Recently, I have stumbled upon a few different articles and websites out there on the inter-web, that have bugged me to say the least.
One article was titled something along the lines of “10 steps to being a graphic designer” and opened with the statement that education was a waste. Everything you need to know about graphic design can be found on the internet. In a way, sure, this might be true. I could probably find almost everything I learned in school online, but, I would have had no idea what to look for.
Sites out there like The Design Cubicle are not meant to be a graphic design education for an accountant who needs to create a business card, or for an author who needs a book cover. They are a tool for designers. Tuesday, I read an article about what separates a professional from an amateur. I loved every single thing on the list, and highly recommend taking a look, but want to highlight the point that a professional is constantly educating themselves and seeking to learn. That is what these websites should be used for, not so that anyone can call themselves a designer.
Now, I don’t want to say that having an education makes one a better designer than someone without the degree to back them up. This is not at all what I am saying. There are great designers that did not study design, and there are plenty of horrible designers who did. It is simply frustrating to see the pool of talent that you are a part of to be diluted by someone who decides to title themselves a designer. (for more on this)
Today, the site I came across was the icing on the cake for this topic. The offering of pre-made logos on sale for less than $50. Just simply pick from the cutesy designs available and they will change the name to your name. You can even change the color of the text if you want! What happened to typography being one of the most important elements of graphic design? If there is any wording involved in a design, good typography is key! How every letter works together with the design is so important to a successful trademark.
Please tell me I am not the only one who thinks this trend in creative areas is frustrating!
what a great article – the difference between a professional and an amateur. I might steal it and twitter it myself.
I agree completely. preach on, woman!
I am going to high-jack this and post on my site…this reminds me of a youtube video which illustrates the vendor/customer relationship… LOL.
More power to ya sista!!
Thanks ladies! The support is really appreciated when you put out an opinion that may not always be popular
Brenda – that video was HILARIOUS! I loved it!
You mentioned two different ideas in your entry- I make that distinction because I agree with one but not the other. There are amateurs that fancy themselves professionals. The difference between someone that “dabbles” in graphic design and someone that devotes their full attention to mastering it is enormous. Unfortunately, I usually cannot convince management of this and thus get stuck doing graphic design projects more often than not (the “who is already on payroll?” check always wins out).
The second idea you mentioned was pre-canned logos, and the broader category of professionally designed templates. I’ve argued with my sister, a professional freelance graphic designer, over this recently. I think things like this are invaluable to companies that know the value of professional branding but cannot afford to hire someone to do a design from scratch. It’s like Target. You can buy a small run, hand made teapot for $300 that very few other people will have. But you can also go to Target and get a very similar but mass produced teapot for $30, knowing that it still looks great but isn’t quite as distinctive. There’s a market for both, and I think arguing that one is right and one is wrong is just sour grapes.
I definitely appreciate hearing some different views on this since that was the intention. And I agree about the pots, both make tea. And a predesigned logo can do a great job. Especially when it is simply the graphic that is predesigned. What bothered me about the predesigned logos was that the name was heavily incorporated into the styling of the logo and in fact was the logo. Given the varying forms of letters, it was the disregard for typography that bothered me.
I also want to make sure that it is understood by all, that my intention was not to say it is wrong to be an amateur. Nor is it wrong to hire one. The frustration for me is when an amateur is not honest with their experience etc and attempts to portray themselves as a professional. No one ever wins in that situation.
Yeah, logos are tricky. You’d have to be an idiot to buy a predesigned one. But sometimes you just can’t save people from their own stupidity. If you can spend a day making a versatile logo design and you’re able to sell it to 10-20 people at $50 a pop, I’d say that’s a day well spent.