Reply #26: Calling Yourself a Designer Does Not Make You One

[Ravenseye]

If I had a dime for every two bit hustler who thought they were a web designer I'd be rich. Seriously.

Graphic Design, Print Design, Web Design....any kind of design takes a creative talent to do well. I don't care how much you work with a program it'll take a long time to really learn the ins and outs of all the things you can do. Then, even after you've learned the 'techniques', it doesn't make you a good one. I've known so many people who thought the fact they could boot up a pirate copy of photoshop and add text to an image, meant they could do design.

comparing it to auto mechanics, it'd be like anyone could buy a few tools, and call themselves a mechanic. You bring your car to them with a bad muffler, and instead of doing the proper replacement or fix to the problem, they use duct tape and a couple of nails to hammer the tape on. It might work for a few miles, but pretty quickly you'll realize you've been had, or you're ignorant enough yourself that they can convince you that the bumping and knocking sounds you hear are normal.