Should we really expect everyone to hire a designer?

In an ideal world, good design would be ubiquitous. From street signs to homes, magazines to posters, and identity systems—everything would look and function perfectly.

Today, many of us make design decisions regularly. We don’t just tweet; we use social media as an extension of our “personal brand,” carefully selecting profile pictures, page themes, and Twitter theme colors. With more people freelancing than ever, individuals face the challenge of creating a global, virtual identity daily. If the goal remains widespread good design, how can we make this accessible for small-scale business owners and budget-conscious freelancers?

One answer is design templates. With the rise of freelancers, it’s no surprise that companies providing templates are flourishing. Some even predict that high-quality templates and mature design patterns make web design irrelevant—why hire a designer when you can make design choices yourself, and affordably too? For the record, we believe this prediction is as misguided as the claim that “print is dead.”

Many in the design industry feel negatively about templates; we’ve seen them perpetuate diluted trends and contribute to design standardization. At their worst, templates can undermine the designer’s role, making anyone with a mouse feel like a designer—as if choosing colors and patterns is the extent of the designer’s craft.

A designer offers more than visuals; they offer clarity.

Many template companies argue that individual freelancers and young businesses on a budget can’t afford design consultancy. It’s seen as a luxury, not a necessity. This is why Emma Brooks and Chelsea Fullerton Jones, two graphic designers in their late 20s, started Hands-On Everyday, a U.S. start-up selling beautifully designed templates.

“We believe everyone deserves access to great design, no matter their situation,” Brooks and Jones explain. “Are they super busy? Super broke? Super confused? Templates solve a lot of these problems.”

The concept of “template” often has negative connotations. But, to some customers—young, creative business owners—value. To support that need for individuality, many design templates are flexible, and editable in Adobe Programs as well as easy-to-access design programs such as Canva or Kittle, giving customers creative freedom.

Is there concern that this setup might make customers feel the need to design themselves and blur the lines of what a designer does? Rather, customers don’t necessarily need to be designers; they’re mainly editors.

So what does this mean for small business owners and freelancers seeking design help??

“Before Squarespace and Wix, advertising was as easy as a quick call to the Yellow Pages, or going to the mall to get business cards printed. Has it ever been different? When did we start expecting everyone, regardless of business size, to engage designers?”

By definition, a template creates designs that look the same, which can negatively impact the industry’s progress. A major role of the designer is to meet genuine needs. Since bespoke websites and visual identities aren’t necessary for everyone, creating templates and frameworks is “a purer approach to design,” about “servicing a need rather than designing for uniqueness or appearances.”