should visual designers be licensed/accredited?

[SwiftLives]

I'm not so sure it should be a licensor's job to somehow make the client know the difference. If I can't, as a design professional, already demonstrate how and why my work is better than an "incompetent amateur"'s, then I shouldn't be licensed anyway. For this purpose, a "license" seems redundant.

I've never had any trouble convincing potential clients that my work is superior. The trouble I have is that someone less experienced comes along and severely undercuts me on the price (Sure! I'll do a logo for $200). The potential client sees a slightly lesser quality logo, but decides he would rather save the money.

And you're right. Accreditation would not eliminate that. But part of me really hopes that it would allow the graphic design profession to be taken more seriously. And over time, potential clients would come to understand all the non-obvious work that goes into designing, therefore understanding why they should pay a fair price to a licensed designer rather than an unlicensed amateur.

(One of) The biggest problem(s) the graphic design field faces is that there are people out there who see logo creation as nothing more than matching up a font with a picture, and therefore do not understand why they should have to pay a couple of thousand dollars for an identity package.

 

[klymr]

I've never had any trouble convincing potential clients that my work is superior. The trouble I have is that someone less experienced comes along and severely undercuts me on the price (Sure! I'll do a logo for $200). The potential client sees a slightly lesser quality logo, but decides he would rather save the money.

And you're right. Accreditation would not eliminate that. But part of me really hopes that it would allow the graphic design profession to be taken more seriously. And over time, potential clients would come to understand all the non-obvious work that goes into designing, therefore understanding why they should pay a fair price to a licensed designer rather than an unlicensed amateur.

(One of) The biggest problem(s) the graphic design field faces is that there are people out there who see logo creation as nothing more than matching up a font with a picture, and therefore do not understand why they should have to pay a couple of thousand dollars for an identity package.

Agreed. I think an accreditation would wipe out those who are not certified who are just tossing a logo together real quick and calling it a day. Those who are certified and aren't as good would really have to consider how the approach things, and those who are good and are not certified would certainly feel more obligated to become so. That's my thinking on this at least. My logic could be flawed.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

I agree that Accreditation will do nothing to weed out people without talent. That's not what it's designed to do. The purpose is to weed out the incompetent amateurs who think they're a designer because they matched up a lo-res piece of clip art they found on Google with Comic Sans and called it a logo.

It's not the no-talent hacks that scare me. It's the incompetent amateurs who undercut the professionals mixed with the clients who don't know the difference.

Talent is subjective.

Competence is not.

Great point, it's not the no talent hack that worries me about getting work its the idea that the non-professionals out there will undercut me by a large percentage (it has happened to me before and I'm guessing other desingers)

The problems with these cowboys they are in it for a very quick dollar, have no talent or skill and use pirate software so they can keep there prices insanely low.

And the problem with the design industry most clients will go with the cheapest possible quote, not the quote which best will suit their design needs.

 

[faustfire]

I agree that Accreditation will do nothing to weed out people without talent. That's not what it's designed to do. The purpose is to weed out the incompetent amateurs who think they're a designer because they matched up a lo-res piece of clip art they found on Google with Comic Sans and called it a logo.

It's not the no-talent hacks that scare me. It's the incompetent amateurs who undercut the professionals mixed with the clients who don't know the difference.

Talent is subjective.

Competence is not.

Good point.

P.S. Whats wrong with comic sans?

Great point, it's not the no talent hack that worries me about getting work its the idea that the non-professionals out there will undercut me by a large percentage (it has happened to me before and I'm guessing other desingers)

The problems with these cowboys they are in it for a very quick dollar, have no talent or skill and use pirate software so they can keep there prices insanely low.

And the problem with the design industry most clients will go with the cheapest possible quote, not the quote which best will suit their design needs.

Thats where salesmanship comes in handy, and past examples of clients that dared to spend more than the minimum and had real world results business wise. I have had a lot of clients that have had sticker shock at first,but when you show them the numbers that other clients have gotten with a similar
payout, they can be sold on it. (I do television spots, mostly motion graphics, so it's a little easier to show increase in business returnes than with a logo design, etc.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

Thats where salesmanship comes in handy, and past examples of clients that dared to spend more than the minimum and had real world results business wise. I have had a lot of clients that have had sticker shock at first,but when you show them the numbers that other clients have gotten with a similar
payout, they can be sold on it. (I do television spots, mostly motion graphics, so it's a little easier to show increase in business returnes than with a logo design, etc.

Good points, I do totally agree with the salesmanship point however sometimes you get "one of those clients" who just can't seem to get the idea through their head the value of a designer's ideas and time in producing a quality product. Hence they go for the cheap quote and are bitterly disappointed with the results and this overall gives the design industry a bad name.

The clients who I have respected my ideas the projects have ended very well with them usually recommending me to someone else where I've ended up getting more work from word of mouth rather than the usual "door knocking".