An Open Letter to Design-Tinkering Marketers

Dear Marketer,

Firstly, you’re doing a wonderful job.

Marketing can be a thankless career; if revenue is up, it must be the product, but if revenue is down, speak to marketing. Oh I get it. I’m one of you.

I also understand the pressure you are under at the moment; less budget, less time, less resources. Desperately trying to find ways to 10x your efficiency and effectiveness.

But I’d like to make a request. For your sake, for the sake of your product and for the sake of the equilibrium of the Universe:

Marketers everywhere, please… PLEASE… please for the love of all that is good and pure… please… leave the graphic design to the designers.

I know your creative budget has been slashed. I know that the jobs you’re working on are ‘minor’. And, yes, I’m aware you watched that Photoshop tutorial on You Tube. But, simply put, you don’t know what you’re doing.

Let’s leave aside the fact that it’s offensive to designers that you think you can easily do what they do (in the same way it offends you when Joe from Accounting tells you how to craft a social media strategy).

Let’s also leave aside the fact that platforms like Canva and Pablo and PicMonkey are currently asking you… no, begging you… to take this on yourself.

The point is this… design matters.

It can make or break your product.

Great design is the bridge between your perfectly crafted value proposition and the emotional response of your audience. It can engage, it can uplift and it can inspire.

And here’s the good news. There are heaps of designers out there who can help. They have undergone years of education and training and they have incredible experience under their belt… just to service you. Hallelujah!

So marketers… step away from the Mac. Leave the design work to the professionals. Get back to marketing. It’s what you know.

Besides… revenues are down…

Kind regards,

A Friend

Let me know what you think. Are you a designer fed-up with the new DIY design trend? Or are you a marketer that thinks it’s a valuable new system? I’m open to respectful disagreement as usual.