions, future publications on design, educational purposes and the marketing of the designer’s business. Where applicable the client will be given any necessary credit for usage of the project elements."
I won't work with a client unless they sign it. I recently had a potential client cross that portion of my agreement out, initial it and send the document back to me as a signed document. I told them I couldn't work with them under those conditions. About three days later they came to me, asked me to send them a new copy of the contract, signed the agreement as originally written and we worked together.
For many companies, the issue of not wanting a contract designer, or other outside design resource, to exhibit work done for clients is that they don't want the client to be aware of the fact the job was outsourced. Otherwise the client can simply go directly to the designer in question in the future.
Designers really need to make sure all aspects of a project are contractually in place before taking on a contract job, a client project or a "real" job. the contract you are being asked to sign is almost always more beneficial to the other party.
Jeff Fisher
Engineer of Creative Identity
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Author of "Identity Crisis!"
Jeff Fisher
Engineer of Creative Identity
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Author of "Identity Crisis!"
What kind of work will you be doing for this client?