Feb 11 2009
Let me tell you a story. Back when I had a low-paying design job one of my co-workers stopped by my desk while I was gone. She stopped over to some other co-workers who worked in the room right next to my desk area and asked if they knew where I kept my clipart books. One of the co-workers - who had become a pretty good friend at the time - simply said, "Angie doesn't use clipart". But this particular person had her mind made up. "Well just because she doesn't use clipart doesn't mean she doesn't have clipart books." Yeah, that didn't make any sense to me either.
That co-worker didn't get that design had nothing to do with finding clipart and using it in whatever "layout" needed to be put together. There are plenty of people that think that way. Where things really get all sorts of messed up is when people who think this way turn to a "designer" and the designer actually delivers work that contains clipart.
Here's the problem. Clipart is generic. It's supposed to be because it's supposed to be used in as many situations / scenarios / applications as possible. That alone should make business owners think twice about using it. Ever. Instead, hire a designer that's actually going to create something for you that's just for you and can't be applied to another business. As Jeffrey Gitomer puts it, "Don't even think about using stupid clip art that any twelve year old could find. Makes you look like a rank amateur."