Saying no to free design work is almost impossible when you’re desperate

• by gmashworth
• in Design
• posted June 6, 2021

“Saying no to free design work” is the battle cry of creative professionals everywhere. And rightly so — our work has value, and if a business or an individual truly understands that, they’ll pay for it. But when you’re desperate, broke, and staring down the barrel of another unpaid month, that mantra becomes much harder to stick to. That’s when free work feels like the only option.

Designers, particularly freelancers, are often told that working for free will lead to “exposure.” The problem is, you can’t pay rent with exposure. You can’t buy groceries, cover data, or support a family with exposure. And more often than not, the exposure never actually comes.

When you’re in a secure job with a salary, saying no to freebie requests is easy and it leave you with a sense of empowerment. But when you’re self-employed with no guaranteed income, and someone dangles even the slimmest promise of a future opportunity, the lines start to blur. You know you’re being taken advantage of — but you’re also just trying to get by. You don’t say yes because you undervalue yourself. You say yes because you feel like you don’t have a choice.

This is where desperation messes with your logic. Suddenly, working for free sounds like a strategic move. You start to convince yourself: maybe this person has connections, maybe it’ll lead to something bigger, maybe if I say no, I’ll miss a chance I can’t afford to miss. The “maybe” becomes louder than the reality you already know.

The truth is, design — like so many creative industries — is deeply misunderstood. People respect the final product but often devalue the process. They forget the years of study, practice, mistakes, and refinement it takes to do what we do well. And because of that, they expect logos, branding, layouts, and full campaigns for next to nothing — or worse, for free. You never hear anyone asking a plumber, lawyer, or dentist to work for free or for exposure.

To make matters worse, some companies even launch competitions for branding work. Imagine sourcing your visual identity — the face of your business — by asking people to compete for free, with no guarantee of payment. It’s insulting. But it continues to happen, because creatives — especially new ones — continue to say yes.

And why wouldn’t they? When you’re just starting out, or struggling to keep your head above water, you’ll take any chance you can get. I know this because I’ve been there. When I first came to Botswana, I had no contacts, no income, and no real understanding of how the market operated. I was desperate, and people knew it.

A few years ago, I was approached by a well-known public figure with a strong reputation and high-level political associations. I was asked to assist with a prestigious campaign — but there was no budget for design work, as personal finances were already tied up in the campaign itself. Given the status of the client and the perceived profile of the campaign, I convinced myself this could be the springboard to bigger and better things.

In my defence, I had never faced a situation quite like it before, and in an environment where “who you know” often outweighs “what you know,” I thought the risk might pay off. Unsurprisingly, I was wrong. I gained no meaningful exposure, no follow-up work, and not even a single referral for offering my services free of charge. To this day, I still find it hard to believe — not one referral. This is obviously a poor reflection on the well-known public figure, but I leave these things to karma.

Looking back, I learned a hard lesson: if people can get something from you for free, most of the time, they’ll take it and run. There’s no follow-up. No loyalty. No referrals. That’s why, these days, if I ever agree to work for free or at a discount, it’s entirely on my terms — for causes or people I personally believe in, not because I’m hoping for scraps.

I still see the same cycle playing out today. Young designers undercutting themselves. Accepting unpaid gigs. Competing for “exposure.” It’s understandable — the market is tough, and survival mode doesn’t leave much room for principle. But the more we say yes to free work, the harder it becomes to shift the culture that devalues us in the first place.

To those in the thick of it right now, know this: your work has value. You have value. And yes, it’s incredibly hard to stick to that truth when your fridge is empty and the rent’s due. But try to make strategic choices, not desperate ones. If you’re good at what you do, if you’re honest and fair, the clients who will respect you will find you — but only if you’re not constantly giving your time and talent to those who don’t.