David and Company Blog

If you haven’t figured it out by now, my theory is that we’ve been deluged with poor quality photos, low-res graphics and “haven’t got a budget” copy writing, which we’ve come to accept as a permanent change, however needlessly. It’s understandable how all this has come about. The advent of digital cameras made everyone a photographer. Tightening budgets put pressure on marketing people to do more with less, so they started pushing low-res graphics, and writing their own copy. Since we’re just starting to climb out of a recession (we are, aren’t we?) this situation isn’t likely to change soon, but I’d like to propose that it could start to change, if we help it along. This benefits everyone, especially our clients, and as a designer, I believe I have a vested interest in seeing my clients succeed. So raise the question – “could we get some better shots” or “are you okay with soft graphics”, and “could we explore some options?” There’s a case to be made for higher quality, if we’ll just stand up and make it.

So how does this lowering of standards manifest itself and what can we do about it? With the coming of digital photography, we’re being asked to use photography that truthfully isn’t very good. Of course, the upside of this is that our Photoshop skills are getting better out of necessity, but even so, it’s not the same as quality, professional photography. Not to mention those PowerPoint graphics that our clients want to use at 300%. In addition to our skills as designers we’re having to become digital repair-people. Is there no limit to the lack of quality art we’ll agree to use? I’ve come to the conclusion that unlike a pendulum that has swung too far to the “poor quality” side and will eventually swing back the other way, the “swing back” isn’t going to happen without a little help. Just say no? Well … it’s a start. Realistically, we probably can’t “just say no”, but maybe we can push back a bit for better quality. This could mean using stock photos, illustration or better yet bringing in a pro photographer once in a while or improving our Illustration skills by recreating graphics. It comes down to value and I think it’s up to us to help build it again. Show your clients what good photography looks like. I know, it won’t work all the time, but the “quality sells” argument is a good one, with lot’s of examples out there, so what do you say? Are we pros or not?

“I remember when …” , ever heard that in reference to the way we used to do things in design? I used to think this dated me, to be able to say yes to this question, but it doesn’t, as this can be said today equally as it was fifteen years ago when I started working in a small design shop headed by an “experienced” designer. Then, the reference was to “mechanicals” or mock-ups made with exacting precision. To me at the time, I didn’t really understand all the fuss, as with the advent of computers, mechanicals were becoming a thing of the past, replaced by our equally meticulously crafted computer files. A change yes, but not a loss of quality and still something one could take pride in. So where am I going with this? I submit that our quality standards are lowering these days and that rather than the response being, “duh!”, it should be cause for concern, as this lowering of standards is a key reason our craft is being commoditized, affecting not just the quality of our work, but also our futures.

So, I’d like to open this up for discussion for any who care to chime in and I’ll also be making more contributions to this topic over the coming weeks.