Taking a step back to look at all the annoying things designers do, there is one that drives me the most crazy. Even more so than discussing kerning in public places. Not only is this thing annoying, it strikes me as terribly insulting. Here it is: redesigning someone else’s logo right after the original gets released. To channel Last Week Tonight, how has this become a thing? There was the Safari icon, the Windows logo, and now the Hillary H/arrow. Designers who haven’t been hired to design take it upon themselves to fully assert their superiority and do something so amazing in hopes to, well I’m not even sure. To insult the client? To show up the designer who was actually hired to do the job? Designers, why?
If it’s a question of what to do with the free time you may have lying around, why not instead, approach a non-profit you’ve always admired. One that probably doesn’t have the funds to hire a designer to do important design or communication work they probably really, really need. Why not approach them and offer up your services in support of the cause. That, to me, is time better spent. The designer gets to design by putting their services to good use without needlessly duplicating efforts on top of something that’s already been done. And the non-profit can then present themselves in a professional light. One that truly represents the important work they do. That I could get behind.
