The Problem With Design 'Templates'
So I was watching this video last night (mostly about designers offering free resources, and how it affects the industry) and it got me thinking about how the world of easy-access design templates can backfire a little if you start to abuse them, or you just don’t evolve your own process of HOW you use them.
For example, if you use Canva, you’ll know there’s a TON of pre-made templates on there that anyone can have 100% free access to. And the same with Squarespace, you can jump on, grab a template, and go to town on creating your new website. There's shit loads of free resources out there, everywhere you look. I think it's awesome because it takes out a lot of the gate-keeping of what it takes to design things and get your work out into the world — and we need more of that. The fewer barriers, the better.
But… And you knew there was a ‘but', lol, if you only ever use free templates, or cheap templates (i.e. that are very easy to access, therefore accessible by more people) with minimal customisation, you aren't doing yourself any favours, especially IF you give a shit about building a brand that gets noticed, and feels like you. When we're all creating things, pulling from the same resource pools, shit gets old pretty quickly. It takes a more work than just the minimum (i.e. using free resources) to be able to craft something that feels like YOURS, because it needs to be customised and jooshed-up, and... have a lil special-sauce that can't be found in using resources that anyone has unlimited access to.
Everyone has access to free shit — which is the double-edged sword of the whole thing. Yes, it does make things WAY more accessible... But there will come a point when you need to step up your own game — whether it be investing in higher-level templates, or actually hiring and working with a Graphic Designer to create something juuuust for you.
And I say this as someone who has a design template shop, lol.
This is also why I’m stoked about creating more resources on the HOW + WHY of Graphic Design, and what it actually takes to create pieces that are fresh and different — because that’s where the real magic goes down. Once you understand even just the very basics of how things go together it gives you the power to be able to create things that are different, so even if you dabble in free resources you have a couple tricks up your sleeve to make them yours, and not-so-obviously 'THAT template from Canva'. 😏
One thing Charlie mentioned in that video is that she believes more than one thing can be true at a time, and I 100% agree. Just as a couple examples...
👉I believe that you can understand the value of hiring Graphic Designers, and still use free/low cost resources.
👉I believe that you can run a design template shop and offer high-end, fully custom Graphic Design services. (It me!)
So... Yep. It's def an interesting topic and something I could share + chat about a lot more! But I'll leave it at that for now. I think it's important things to consider if you're running a small business using all of these platforms like Canva and Squarespace and Unsplash — you gotta at least think about how you could do things even just a little differently... Unless blending in is your vibe. 😜
