Athyrius (bio)

Beginning in the early 1990's, dozens of "consumer and small business desktop publishing" packages hit the shelves targeted to the growing legions of PC/Windows users. Most notable among these low-cost Windows desktop publishing options were Microsoft Publisher and Serif PagePlus. Microsoft capped their offerings by introducing 'FrontPage' as their premier web design software to small businesses and home pc users everywhere.

These low-cost software packages promised to "turn anyone into a graphic designer in minutes!"

Uh huh.

The low-cost "graphic design" software allowed any business owner anywhere to hand a cheap disk to his poor secretary and instantly turn her into his web-designer/advertising layout designer/business card designer/brochure creator/ etc & ad nauseum, saving him tens of thousands of dollars or more a year. The resulting chaos consisted of a mass plethora of hideously appalling, dreadfully designed websites and advertising materials that poured into the public arena like a flood of visual toxic sludge.

The major side-effect of this desktop publishing boom was that many brilliant and creative graphic artists and web designers, who had studied and practiced their art for years, suddenly found themselves unemployed or in financial straits as their contracts began drying up. Another side-effect is that small companies began accepting bad design as a matter of course.

Small business owners were thrilled at the savings. But this boon of getting 'two for one' out of their secretaries ultimately came back to bite them. Larger businesses and corporations knew the importance of using only the brightest of the creative artists in promoting themselves and their products. The larger corporations were thrilled to see the smaller businesses producing such amateurish advertising and websites. What an instantaneous way to separate the 'big boys' from the 'little guy'. Also, with the sudden flood of talented artists cut loose on a tighter and tighter market, larger companies had their choice of great graphic designers at cut-rate prices.

Yea Desktop Publishing!

Fortunately this trend is beginning to change. Many small business owners (the smart ones) are realizing that amateurish advertising on the web or in print actually kills sales. The subconscious thought process of the average consumer is: "If the advertising looks like garbage- the product must be garbage as well.", and no one needs an art degree to spot bad design. Many companies that didn't learn this are gone by the wayside. Unfortunately, many great graphic artists are gone as well.