12. What We're Up Against.

Everybody is a graphic designer. Or so it seems. And unfortunately that has a negative impact on what we, the professional designer/art director, do and how difficult it can be. Here's an excerpt from Bad Design Kills: "The world is steeped in bad design. As designers we see something every day that makes us cringe or shake our heads in disgust. But, bad design does more than offend the eye of the designer It facilitates a poor public perception for what our industry does...as it lowers the perceived value of our services...Computers have brought cheap PCs, pre-installed software, clip art and fonts. Armed with these components, while void of skill and concept, a new visual scourge endlessly violates the retina on a global scale - all the while continuing to feed the ignorance and attitude that anyone who possesses these tools can call themselves a 'Designer.' After all, there are no absolutes in art, and if they do it themselves, it's just cheaper." If you want to get a good idea on how this is shaping the landscape of our craft, go here. Just a little food for thought.