… at least where design RFPs are concerned. I just read a great article on the IdeasOnIdeas blog about just that. It detailed why RFPs are not only bad for designers, but also for those who are “purchasing” creative services as well. I’ve included a few excerpts below, but encourage you to check it out. As a bonus, they’ve even included a well-crafted (and quite polite) boilerplate response. If for no other reason than that, their blog entry is worth the read!

The challenge with creative work, however, is that the solution is often informed by the process, and as such is difficult to postulate prior to beginning.

RFPs are endemic of an oppositional structure that rewards those who fill boxes, but not those who look for deeper awareness or insights that might result in a more effective solution. In our experience, organizations that use the RFP process to purchase creative services often find that their expectations are not met.