Food for thought

I had a conversation yesterday about design and the role of the designer and it got me thinking. I've mentioned before that everybody thinks they are a designer (or at least has a view on design). Well, this conversation verged on the "why do we need designers?" The equipment and software available means that anybody can design now. Templates are provided and it's easy.  This is a similar question that's been rumbling on for years about photographers: if cameras are no so smart and can, for example, correct lighting, camera shake, etc., why pay for a photographer to turn up with much the same equipment and take the pictures for you?

Well, if you went to Le Gavroche or The Fat Duck would you expect to cook the food yourself? (And don't get me started on the whole char-bar thing!) No, you'd expect some fantastically cooked and presented food from MIchel Roux Jr. and Heston Blumenthal respectively. The ingredients would be well-sourced and the menu put together in a well-thought out way. I would argue that a decent, professional designer (or photographer) is comparable. We have spent time training and learning, not just in using the tools of the trade – be it the Mac, the software or camera – but the stuff behind it. What the terminology means, composition, colour theory, type/design history, a chance to experiment and generally getting to know the subject inside out. We know what a baseline grid is and how to construct one, we know what kerning rules are. Most of us older ones know what knockout and overprint means. Some of us have even used a type scale.

A designer arrives at a decision through various conscious and subconscious factors. The decision we arrive at is (usually) better informed.

Going back to the chef/restaurant analogy: a design-led solution is like going to one of the restaurants mentioned above; a half-way house, where the client has a template but can vary the content within the framework such as add pics and change the length of copy, is like going to a fast food outlet such as McDonalds; and the final version where no designer is involved is like making a sandwich at home.

The point is, is that if you make a lot of sandwiches and visit fast-food restaurants a lot, you are really going to appreciate the visit to the Michelin-starred restaurant.

The client will also appreciate the higher quality as well.