Don’t make way for the wannabe subculture

With regard to Mike Horseman’s article (DW Education Supplement, 12 July), there is also another contributory factor to the over population of non-creative designers, and this is the increasing number of wannabe designers who, because they know how to use a Mac, go round calling themselves designers.

I came across two members of this subspecies recently, both of whom, it turned out, had not attended college. The first works as a sales manager for a company which supplies packaging to a subsidiary of BT, where he “designs all their packaging, sales literature, mailers and press ads”. The second uses her boyfriend’s Mac when he is not using it and “designs letterheads, moving cards and business cards for friends and friends of friends”. Her claim to fame is a small recruitment ad for a local charity in The Surrey Advertiser. Truly, their work is diabolical.

What is worrying is that both think of themselves as designers and are convinced that they can make a living from design. It did not take much to burst temporarily their respective illusionary bubbles, but it is frightening to think that such a subspecies is growing at such an alarming rate.

Tony Huggett

Design consultant

Abinger Hammer

Surrey RH5 6QY