Is pitching good or bad for the design industry? We hear the thoughts of Base Design and Nihilo

Pitching for work is the process of devising concepts or designs based on a potential client’s brief. From a selection of candidates, the project will be commissioned to the favoured proposal. When creatives talk about ‘pitching work’ it’s often accompanied by the word ‘win.’ How to ‘win’ the project. “Just won a brilliant pitch!!” What happens to the studios or creatives that lose out? And more importantly, why are studios pitted against each other in the first place, if paid work isn’t guaranteed? It’s a hot topic for sure. With that in mind, to help us navigate the discussion we asked Nihilo’s Emunah Winer and Margaret Kerr-Jarrett, and Base Design’s Partner & Creative Director Thierry Brunfaut for their thoughts. First and foremost, “for the industry as a whole, we think standard ways of pitching work are detrimental.” Winer and Kerr-Jarrett tell us. For the Israel-based branding agency, their reasoning isn’t necessarily rooted in the time or work spent creating pitches, but rather “the perspective it perpetuates towards creative partners in general.” And, with decades of experience in the industry with Base Design, Brunfaut certainly agrees. “Pitching for free is simply nonsense,” he says, “it’s work, and involves many hours of talented people giving their best.” We’re probably all familiar with the industry’s pressing issue of being perpetually undervalued. It’s an unhealthy preconception that creative businesses can both reinforce and fall victim to. “In which other industry would a company invest such resources (people, time, money) without getting paid?” Brunfaut asks. “None.” In a similar fashion to studios asking interns to work for free, free pitching is one example of how this mindset materialises in the real world. Winer and Kerr-Jarrett explain this viewpoint further, and why it’s insulting to creatives. “It’s the client saying to the agency ‘prove you’re worth our money.’ We believe the opposite conversation should be had – the agency should be saying to the client ‘prove you’re worth our creative capital,’” they say. In most scenarios, the clients with the ‘best’ and most exciting projects hold the cards, and therefore want to be wooed over by the best design. According to Brunfaut, most of these are only accessible via free pitching – so creative agencies consider it an investment. “And that can put us at risk,” he adds. “Since pitching has become ‘institutionalised,’ most clients believe pitching is absolutely normal; that’s how things are done. It’s not.”