Talent and skills don’t come easy. And they shouldn’t come dirt cheap.

A person has been advertising for website designer for a caffeine energy drink for about six months. Which begs the question: what the heck is so wrong with this person/job that he can’t fill it during one of the highest unemployment eras of the past 50 years?

I have a few theories:
1) He’s filled it but he’s such jerk to work with they keep quitting
2) He’s running a scam

OR the most likely scenario
3) He’s only willing to pay peanuts.

There seems to be a devaluation of the talent and skills involved with graphic design and the talent involved with sound web development. When the tools of the trade are available to anyone with a computer –and that’s not even a requirement – the public at-large begins to think that anyone can be a designer. And they can’t. Just because you choose a font and put a photo in your PowerPoint presentation, it doesn’t make you a “designer.”

We saw this happen with photography over the past 10 years when it became expected for stock photos to cost a buck or two from online sites. However, we’re witnessing a “correction” in the market with the sites like iStockPhoto.com steadily increasing their prices and developing a “tier” system regarding photos. Dirt cheap photos tend to look like what you’re paying for. And, those photos from photographers with real skills and talent, are fetching much better prices.

Will it ever return to pre-Web days? Doubtful. But I think watching the stock photography business rise up out of the dirt-cheap level and prove that there’s more to good photography than simply owning a camera and a copy of Photoshop bodes well for the graphic design industry.

Yes, there are designers and companies out there willing to do cookie-cutter (quasi-stock) design for a few measly bucks and count on volume or cheap foreign labor trained in a factory-style method of design. But I think we’ll see the consumers of design work take note of the fact that their dirt cheap brochure, logo, website, etc. doesn’t look nearly as attractive or well-made as work they see by others who paid a designer a fair price. They’ll see the difference: talent and personal service comes with working with a real designer. One that has a name, a reputation and pride on the line and who listens to his/her clients.

So, to the person needing a website designer for their caffeine energy drink, ask yourself some questions (if you’re running a scam especially): Am I not finding someone to fill this position because I’m not willing to pay what someone with the skills and talent to do what I’m asking? Are my expectations too high for my budget?

Or a better question probably is, in this specific case, does the world really need another caffeine energy drink?

You ponder those questions while I go to the fridge to get another Red Bull.