Lately, I feel like I’m being pushed into using web design templates (from themeforest.net, etc.) over doing custom design work at my job. As a graphic/web designer, I’m having a huge internal morality issue with using templates, since it feels like I’m cheating and putting something out there that I didn’t really create, AND it feels like by doing this, our company is just going to become a chop shop instead of providing real custom design solutions for our customers.
I’m all for using web design frameworks, like Bootstrap and Foundation to lay out the groundwork for responsive web design and then building designs on top of that from scratch, but using templates is a different story. Have any other web designers run into this moral dilemma, and if so, what did you do to overcome it? Or did you? Are you more of a template shop or a custom design shop, and why?
I can really sympathise with you here. Your company is asking you to mostly ignore all the skills you have developed by just picking up ready made designs and slapping them in. They have reduced the skill required for your job and left you in it, over quallified. Now are they going to start feeling like you are over paid? Considering they might be able to employ someone for less who is less skillful to do the same work.
I know that sounds really terrible and I am making assumptions as I dont know the actual environment you are working in. But perhaps it highlights how you should think about your position? Either within the company or elsewhere.
For instance, if you have a lot of work coming in, a structure of a few junior designers using templates with you overseeing and quality controlling their output could be very productive. Or see if your company is interested in charging for special bespoke projects for top dollar that you could get involved with. Or look elsewhere.
I think it seems clear you wont feel happy working in the current role/style.
It sounds like the company is cutting corners, TBH. If a client comes to the business looking for a site, the first thing to do is start with the basics, like the purpose of the site, what its audience is, etc. then move on to appropriate content, content structure, wireframing, ui/ux testing etc. The design should be the last step—by which time the most important parts of the site have already been established.
Any company using pre-made templates already is a “chop shop”.
Perhaps you could take steps (even if subtle) to swing the focus of the company in a different direction, so that such an issue as you face wouldn’t even come up.
You’ve both hit the nail on the head. I think that’s exactly what it is: templates definitely do leave me feeling undervalued and take the fun, challenging aspects of design work out, leaving really monotonous, pixel-pushing days. As a trained graphic/web designer, I cringe at just selecting a template and filling it in with graphics/photography/etc. I just have that ingrained mindset and feeling that I want US to create and build the product and not rely on a template to do the work for us.
I would much rather be building out custom interactive solutions for customers that really solve their problems and not be cutting corners. I feel like this will lead to bigger and better projects (hopefully) over just doing template sites over and over and will better demonstrate our capabilities overall. Maybe I have too much of that “build it and they will come” mentality? ha
It looks like I’m going to need to have some serious (and constructive) heart-to-heart conversations at work on the direction of the company. Hopefully, we can get back on track of being an actual web design agency and not just a chop-shop. Otherwise, I guess I will have to move on or find another role that fits what I really want to do.
Anyway, thank you again for listening and for your advice. It is much appreciated!