Professional betrayal

by Eve, in Design (1 Comment)

I feel just a little bit shafted.

I suppose what happened was, strictly speaking, above board. It was legal. But it feels exploitative, too.

I had done some freelance work for Joe Bloggs of Company A.

Company A then went into liquidation, so the amount of my last invoice to them had to be written off. I was disappointed, as I’d been planning to use my earnings to upgrade my software, keeping me in the graphic design market, and now it looked like the game was over.

But these things happen. A fact of life, qué será, swings and roundabouts, and all that. As disappointed as I was, it surely must have felt worse for Joe Bloggs — Company A had been his brain child.

It was becoming futile to hang on to a graphic design career, it seemed. Maybe it had fulfilled its role in my life. I’d met my husband in an organisation that had hired me as a graphic designer, so I couldn’t regret having pursued the career path, even if only for that. And now that I was in the family way, perhaps it was time to hang up my stylus.

Laying a metaphorical lily on my design history, I began making peace with the idea.

Company A was taken over by Company B.

The director of Company B emailed me today, complimenting me on the design work they’d obtained from me via Company A, and asked to purchase my working file of a particular item, so they could make text adjustments to suit.

I Googled Company B and its director, just to have more of an idea of who I was talking to, and I had no small surprise to see who Company B’s marketing and business expert was.

My, my, my.

Hello there, Joe Bloggs.

So while I was mourning the loss of a creative career, the man had taken over $700 of work and injected it right into Company B for the bargain price of Free. And there’s not a thing I can do about it, because legally I wasn’t owed by Joe Bloggs, but by his Company A.

Little wonder that Company B commends him for his skills with strategy and implementation.

I feel less sorry for him now.