Recently I've found myself running across a lot of these so-called "designers." You know the type; their 1st grade art teacher said they did beautiful finger paintings of owls and parakeets, so now they've grown up and taught themselves Photoshop (probably on a PC), created an invitation for their sister's graduation party, hacked together one sloppy logo using Curlz MT, and viola, they're a designer. What's even more ridiculous, they're ACTUALLY MAKING MONEY with their "skills." People are paying actual hard-earned money for this stuff!
I'm not saying you have to go to college and get an expensive degree. For the average person, it helps, but there are those rare high-talent high-ambition cases where people succeed in the design business without a BFA. Those are some of my favorite people, but that's not who we're talking about here.
As a traditionally-trained process designer, with professors who force-fed a diet of Swiss typography and design history, and with my fierce love of all things Pentagram, and an unnatural obsession with the writings of Michael Bierut and the designs of Louise Fili and Paula Scher, I'm pretty pissed about this whole talentless designer crew. These ignorant jerks are not only degrading the quality of our profession, but for all intents and purposes, they are stealing money from their clients. Clients that could pay that same money to hire a good, qualified, strategic designer and get much better work out of it. Not to mention better results from a business perspective.
The solution? I think there should be a certification required to practice design and charge clients money. You should have to pass some sort of test to be allowed to legally call yourself a "graphic designer." I hope some day we find a way to put all these no-talent ass clowns, out there producing half-cocked design, out of business.
Now, I don't claim to be any sort of design genius. I didn't go to RISD or Kent. I don't take sabbaticals to Italy or Switzerland for month-long typography courses led by Wolfgang Weingart (though that would be super awesome if I could). And I've worked with a million people who are better than me, smarter than me, or more experienced than me. (Ok, well maybe not a million.) But I wouldn't go out and start writing medical prescriptions without learning the different between my ass and my elbow, or start building houses without learning how to properly use a hammer. These "designers" wouldn't know good design if it slapped them across the face.
So... if you're one of them, do me a favor - don't ask me to follow you on Twitter, or endorse you on LinkedIn, or look at your crap portfolio online. I wouldn't endorse you in any way shape or form even if you paid me a thousand dollars a word. Hell, make it a thousand dollars a letter. While you're at it, do the whole world a favor - put down "Graphic Design for Dummies" and go find a new career. Maybe you'll find something else that you actually ARE good at. For you and only you, I ask that you not "Flame on," but rather, blow out.
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