For Designer: Reflecting Other Professions - My thoughts as a Freelancer Designer

Before I got into design profession, I took customer service for granted. Every time when I enter a shop to get a product, I would expect (but still hate) someone approach me and start explaining their products; or just let say I'm entering a clinic or hospital to get my fever cured, I would answer everything the doctor asked and nod on every advice given by the doctor.

I would also like you to imagine if you are involved in certain legal case and you approach a legal firm for advice, you would do what they told you to do too.

Doctor and lawyer are the two most saturated example that you can find everywhere and easily relate to yourself. However, never had I thought why people would give a 100% trust for strangers that could not guarantee perfect ending? Is it because it is a paid service and it looked professional?

Disclaimer: I would not discuss about how we would decide which clinic to go / IT guy to employ while we scroll through the google results or flip through the yellow page.

Everyone needs doctor (but not a lawyer) and as the entrepreneur world become more crowded and dense, every startup probably needs an IT guy to help to build a system or database for the company. While soon and sooner later, every startup will have a designer too!

I understand that we choose to believe a professional because they knew a lot about the field. However, if there is Paul Rand walking past your shop and tell you your logo needs a change, would you really change it?

Do you even know who is Paul Rand?

Design aesthetic is a highly subjective matter and this is also one of the reason that people are not easily buy into your opinion of aesthetic, especially if you live in an angry country like I do. Only if someone seeks advice for a logo, no one would actually bother to change their logo if they are satisfy with their own design. In fact, no one would actually realise a fail in business is due to ineffective branding and marketing (they always come in pair, trust me.) especially when research showed that millennials don't respond to ads.

READ: RESEARCH SHOWED THAT MILLENNIALS DON'T RESPOND TO ADS.

I have no definite answer for the problem statement of why we would simply believe a someone who speaks medicine and law but not design. Part of it may due to

1. Design is a highly subjective matter.

2. Most of the clinic we visit have professionally looking. Dude, see that silver spoon with a mirror on it!

3. Startups don't understand most failures in business is not because terrible product, but terrible marketing.

4. Designers are really too much of themselves.

5. People don't see the value of being charged one million dollar for a branding that doesn't guarantee a success.

It is also important to note that different people from different country react differently on design. Modern countries are definitely more open to subjective matters like design.

However, one thing I do find important enough to write here is that

1. Designers are not trying hard enough to speak client's language (which leads to reason #4)

2. We do not educate our customer on design knowledge / facts / rules to look professional as a brand (which leads to reason #3 and #5).

3. Design in terms of aesthetic is subjective but design in terms of branding strategy and advertising is based on knowledge. Designers do not do enough research to come up with a convincing result. (which leads to reason #1)