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08
Feb
2005

Why let designers design?

I love this article.

I want to print it on pretty paper stock and hand it out to everyone I’ve ever worked for who thought they’d be better off if they just designed it themselves. Or, made me waste my time only to decide in the end that “a word doc will do”.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 8th, 2005 at 5:12 pm and is filed under design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

6 Responses to “Why let designers design?”

  1. melanie February 8th, 2005 at 6:17 pm

    bah! I KNOW, I KNOW what he’s talking about all too well. i think we’ve all been there as designers. i’ve had a client say to me that i would be rendered useless if she had any idea how to use our programs to save herself a bit of money. nice.

  2. robyn February 8th, 2005 at 6:23 pm

    hee. I’ve heard that one before.

    Who knew that photoshop et al were so self-sufficient. I can see Adobe’s next marketing capaign now. CS Design Suite….just add water!

  3. benK February 8th, 2005 at 7:43 pm

    Robyn, you had another link along these same lines about a year ago or something. I can’t remember the site (I may well have it booked somewhere though). I think it was a particular agency’s site, whose message was “get out of the way and let me design for you”. Similar tone and concept.

    So what all of you design folk need to do is present a case to the potential client for why he ought to hire you; how your output is better than anyone’s else and how it will help improve his business. I guess that’s what any vendor has to do though. It’s interesting; I’ve never shopped for a designer before.

  4. Gus February 9th, 2005 at 8:42 am

    Bah, designers. We all know that it’s us programmers who REALLY rule the world……. ;)

  5. robyn February 9th, 2005 at 10:42 am

    b,

    This has been the case for designers who, often, have already been hired, who already have the job. Or, for those of us who have already proven their worth, time and time again to the same client. Once you’ve proven your value, should you have to keep jumping through the same hoops?

    What’s wrong is not how designers present and sell themselves for the most part (except for all those snooty ones who act as if they’re god’s gift to CMYK) – it’s how the client perceives what we do to be of little value, or, as a former employer put it “just making things pretty”, or “fluff”.

    It’s somewhat like the web. Every corporate joe with a web design team has a kid at home who knows how to use front page. Now, making websites can’t be that hard, can it? “Why does it take so long to do this,” he says, “or cost so much? My six-year-old son can make websites, it’s easy.”

    Not every client or employer is like this, thank goodness, but there are still enough to leave a sour taste in your mouth.

    (sorry if this is ranty – this issue tends to, er, get under my skin)

  6. melanie February 9th, 2005 at 11:10 am

    you’ve said it, robyn!