The other day I received a phone call from another web design/development company looking for some help with an ExpressionEngine implementation.  During our conversation the caller asked (near as I can recall) “We’re, like, real designers (emphasis hers).  Have you ever worked with real designers?”

I keep re-playing that moment in the conversation trying to figure it out, and wishing I had responded differently.

What I said was, “Well, before starting my business I worked for several years at Herman Miller, and I don’t know of another company - at least here in West Michigan - where design was so important and such a strong part of the brand.”

In other words, I didn’t answer the question.  At least not directly. 

What I wish I would have said is, “Well, tell me what you mean by “real designers”?

After this conversation took place of course I got naturally curious about this company so I went to their website.  And it was - you guessed it - all Flash.  Every bit of it.  And their portfolio was more of the same—lots of Flash work.  In their defense the project they were looking for help on wasn’t all Flash - but it still used Flash in a very prominent way with a number of movies that needed to be randomized in a header area.

I really wish I knew the reason behind the question - was this a sense of pride in their own work, or a commentary on my own portfolio?  While I never pitch myself as a “designer” I have, over the past 12-ish years of building stuff on screens, probably “designed” hundreds of processes, interfaces, and reports.  Does that qualify me as “real”?  What about the talented local guys I work with who do focus more on the design aspect of web development - would they be considered “real”?

What I can’t help but think - after reconciling the conversation along with the accompanying company site and portfolio, is that I’ve placed myself in a bubble of web development professionals who, for the most part, “get” the web and understand how design decisions can affect site performance, usability, search engine indexing and placement, and accessibility.  And I’m reminded that outside of that bubble are still people and companies who continue to thumb their nose at those bottom-line business concerns in favor of fluffy designs meant to look good in a portfolio. 

If that’s what being a “real designer” means - putting my own goals before my clients, then I guess my answer to the question is “No, I guess I haven’t worked with “real designers”.

I’m probably making a much bigger deal out of the conversation than I should...it’s just been one those interchanges that stick in my head.