That’s the question explored in Myths of the Self-Taught Designer: The First Conversation between Ego and the Devil, at the AIGA site. I can only assume that AIGA stands for Association of International Graphic Artists, since nowhere on their site do they explain what the acronym stands for. Duh, people.
Anyway, this article focuses more on graphic and visual design than web application or blog design, but what’s really great about it is how it addresses the whole degreed professional vs. self-taught freelancer dynamic that exists in many fields. The field of web design has some of its roots in graphic design (and other roots in programming and information management) and so it perfectly applies.
What I love best is that this extremely well-written article (the first of four parts) uses a very old form of fictional dialogue where two characters who represent ideals or stereotypes argue with each other. People who read the article and find themselves more in one camp than another—no matter which camp it is—feel as though their own views are caricatured by one character and attacked by the other. It’s good stuff, and I can’t wait to read the remaining three when they’re available.
