These days it’s been a dilemma for designers whether to proceed with this kind of requests or not but in my personal opinion, IT SHOULD NOT! This kind of requests are termed as SPEC Work, it is the work produced on speculative basis.

One of a fellow designer Jacob Cass has nicely articulated this in a real life example:

“I went for a dental check-up yesterday. After the dentist inspected my teeth, she suggested some work to prevent further tooth decay. I told her to go ahead, and if the dental work was satisfactory, I’d be more than happy to pay. She responded that she wouldn’t be able to do that, because she normally provides a service when a fee is agreed upon up-front. I said I’d let her know after I checked in with other local dentists.”

I think the above example clears the picture very much why clients shouldn’t come to the designer without paying him/her for the time he/she spends on their project. When a designer is assigned a job, he puts his time and efforts to it which should be compensated in return. It is always a good practice to decide the cost beforehand and get some initial payment (unless you have a very good trust on the client).

Recently GE launched a new technology of storage called Holo-Disc which beats the previous technology of BluRay. It can hold data up to 500GB unlike the BluRay with 50GB capacity. The Holo-Disc is named after the holographic surface of the disc.

As far as I can see that its a case of producing something just because you can, rather than because it is needed. Even the BluRay disc is not yet widely used because of expensive players as well as expensive media. The same goes for the Holo-Disc, it is currently only available in lab settings for testing purpose and it will take around 1-2 more years to hit the market. People are still preferring DVDs for high quality movies and large data storage for backup purpose.

One of my friend recently shared a video which shows a man getting ready for the office which includes making breakfast, tea, washing teeths, and  changing cloths.  It was shown in a Japanese TV show.

If you get to learn these techniques then it will spare you plenty of time to sleep in the morning before waking up for the office :). Enjoy!