Pro bono work is good for our industry’s creativity

I write in response to your Vox Pop on pro bono projects (DW 8 August). On the upside, these jobs are usually great from a timescale point of view, invariably good for the portfolio and even the possibility of a cheeky little DBA International Design Effectiveness Award case study if you get your evaluation right.

But, on the downside, the typographer downstairs knows a bloke, who knows a bloke, who works for such and such and they need a new corporate identity. This familiar story often means pro bono jobs are relegated to the end of the project schedule in favour of fee-earning work. These projects may not feed the mouths that work for you, but taking them on shows a commitment and passion to producing outstanding work, which in the long run is never going to damage the design industry as a whole.

James Acton

Head of design

Poulter Partners

jacton@poulterpartners.com