Design doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a message

The Credibility Gap, at BDI:

And then there is what one designer calls the "Command-D" factor:

Some clients believe that a lot of design is handled by software. "Just hit Command-D and the design comes out." This serves to undermine designers' value as visual and strategic thinkers and turns them into computer jockeys. The next step, of course, is to cut the designer out of the loop altogether and get your secretary to produce that corporate newsletter or PowerPoint presentation. "What technology has done is put design tools in the hands of the masses," adds John Furneaux of Ove Design & Communications in Toronto.

"Anybody can call themselves a designer because they have the tools to do it. Thirty years ago, not everyone could draw; it took skilled people. Today you don't need to have much training to create something that is aesthetically pleasing. But good design is not about the aesthetic, it's about the thinking.

Design doesn't matter if it doesn't have a message."