Anyone involved in a creative field – i.e., a career in which one is paid primarily for one’s artistic talents and inspired imagination – has run into what I call design dichotomy. It’s the concept that most everyone wants to reach an elevated aesthetic, but many are reluctant to pay someone to achieve it. 
Interior designers, artists, graphic designers, photographers, writers, and stylists – they all echo similar experiences of frustration. Let’s look at a couple of examples…
1) The CEO of an up-and-coming consulting firm needs to establish the company’s position in the business world by elevating their image, so she hires an interior design firm to help them create an aesthetically pleasing, high-functioning, jaw-dropping workplace. Yet when the time comes to pay in full for all design services rendered, an overconfident “I shouldn’t have to pay this much – we could have done this on our own” attitude spews forth. The firm has spent hundreds of thousands on the lease, permits, construction, relocation, furniture, and equipment, and now they have to pay the designer” What gives”
2) A commercial real estate mogul is in desperate need of some snazzy new marketing materials – brochures, a website, distinctive ads, billboards, etc. – for his new mixed-use development. He contracts with a creative agency to execute the project, and they plan on employing a gaggle of talents: a computer guru to build the website, a writer to establish just the right tone, a photographer to create the images to sell the lifestyle, a stylist to appeal to just the right demographic, and a graphic designer to create the logo, handle the printing, and direct the overall process. When he gets the estimate, he balks. Surely it doesn’t take so many people to accomplish his goals!
So what’s going on here” Why is it that most people don’t bat an eye at paying for something that they can touch – such as a custom rug, an annual report, or an entire workplace wardrobe – but they stutter when paying the ones responsible for making it all happen. If designing a one-of-a-kind rug (that makes their boutique hotel the hip place to hang out), laying out the annual report (that comforts their investors and attracts new ones), or assembling the understatedly elegant threads (that inspire the respect of co-workers and get them closer to making partner) was so simple, then why didn’t they do it themselves”
From what well does this attitude spring forth” One theory is that the explosion of technologies, creating a myriad of customizable “solutions,” has caused the DYI mindset to permeate the current collective consciousness. The debate is certainly raging on across cyberspace, tellies, and print glossies. One of the most candid discussions we’ve seen on the subject has been in Fast Company’s Open Debate. To summarize crudely: technology has given each of us easier access to design tools, but does that necessarily mean everyone should consider themselves a designer”
So what’s the solution” Quit wallowing, stop whining, and SPEAK UP. It’s up to us creative forces to educate not just our clients, but the public as a whole. Explicitly explain how we bring value to the project. Expressively elaborate on why the intangibles are just as worth paying for as the tangibles. Eloquently enlighten those around you that they must regard the expertise of a creative professional just as they do that of a lawyer, accountant, or doctor.
I am reminded of a former colleague whose favorite retort was: “If it were that easy, then everybody would be doing it.” So true, so true.
Do you have a story to share” Or maybe just an opinion” We’d like to compile a collection of communications on the subject for later publication. If you want to remain anonymous, that’s perfect fine. We’re all about changing the names to protect the innocent. Just let us know. Email us @ contact@plinthandchintz.com.
Laura McDonald, ASID / IIDA
Interior Designer / Founder
laura@plinthandchintz.com
