"Death Speak" no more.
Now I know the title may seem a little full on but I feel like sharing my 2 cents with the world, and this topic is very close to my heart.
As a designer (and this note isn’t only for designers), I often visit forums, participate in conversations that discuss a new trend, new way of doing things. 9 times out of 10 the conversation leads to a negative viewpoint and an attack on the new product for taking a new approach at their chosen field.
For example, recently a few logo design websites have come to my attention. These websites are designed for ANYONE to get on board, create mock logos and sell them to potential clients. Essentially you are creating a brand identity for clients to pick from, thus saving them time and often money.
Now you can imagine the constant uproar from seasoned designers when you discuss this scenario. The main thing that comes out – The Death Speak. “This is the death of the design industry”, “This is giving all of us a bad rap” “This is cheapening our work” etc.
While there are a majority of negative viewpoints on sites like this, I tend to lean towards the positive side. I don’t know many other people that are comfortable saying this like I am and standing up against all the nay-sayers – but I hope there are more. Are there?
We live in an exciting world where someone as young as 15 (or younger) can be recognised worldwide for their designs crafted from home, on their own computer. They may not earn any money from a job yet, and they may be in between studying and mowing the lawn, but these kids can grab hold of the world and move it forward. The internet has shown us many things, and one of those things is extreme entrepreneurship. Why not embrace this?
Just as television did to the cinema (and iphones to televisions), it may have ‘downgraded the quality of production’ in some peoples eyes, yet it has allowed so many more people to be involved in the experience. The discussion amongst adults about ‘Reality TV being the death to television’ is consistent – yet, the TV is very much alive. Actually, more and more people get on board with production, script writing and acting every single day.
Too many people speak about the ‘death’ of an industry, but I am yet to see any industry actually ‘die’ for a less viable, more expensive alternative; instead, people adapt and realise they too can benefit from something once looked down upon (e.g. the two piece swimsuit, super computer, mobile phones etc) and turn it around to work for them. We constantly out-shine ourselves as humans and strive for cheaper, faster and smarter things and there are still people out there who say it can’t be beaten, it can’t get better than this – and then when it changes, you guessed it, “Death to the industry”.
People, take note – Wake up and realise that the world WILL constantly evolve and as humans we will seek a cheaper, simpler and faster option for everything. Remember the super computers too big to fit inside a house? “Who would want a computer?” – Then, when it came in – “DEATH TO THE SUBURBAN FAMILY”. You get the idea.
Change will always change. Learn as humans to speak in a ‘forward thinking’ way, removing the ‘death speak’. There is no ‘death to an industry’, there is merely a ‘creation of a new one’. Learn to enjoy the changes and focus on the positives of the human race’s developments.
After all, WE are our greatest achievement.
Thanks for reading,
Diesel
p.s. The suburban family is very much alive. Just living faster.
valzart
Yes we are all evolving in this great new digital age sweetheART onwardz+upwardz you tell ;em lol! ‘} happy hippy hugglez
Diesel Laws replied
Thank you for ur comment.
Epazia Espino
I agree! it is so easy to just rest on our laurels (my daily cliche!). Change is inevitable, step up or get of the bus! (maybe 2) If “professionals” are threatened by what a laymen can produce then they really aren’t doing anything all that special now are they?
Diesel Laws replied
Now thats a dangerous area Anthea, lol. Thanks for your comment
Naf4d
I have to say I disagree with a lot of what you’ve said on this occasion D.
‘Professionals’ have trained hard and worked hard to gain the experience needed to produce good, technically correct graphic design (there are some rules that should, and need, to be followed in certain design applications). Fine art is a different animal – I think there should be no rules in fine art.
Graphic Design is a field that has taken years of hard work and development by many people across the world – with the event of the home computer there is a real problem with everything getting diluted. The internet is certainly a wonderful thing, but there is also a whole load of rubbish on it as well.
I think it’s great that all people, ‘professionals’ or otherwise want to create and make new things (that is how new ideas develop) but a ‘professional’ must be seen and respected as one. Site’s like this are great for ideas, communities etc but we are not all the same – we have different skills and abilities. There is some fantastic work here, but you have to admit there is equally a lot of bland, badly designed and dare I say it; crap, on here as well.
I own a few scalpels at home, so if I decide I want to do open-heart surgery on my cat tonight, does that mean I can do it?.... with no veterinary training?... my cat probably say no…. if she could talk…. which she can’t!
Some people can design well, without any sort of training or previous experience, but these people a few and far between. We have a culture emerging around the world of mediocracy. We are not all the same – we have different skills and abilities and should be treated in the appropriate way. Look at this site for instance – there is some fantastic work here, but you have to admit there is equally a lot of bland, badly designed and dare I say it; crap on here as well.
There will be no “Death to/of the industry” but it will, and is, being adversely affected by weak, diluted, run-of-the-mill home ‘graphic design’..... and photography for that matter!
I’m certainly not a “nay-sayer” – I’m an extremely hard working ‘professional’ graphic designer.
...my 5 cents D. ;-)
Peace.
Naf
P.S.
Not gonna bite at what Anthea has said on this occasion!
Diesel Laws replied
No that’s fine, Thank you for having your say. Do you think that the ‘bland, badly designed and crap designs’ (which I do agree with, as there are a lot of them) help you in your work as your professional work stands out because of it?
Naf4d
...just read that back – it’s a bit of a ramble and I’ve repeated some of it. Sorry. ;-)
rubyred
Naf beat me to it. I deal with it on a daily basis. Clients should totally expect to pay a fair price for experience, training, skill and knowledge the same way you should in any other industry. I know how to use a spanner but it doesn’t make me a mechanic and you shouldn’t trust me to fix your car. For some clients, the one-stop $25 branding deal is suitable, but generally in life, you get what you pay for. I understand your point about negativity DL, but it is a problem when a profession is undermined to the point where unreasonable expectations become the norm. Having said that, it is totally possible for a one-man-band to offer a professional and awesome service but finding him in a sea of ‘I’ve got a Mac I must be a designer’ types out there is becoming increasingly difficult.
Diesel Laws replied
Indeed. Clients should expect to pay a fair price. But there have always, and will always be professionals dropping their prices to ridiculous lows – so surely the drop in quality/expectations you speak of isn’t just due to ‘ive got a mac designers’?
Diesel Laws replied
I had a bit more of a think about what you said and I realised there are only really two types of people who design on these sites.
1. Professional logo designers
2. New/home-job designers
I think in terms of cost, the new/home job designers would only have their prices low due to thinking there designs aren’t worth the $400+ price mark. Also, I doubt the professionals would cut themselves by dropping their prices low just to ‘attack the deign industry’. If they could get more, I’m sure they would ask.
put that in relation to your comment, and if I was a friend of yours and I knew you could fix cars, I might pay you $100 instead of getting it properly fixed by a mechanic. You do get what you pay for of course and it may break/cause an accident – which I know is your point – but in terms of a design, it’s not going to ‘break, cause an accident or death’ – so there is only one way to find out if its good – visually.
And seeing as visual quality is in the eye of the beholder, everyone will have an opinion on whether its a good/bad logo. So the costing vs quality debate is up to the purchaser. If they buy it, well, there choice. And if its $500-$1000000 – that’s their price to pay.
jumpy
i think a lot of sites like these encourage SPEC work.. “ill pay if i see one i like, and then ill pay you minimal wage”.
imo to get a logo developed might cost $500 or it might cost $10000+ (for bigger brands), and can cost into the $100000+ to impliment and thats only for a medium sized business (stationary, signage, web, marketing). Sitting down with a designer and discussing what you need should not be optional… off the shelf solutions are a joke really.
And DL if you really want to develope strong branding for businesses, i would look for brands in your area with weak branding and offer your service… have an ABN & offer a tax invoice.
Yes the world for designers is changing … its easy to be sucked in to the www battle for design work OR face the everyones a designer crowd… but real work is out there if you seek it
@rubyred how do you find your clients?
Diesel Laws replied
Sure these sites encourage spec work, but it always falls back to the user. I would just say no to dropping my prices below a certain mark.
Also, thank you for your suggestion about branding.
sjem ©
I’m gonna have to join ruby and naf here DL, bring on change sure, but a fifteen year old is not going to be able to do what a properly trained and experienced graphic designer does.
Anyone can call themselves a ‘designer’ but not anyone can call themselves an lawyer or a doctor and there are very good reasons for this. I think it should be the same for graphic design.
Diesel Laws replied
No problem, thank you for having your say.
Why can’t a 15 year old do what a properly trained and experienced designer does?
I refer to Nike, where they got a designer friend of theirs to design an extremely simple logo for $50 or whatnot. That logo is still here today – and I dont believe that designer had years of training etc?
Diesel Laws replied
Also, I had a think about the lawyer/doctor thing. Most people dont call themselves doctors or lawyers because they could go to jail, or cause death. If calling yourself a designer (when you weren’t) caused death or a jail sentance for ‘bad designing’ then I think more people would think twice before designing.
Also, not anyone can call themselves a mechanic either (due to possible cause of harm/death for faulty breaks etc) but most people still prefer to do a hack job instead of getting a regular service, replace their own tires and batteries – and so on. So I don’t expect ‘designing’ to ever be considered a complete ‘professionals only’ profession.
jumpy
One more way to set yourself apart from competitors is to write a proffesional Business /mission statment, you could outline to possible customers why your business is a better option for them (their business).
IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: you buy a brand logo off a spec style site only to find out the designer had ripped the design off another company… chances are no one will take responsibility, you probably have no contact with the designer, they are probably not even in your country so legal action would be pointless… youll be forced to change your branding.
REMEMBER: On many of these sites you will also be competing for work against people who work in different countries, have lower labour costs, and some will not respect intellectual property or copyrights. The sites themselves might be scammers, so apply caution.
There are many reasons Pro Designers are against this style of site, and i think it is wise to approach them with caution and if it does involve spec then it should be avoided, you no doubt have seen this site http://www.no-spec.com.
FINALLY: if you are looking for more ways of making freelance work happen there are better ways and many aus based websites to help.
start local, and approach people you want to work for, you might be surprised
/jumpy rants
Diesel Laws replied
Good points. Personally I have lots of freelance works in the making and i don’t stop getting involved in all sorts of activities. This is not a debate to find out whether I should join these sites (as i already have based on my own views) more about the quality of a logo design from process to process.
Thanks for your discussion and viewpoint Jumpy.
rubyred
Hey D, it’s a debate that’s been going on in the design industry over here for a while now. Any discerning client is going to need to go through the whole process from briefing, consultation, ideas and revisions before they get to final artwork stage. This involves a lot of time and should not be avoided if a well thought out considered solution is required. I have clients who know they need this process, but still throw into the debate ‘I can get this done on the internet for a fraction of the cost’. All I have to say is if you think you can get the service and result I’m offering at that price you should grab it because the designer is effectively working for nothing. 8 times out of 10 the client knows they’ll need to pay the price, and the ones that get away are the kind of clients you wouldn’t want to deal with anyway.
There will always be exceptions and the Nike logo is one. But do you think they use this method for all their branding? Of course they don’t, they spend many millions on branding, not just because they can afford it, but because they understand the value in creative.
There are many analogies for graphic design but the tailored suit is a good one. Of course you can buy a cheap mass produced suit off the peg but a tailored fitted custom suit is always going to feel better and last longer. Sure, it’s going to cost more but you’ll know that you’re not going to bump into somebody wearing the same thing!
It’s a great debate Diesel, and I’m all for change and progress but not at the price of quality.
@ jumpy, My company organises exhibitions and produces publications, so most of our clients are our exhibitors and advertisers but we also do a lot of corporate branding.
Diesel Laws replied
True. We could be here for days/years discussing our view points so I am going to leave it there.
Thank you for your view points and discussion, I hope people enjoy reading this!